Productive Catholic » Tech

Catholics with Skills: 5 Sites for Aspiring Web Designers

Dean Soto — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:02:05 +0000

Other than Open Source Catholic and Catholic Tech Tips, there aren’t many Catholic sites out there where you can learn new skills on the web. Of course, there are tons of sites where you can learn apologetics, philosophy, and theology, but anything else is pretty much non-existent. So being the shrewd servant that I am, I am going to give you a series of articles that will give you the tools necessary to learn some cool new skills so you can then create a Catholic blog to teach others your mad skills.

Smashing Magazine

Probably the most popular design and web development blog out there, Smashing Magazine has some amazing tutorials and content. If you don’t really care to learn HTML or CSS, but want to learn how to make things look pretty, this is the place to go.

InstantShift

Very similar to Smashing Magazine, InstantShift has everything from inspiring design, to Wordpress hacks, to typography. If you are looking for resources or inspiration, this is the place to go. It doesn’t have much in the way of tutorials, but what it lacks in step-by-step teaching it makes up in beauty.

CSS-Tricks

Screencasts, screencasts, screencasts! CSS-Tricks has the best web development screencasts EVER! Seriously, they are probably the easiest way to learn the structure of web design and development.

TutsPlus

If you want to learn a whole mess of stuff (Photoshop, PHP, etc.), then check out TutsPlus. TutsPlus is a mashup of various web and design tutorials. It’s a great resource, but can be a bit overwhelming if you are a newbie.

W3Schools

Want to learn the basics? W3Schools is where you can study everything that you ever wanted about web development (not design). They have the most widely used coding tutorials ever, with a multitude of different languages and techniques. They even have certification courses.

Do you have any web development tutorial sites that you recommended?

Episode #16: Saving a Dying Church Website, Part 3 (productivecatholic.com)
Episode #15: Get the Liturgy of the Hours in Your Inbox (productivecatholic.com)
PetrosTV: A Mashup of the Best Catholic Videos Online (productivecatholic.com)
The 10 Most Fascinating Catholics of 2009 (fallibleblogma.com)

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© Dean Soto for Productive Catholic , 2010. | SOTO9438 | Read the article at the blog! | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Add new tag, Cascading Style Sheets, HTML, InstantShift, PHP, W3Schools, web, Web design, wordpress

PetrosTV: A Mashup of the Best Catholic Videos Online

Dean Soto — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:22:09 +0000

Not too long ago, I was followed by Petros Media on my Twitter account. Unfortunately, somehow I got distracted and never got around to checking out their site. Boy was that a huge mistake. Petros TV is a fantastic site that brings together Catholic media projects and video into one easy place. Whether it is from CatholicTV, EWTN, or independent film-makers, the site is a great collection of some of the best Catholic media out there. Think of it as being the “Catholic Hulu” (it even looks like it).

If you get a chance this week, head on over and check them out. They publish pretty regularly, so there is always something new. We need more Catholic art, so please support them in any way that you can. Whether it’s commenting on their site, or donating to their cause, whatever you can do in support of them will help the Church tremendously (I am big on supporting Catholic art if you can tell).

Petros TV [Original Site]

Have any other Catholic media sites that you recommend? Let me know in the comments!

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© Dean Soto for Productive Catholic , 2010. | SOTO9438 | Read the article at the blog! | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: art, catholic, entertainment, film, media, video

Episode #17: Introduction to Google Wave

Dean Soto — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:56:02 +0000

As I mention in the video, I am not a guru of the technical side of Google Wave. However, I do believe that the concept of Google Wave itself is something that everyone needs to grasp. Why? Because it is truly going to revolutionize the way that we communicate on the internet.

Google Wave is not email, it is a whole new mode of communication that allows individuals and groups to collaborate around one conversation and with dynamic content. I assure you that, although it may seem mysterious and a waste of time, as more and more people catch on to it you will see how it solves many of the problems that are inherent in email.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here is the absolute best resource for new (and advanced) users of Google Wave. It is free to view online, but you can also get a printable copy for $6:

Lifehacker’s Complete Guide to Google Wave

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© Dean Soto for Productive Catholic , 2009. | SOTO9438 | Read the article at the blog! | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Business, collaborate, collaboration, communication, google, google wave, wave

Episode #16: Saving a Dying Church Website, Part 3

Dean Soto — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:55:19 +0000

Well… something interesting happened last week that took me a while to process. If you have been following my blog for a while, you’d know that I had been trying to convince my pastor that he needed a new Church website. Well, for a while it looked like I was going to get my wish and be able to tithe my time to the Church and build a cheap and killer web community for them. However, last week I got a call from my pastor that changed everything. In a nutshell, I was denied the web development opportunity that I desired. I was a little hurt and sad, but thanks be to God, he made what seemed to be a defeat into an even greater victory. How is that? Well, you’ll have to watch the video to find out!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Links that you should check out that were mentioned in the video:

Natural Design (Dawn’s Blog)
LiveCatholic (Marcy’s Blog)

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© Dean Soto for Productive Catholic , 2009. | SOTO9438 | Read the article at the blog! | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: catholic, church websites, parish, tithe, tithing, web, websites

Episode #14: Productive Catholics Use Netvibes

Dean Soto — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:17:21 +0000

iGoogle, MyCatholic, and a couple of other homepage sites offer a one-stop shop for keeping track of your web presence and interests. But I have yet to find one that comes close to what Netvibes has to offer. In this video I explain why Netvibes is different than iGoogle, and – in my humble opinion – better at keeping you up-to-date with information that is important to you. Better organization, the ability to quickly scan information, and other perks of the web app offer a great reason to switch from the other homepage sites to Netvibes.

