Acquiring Cyberspace Citizenship

My On-line Adventures


Instructions for this Report


Data Collection: A Slow Start

What does it take to become a member of the cyberspace community? Time, hard work, time, computer knowledge, time, diligence, and time. Did I mention it takes a lot of time? But seriously, what really happens as one becomes accustomed to the web? The following scales are used to catalog my on-line experiences with every session on the internet. They are a complete record of my reactions to the learning process involved with becoming a cyber-citizen.



Week 2

Date: 9.1.97 Time: 10:47 PM
Place: Friend's House Task: Part 1, 2, 3, and 4

Stressful/Pleasant: 1
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: 1
Wasted/Valuable: 2
Confusing/Clarifying: 1
Discouraging/Hopeful: 2

My first timid steps toward cyberspace citizenship. For the most part I found this moderately enjoyable as it gave me a small (very small) preview of things to come. The instructions were easy to follow while I much was learned in the process.


Week 3

Date: 9.8.97 Time: 9:12 PM
Place: Friend' House Task: Part 5, 6, and 7

Stressful/Pleasant: 1
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: 2
Wasted/Valuable: 2
Confusing/Clarifying: 2
Discouraging/Hopeful: 3

Date: 9.9.97 Time: 12:00 PM
Place: Keller IBM Lab Task: Part 8

Stressful/Pleasant: 1
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: 2
Wasted/Valuable: 3
Confusing/Clarifying: 2
Discouraging/Hopeful: 3

Even more than before I felt very good about how this session went. Again, I found the instructions very clear and useful. I enjoyed myself as I believed I was gaining important online knowledge. It was very encouraging to find things being so easy to understand and follow being a new person to the internet.

Date: 9.11.97 Time: 10:30 AM
Place: Keller IBM Lab Task: Part 9

Stressful/Pleasant: -2
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -3
Wasted/Valuable: -3
Confusing/Clarifying: -3
Discouraging/Hopeful: -3

At this point I ran into a large obstacle. I didn't understand much of the instructions in part 9 making it very difficult to follow and know what was needed of me. After many hours of unnecessary work I still hadn't made much progress. It was extremely frustrating and discouraging especially because things have been so enjoyable thus far.



Week 4

Date: 9.16.97 Time: 12:00 PM
Place: Porteus Lab Task: Part 9

Stressful/Pleasant: -2
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -3
Wasted/Valuable: -3
Confusing/Clarifying: -3
Discouraging/Hopeful: -3

Date: 9.18.97 Time: 10:30 AM
Place: Porteus Lab Task: Part 9

Stressful/Pleasant: -2
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -3
Wasted/Valuable: -2
Confusing/Clarifying: -2
Discouraging/Hopeful: -2

After class discussion and working with the instructor and the other students I was able to work out many of the problems I could figure out on my own. But not without hours of guess work. Although still very frustrated with the amount of time needed to get things done, by working with my classmates it helped clear much of the confusion regarding the required work. Nevertheless, I found myself very disappointed with my online sessions this week.



Week 5

Date: 9.21.97 Time: 10:00 AM - ?
Place: Home (Borrowed Laptop) Task: Part 9 and 10

Stressful/Pleasant: -3
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -3
Wasted/Valuable: -2
Confusing/Clarifying: -2
Discouraging/Hopeful: -3

Date: 9.23.97 Time: 12:00 PM
Place: Porteus Lab Task: Part 10

Stressful/Pleasant: -2
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -3
Wasted/Valuable: -1
Confusing/Clarifying: -1
Discouraging/Hopeful: -2

Date: 9.25.97 Time: 10:30 AM
Place: Porteus Lab Task: Part 10

Stressful/Pleasant: -2
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -3
Wasted/Valuable: -1
Confusing/Clarifying: 0
Discouraging/Hopeful: -2

Initially the instructions for part 10 were somewhat unclear but class discussion made things understandable. I did find, however, that the work for part 10 took an extreme amount of time. It made finishing the assignment on time stressful especially because I had to get everything done while in school because I have no internet access at home. As a result, I was very dissatisfied and discouraged.



Week 6

Date: 9.28.97 Time: 10:00 AM - ?
Place: Home (Borrowed Laptop) Task: Part 11

Stressful/Pleasant: -3
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -3
Wasted/Valuable: -2
Confusing/Clarifying: -3
Discouraging/Hopeful: -3

Date: 9.29.97 Time: 10:00 AM
Place: Keller IBM Lab Task: Part 11

Stressful/Pleasant: -3
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -3
Wasted/Valuable: -1
Confusing/Clarifying: -2
Discouraging/Hopeful: -3

Date: 10.2.97 Time: 10:30 AM
Place: Porteus Lab Task: Part 11

Stressful/Pleasant: -2
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -3
Wasted/Valuable: -1
Confusing/Clarifying: -1
Discouraging/Hopeful: -2

Like previous assignments I found the assignment instructions vague until it was discussed in class. It made my initial attempts at the work alone very frustrating. But the previous experience with assignment 10 made things a bit easier to handle. Although I would categorize this weeks experiences as mainly negative it was a relief compared to the week before.



