My introduction to Web Tools, Lab #2

Intro - For week #2 of lab we were going to take counts of actual aphids on soybean plants. However this was a backup plan to the original field trip we were supposed to have taken. Unfortunatly the weather had other ideas and it was to wet to go last week. During lab we proposed a ton of questions about the webtools we would be using in class this semester and actually never took any aphid counts 'unfortunately'. We spent the entire class period going over our web tools and how to use them correctly.



http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/04/05/powerpoint1_wideweb__470x279,0.jpg

Results -So, for this weeks lab assingment we were to perform some small tasks with some of the web tools we would be using throught the semster to help us become more familiar with how to use them. We were given some basic instructions of what to do at each websit and then had to perform them. Below i have listed the program and what it was that i did within each.



Twitter- Sent a direct message. This program is really simple to use in my experience and works pretty slick as far as this class goes.



Diigo- Bookmarked a page and shared it with a group. Diigo has a very good purpose and i think as the semester goes along i will become more familiar with it. But at this point im a little shaky on all the functions and what i can do with them.



Wetpaint- Updated my personal info and about me. This wasnt to hard to accomplish at all, but i guess im a little unsure where it fits into the class at this point. Mostly likely i/we will find out soon enough.



Youtube- I added a video to the group websit. This video doesnt pertain alot to just entomology but actually ties several things together. Im familiar with youtube and have used it a fair amount for killing down time. There are hours of pointless and stupid videos on there, but i found one that pertains to agriculture and has some IPM stuff as well. I posted it below.





Blogspot- For blogspot i had to create this entry. This program seems to work well from what i have experienced. I have no other blogging experience so this is all i have to go by.



Discussion- Overall i was a little frustrated with some of these programs, sitting down and attempting to learn them all in one night isnt really an option for me but over a couple days i was able to finish all these little tasks. Youtube probably took the longest because i was just watching farming videos and kinda forgot what i was doing one night. Twitter works the easiest for me. Blogspot works well also but i wish it had a spell check feature! Hopefully with some practice i can get a handle on how to use all these programs before the semester is totally over. But i was glad we didnt have to count aphids as i have a good handle on that from my past 2 summers interning with a crop consultant.