The link mentioned in the post about The Call of the Entrepreneur is a super easy way to get something free for doing something that you should be doing anyway. As of writing this, there are no, zero, zip, winners of the free DVD – and that’s awful. Get out there, make a blog around what you love, and you get a free DVD.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Links mentioned in the post:

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© Dean Soto for Productive Catholic , 2009. | SOTO9438 | Read the article at the blog! | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dashboard, information, netvibes, reader, reading, web app, web apps

The Top 5 Catholic Web Apps of 2009

Dean Soto — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:28:54 +0000

Thank you to everyone that participated in the search to find the top 5 Catholic web apps that are currently available out there on the interwebs. Although there is a lot of growing that needs to be done in the Catholic web development community, you all had some great suggestions! Now, without further delay, and much ado, here are the top 5 Catholic web apps!

The Top 5 Catholic Web Apps

Catholic Culture’s Site Reviews – In a nutshell, Catholic Culture Site Reviews gives Catholics a one-stop shop to find sites that are in-line with the Magisterium. There are a lot of so-called Catholic sites out there that teach a whole host of stuff that does not coincide with orthodox Catholic teaching, and it’s nice to know that there is a place you can go to find true Catholic sites out there.

Here is a brief overview from the site itself: “Trinity Communications has been providing Catholic Internet users with qualified reviews of Catholic web sites since 1996. Our review staff is led by Jeffrey A. Mirus, Ph.D and is currently maintaining 682 active reviews.”

myCatholic.com – myCatholic is a cool customizable web desktop that is specifically designed for Catholics. You can set it as your homepage, customize the content, and have the Catholic stuff you want – when you want it.

“myCatholic.com is the first Catholic web portal that allows users to choose their own content, layout, and preferences. It offers daily Mass readings, reflections, news, commentary, custom RSS/Atom feeds, a Catechism study, links, tools, and more.”

XT3 - XT3 is one of the premiere Catholic social networks out there (and one of the best looking).

“Xt3 has so much to offer – It’s so good Pope Benedict XVI sent a message on Xt3! We’ve got discussions, profile pages, global and friends’ prayer walls, podcasts, diocesan homepages, events and projects. You can even ask a priest all those burning questions you have… so why not join now?”

flockNote - I just got my father-in-law hooked on this site. He now uses it for his men’s group. The premise of this social network is to allow Catholic groups to communicate across multiple platforms. Whether your members prefer email or social network mediums, you can maintain communication and build up a cohesive group of on fire Catholics. It is specifically for Catholics, but can be used for pretty much any group. Very cool.

Phatmass - The Phatmass phorums are famous. What started out as a discussion forum, has turned into a social network to the extreme. It’s not that there are a lot of members on the site, but the members that are there (even the atheists) are die hard supporters of the community. It is very cool to see how close all of the members are to each other, and the discussions range from the absurd to the profound.

Thank you

Thank you all for participating in this call for Catholic web apps! I am really excited to see what the future holds for Catholic web development. In the mean time, get out there and check these sites out!

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© Dean Soto for Productive Catholic , 2009. | SOTO9438 | Read the article at the blog! | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: catholic, catholic apps, web, web applications

Episode #8:Saving a Church Website, Part 2

Dean Soto — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:04:58 +0000

As you could probably guess, this is a follow up post to Saving a Church Website, Part 1. Now, although the website that I was aiming to rescue has not been totally saved yet, the reason for the post is that a milestone was hit today. I won’t spoil the surprise, you will have to watch the video to find out what happened, but I can assure you that it was a good day today. I am going to stop now, and let you watch, but I really hope that one thing stands out in the video – even a little bit of your time goes a long way!

Okay, I have to warn you that this vid is a little bit longer than my other ones. But that’s okay because it’s about something that I really feel passionate about. I am excited about this one. Please, let me know what you think in the comments. Thanks for watching!!!

Click here to view the embedded video.

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© Dean Soto for Productive Catholic , 2009. | SOTO9438 | Read the article at the blog! | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: church websites, natural talents, parish leadership, talent, web

Update: Last Chance to Vote for the 5 Best Catholic Web Apps

Dean Soto — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:09:34 +0000

Last week I asked for help in deciding what were the top 5 Catholic web apps out there on the Internet. Well, time is beginning to run out, and there are still a lot of voting to be done. As of right now, thanks to Suzanne Sadler, Jeff Geerling, and Steve from Catholic Q and A, Catholic Culture Site Reviews is out on top, with a number of other applications trailing close behind. I am sure there are other Catholic web apps out that deserve some love and attention.