Week 7

Date: 10.7.97 Time: 12:00 PM
Place: Porteus Lab Task: Part 11

Stressful/Pleasant: -1
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -2
Wasted/Valuable: 0
Confusing/Clarifying: -1
Discouraging/Hopeful: -2

Date: 10.9.97 Time: 10:30 AM
Place: Porteus Lab Task: Report 1

Stressful/Pleasant: -2
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -3
Wasted/Valuable: -1
Confusing/Clarifying: -2
Discouraging/Hopeful: -2

Date: 10.10.97 Time: 5:40 PM
Place: Friend's House Task: Report 1

Stressful/Pleasant: -3
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -3
Wasted/Valuable: -1
Confusing/Clarifying: -1
Discouraging/Hopeful: -3

After finishing up Part 11 the class was now prepared to move along to the first report. Much like the previous work I found the amount of time needed to finish the work very unsettling. But unlike the past assignments the instructions for the first report were made clear in class before I began. It did much to reduce the confusion but because of the time constraints involved the stress, satisfaction, and discouragement levels remain low.



Week 8

Date: 10.14.97 Time: 12:00 PM
Place: Porteus Lab Task: Report 1

Stressful/Pleasant: -1
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -3
Wasted/Valuable: -1
Confusing/Clarifying: -1
Discouraging/Hopeful: -2

Date: 10.16.97 Time: 10:30 AM
Place: Porteus Lab Task: Report 1

Stressful/Pleasant: -1
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -2
Wasted/Valuable: 0
Confusing/Clarifying: 0
Discouraging/Hopeful: -1

With an extended deadline for the draft of report 1 the stress associated with the time constraints lifted. Now with a clear understanding of the instructors expectations and necessary time to complete it the level of negative experience levels decreased noticeably. The levels are actually the highest they've been since the class first started at this point.



Week 9

Date: 10.21.97 Time: 12:00 PM
Place: Porteus Lab Task: Report 1

Stressful/Pleasant: -2
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -3
Wasted/Valuable: 0
Confusing/Clarifying: 0
Discouraging/Hopeful: -2

Date: 10.23.97 Time: 10:30 AM
Place: Porteus Lab Task: Report 1

Stressful/Pleasant: -1
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -2
Wasted/Valuable: -1
Confusing/Clarifying: 0
Discouraging/Hopeful: -2

My experiences are getting considerably better since a few weeks previous. It has been made relatively clear what is expected from the class as far as the first report. With most of the report done only a few finishing touches are needed to make it presentable.



Week 10
Date: 11.30.97 Time: 10:30 AM
Place: Porteus Lab Task: Home Page

Stressful/Pleasant: -3
Dissatisfied/Satisfied: -3
Wasted/Valuable: -3
Confusing/Clarifying: -2
Discouraging/Hopeful: -3

Finally freeing up some time to work on my actual home page format instead of frantically trying to finish everything on time and to the instructed specifications things get rather difficult. The whole page HTML programming needed to be changed as well as finding various images needed from the web. Without clear instruction or assistance this was by far my most dissatisfying online experience.

Yeah, yeah but what does this all mean? well, my first experiences with the net were generally good. And as time went on and the complexity of the assignments increased there is a dramatic drop in the level of my positive experiences (yeah, everything hits rock bottom). But as time goes on there is a general increase in my experiences (albeit, not much). Assuming that I continued in my exploration of cyberspace citizenship I would assume that the level of my experiences would continue to climb. This implies that although it may be difficult for a beginner internet user to establish themselves, if they stick it out the amount of their enjoyment will begin to increase.
I would just like to add that because I had to do just about all my work in the computer lab I was usually under strict time constraints. If I had easier access and more time to explore the web for recreational purposes rather than strictly for work than the amount of positive reactions would be higher.


Trials and Tribulations of Learning the Internet: How I Compare


What is involved in getting to learn the internet? Here are some previous generational students' experiences with gaining cyberspace citizenship.


Shane Cobb-Adam's Report

Much of this report is dedicated to the analysis of online interaction in terms of domains of human behavior. These are the affective (feeling), cognitive (thinking), and sensory-motor domains (doing). He gives examples of each of the domains relative to online experiences and explains how they may affect the learning process.
He also makes a few generalizations about internet learning. Such as the learning process is made easier by reading the past experiences of others in the generational cirriculum. In this way one can learn from the successes and mistakes of others while at the same time receiving encouragement to continue trying. Helpful advise also abounds. He states that while learning how to use the net take things one step at a time beginning with little things such as mail and surfing before moving on to more challenging assignments. Also that you shouldn't think that you don't understand something because everyone is in the same boat. Finally, you should watch out for negative cognitive-sensory motor loops because it will only hinder the overall experience.
These experiences share some similarities to my own. I agree that negative cognitive-sensory motor loops will indeed hinder the learned process but unfortunately I did not benefit from past experiences as much as Shane. I do relate to much of what the others have gone through as I am going through it now but just by reading their reports I don't feel like I've read from their mistakes or triumphs.


