Week #4

As technology has advance, so has the ease of use for technology.  Now anyone that has access to a computer or a smart phone has the ability to post to a website or have their own web page.  This, in some opinions is a good thing and in other opinions it is bad.  While the good leads people to have the ability to post their personal opinions, and for the most part just to share their lives with family and friends.  The bad gives people the ability to say whatever they want.  This leads to people posting whatever they want and whenever they want.  The first thing that I think of when it comes to people creating their own websites or posting their opinions online is from last summer when the riots in surrounding London were happening.  People were using Facebook to post events to riot at a certain place at a certain time.

Having the ability to create your website comes with some advantages.  The ability to layout the design yourself and the ability to update the website instantaneously.  The downsides to creating your own website are that you may not be 100% capable of creating a professional looking website.  If you hire a professional they are able to make the website look the best it possible can.  A professional will also be able to complete the website in a shorter amount of time due to the fact that they will know more about designing them.  But, having a professional puts you at the mercy of the designer.  Updates will have to be sent to the designer first and than added to the website.

Usability and accessibility.  Usability is a measure of how easy something is to use.  For example, Learning Expression Web 4.  On a scale of 1 to 10, for the average user it would rank around 7 with 10 being the easiest.  Accessibility is used to describe equal access to websites, programs, or operating systems.  Accessibility gives people with disabilities the ability to easily use a computer.  For example, if someone has difficulty with their vision they can use the magnifier to increase the size of the computer screen.