Here is the link to the original post. The voting will end on Friday, November 13th (scary).

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© Dean Soto for Productive Catholic , 2009. | SOTO9438 | Read the article at the blog! | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Applications, catholic, catholic apps, catholicism, web applications, web apps

Ask the Readers: What Are the Top 5 Catholic Web Apps?

Dean Soto — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:47:58 +0000

Hey guys! I love the web (if you haven’t noticed), and it’s only getting better and better every day. But I can’t keep track of everything. That’s why I need your help to find out which Catholic web applications out there are the best of the best. I have already listed a few in the side bar of my blog (i.e. flockNote, 4Marks, CatholicNewsLive etc.), but I am sure that there are many more out there that are just dying to be found.

There are only a few stipulations: The web app needs to be Catholic, it has to be an actual web application (i.e. a social network, web desktop, not a blog), and it has to be your favorite. Other than that, it’s fair game.

To cast your vote, all you have to do is enter your favorite Catholic app in the comment section of this post. All the votes will be tallied up in the near future, and the top 5 winners will be announced. So if you have a favorite Catholic web app, help get it promoted here!

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© Dean Soto for Productive Catholic , 2009. | SOTO9438 | Read the article at the blog! | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: apps, catholic, catholic media, Catholic Social Networking, catholic web, web, web apps

Top 5 Homeschooling Applications for the iPhone

Dean Soto — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:36:15 +0000

Times have definitely changed. My daughter, who is now 2 years old, discovered how to do some simple addition and subtraction this week. Not only that, for quite some time she has learned to match, do puzzles, name just about every animal, and do some simple addition and subtraction. Did she learn all of this through some high priced Montessori tutor? Nope, her tutor was the iPhone. Of course, we helped to reinforce these concepts, but our little one has become a savvy iPhone wielding genius. I am sure that not all kids are apt to learning this way, but I thought I’d post my daughter’s top 5 apps that she feels every 2 year old home schooler should use (in no particular order, of course).

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox is a zany and quick learning game in which your child learns matching, puzzles, numbers, and colors. The animations and voices in this app are really cute, and it is so fast paced that your child should find it very entertaining. My only warning is that it gets redundant really quickly.

First Words: Animals

This is a great game for kids to learn how to spell. Essentially, they drag and drop letters that spell a particular animal’s name into little squares. You can set up the game to allow them to drop the letters in a particular order, or only in a sequential order (i.e. “A” in Ant must be first). I am telling you, this one really works at getting kids to spell and recognize words really fast!

ShapeBuilder

If your kids like puzzles, but are not too great at some of the more complex ones, this is a great app to start off with. Each puzzle is relatively simple, but they seem to increase in difficulty as each one is completed. All of the pieces are colored, so they are easy to differentiate, and all of the puzzles are recognizable objects or animals.

TeachMe: Toddler

Now this app is a gem. Seriously, it is really, really good. TeachMe: Toddler helps your kids to learn letters, numbers, phonics, counting, colors, and shapes. Plus, you can customize how many answers your child needs to get right before they get a sticker (they can put stickers onto a backdrop). One cool idea to do with this is to give a reward to your child if they get a certain amount of stickers. This little game is definitely a must-have!

Kid Calc

I like this one just for the addition and subtraction. I got this for my little one a few days ago, and she is already starting to understand the concepts. Kid Calc gives your child a math problem that will reveal a piece of a picture if they answer it correctly. Each problem has a visual representation of the problem (i.e. 5 apple icons minus 3 apple icons, then 2 apple icons showing the resulting solution), and it is very easy for the child to solve.

Conclusion

If you are looking for some cool technological teaching tools for your kids, these are some of the best that I’ve run across. Do you have any apps that you use to teach? How about if you think that technology (i.e. computer games) is not a way a child should learn? Let me know what you think in the comments!

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© Dean Soto for Productive Catholic , 2009. | SOTO9438 | Read the article at the blog! | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: apps, game for kids, home schoolers, Homeschooling, iphone, puzzles, tutor

Productive Catholic » Tech

Catholics with Skills: 5 Sites for Aspiring Web Designers

Other articles that you may enjoy:

PetrosTV: A Mashup of the Best Catholic Videos Online

Episode #17: Introduction to Google Wave

Episode #16: Saving a Dying Church Website, Part 3

Episode #14: Productive Catholics Use Netvibes

The Top 5 Catholic Web Apps of 2009

The Top 5 Catholic Web Apps

Thank you

Episode #8:Saving a Church Website, Part 2

Update: Last Chance to Vote for the 5 Best Catholic Web Apps

Ask the Readers: What Are the Top 5 Catholic Web Apps?

Top 5 Homeschooling Applications for the iPhone

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox

First Words: Animals

ShapeBuilder

TeachMe: Toddler

Kid Calc

Conclusion