Rebecca Ross' Report

Rittled with problems early in the semester the reported progress by Rebecca Ross is amazing. Through determination she eventually begins to obtain the skills needed to be a contributing member of the on-line community. She states that compared to before the class the amount of information she learned was tremendous, extremely useful, and will be with her the rest of her life. All in all she is very happy with how things worked out although she does say it came only with a lot of time, effort, and trial and error.
Very optimistic about her experiences with the class she believes that the information possessed there should be accessible to everyone. Although, she does state she believes that the new information in the files would be obsolete in just a short time. She finishes by saying that she would like to see a little more freedom in the types of links and homework assignments. All in all she has never been happier or come away with so much information as she did in this class.
Like most of the students on the generational cirriculum she and I share the similarity that we both had difficulties with the initial homework. And like her I also found things easier as time went on and I acquired more skills. But unlike her I have not (yet) come away feeling quite as happy about what I've accomplished (granted she possesses unbridled enthusiasm about the class) or the usefulness of the reports. But I do agree that work should be made available to anyone looking for information and that information will very quickly become obsolete with the passage of time.


Diane Beauchemin's Report

Unlike any of the other reports I've read so far I actually enjoyed reading Diane's. Although I've never met this girl I really do believe that we share the same quirky sense of humor. She has a writing style that I find appealing. Her honestly about her work on the net and the occasional jokes are refreshing after reading page after page of reports on experiences on the net.
We share many similarities. Rather than think the problem out logically, take a break from the computer, or do some sort of yoga-easy-breathing-stretching-type relaxing exercises she just gets frustrated and upset. Also, she shares my enthusiasm for all these internet homework assignments. Finally, problems plagued her on-line experiences throughout her report. I think I found my internet experience soulmate.
As far as HP is, to put lightly, a departure from the norm. She includes a variety of links to information that she finds entertaining, such as links she finds while surfing, links included on the pages of other students, or those found on Dr. Leon's files such as funny internet experiences. Her report in general is very informative. She includes comprehensive information about her reactions to the homework assignments such as surfing, navigation, web posting.


Lori Morita's Report

"Damn this report is long!" These are the first words that come to mind when I first realized the immensity of what I was looking at. Each week is separated into a different page of information with its own links, graphics, and data. It took me quite a long time to surf through everything included here at this site and I can only guess at the time it took to write and program it all. It really puts into prospective how wimpy my own page is as it hardly even compares.
But what is the quality of the written work? In my opinion its one of the best works I've seen thus far. It seems to me that she put as much work into the actual writing of the report as she did when she programmed the html commands. She explains in great detail the exercise that was assigned and what her reactions where to it. I cannot emphasize how much I am impressed at is really a tremendous amount of effort. She must really love this class, really love the internet, or just have some obsessive-compulsive disorder. In any case I wouldn't want to be in her class if Dr. James was grading on a curve because I would score an big 'ol "F".
Gee, its had to say what me and this person share in common. Superficially I would say that much of our reactions are similar. We both had problems initially with the work but it seems (obviously) she got much more out of the class than me. I think the biggest difference is the quality of the websites. I was very proud of the work I had done so far, until I seen her HP. My goodness, she makes me look like a elementary student compared to a student in high school.


So how does my experiences compare to that of the rest of the class? Well, I think Moya Kaohi but it best when she said in her report, "At first, you will feel overwhelmed by the amount of information, scared because you don't know if you will pass or fail, and tired from the amount of work that's involved to get you through it all." It seems she took the words right out of my mouth. Nevertheless, although we all experienced troubled beginnings in the end our overall ratings tend to get better. As Phillip put it, "It was only after two to three weeks of rating that I gradually started to rate my sessions in a much more positive way, and this trend kept going until all my sessions were quite positive." And after everything is done with only then can really understand what we have actually accomplished. "Only in retrospect can we appreciate our struggles. However, at the very moment we are experiencing stress and dissatisfaction all we can think about is our need to scramble out of the tangled web of frustration we are caught in," so eloquently put by Diana Rho.

Conclusion: What This All Means


Well, what did I gain from this report? Hmm... first, I have a new appreciation for what other generational students have gone through previously. Many of the websites that I found look great! (and some that don't look so great). By looking at what they did helped me learn more about things I could do on my own homepage. Also, it made me realize that I am not the only person going through "net-shock". Or more specifically, feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work needed to become a cyber-citizen. In general, most people find it difficult at first but as things become more familiar and your experience grows you really start to enjoy yourself and get positive reactions from going on-line.
I think the thing I have to say to future generations is... "Run! Run while you can!" That is to say unless you are willing to put in hours and hours of work do not take this course. It will suck up your time and patience while you surf the net desperately trying to grasp the finer points of html programming. The grades in your other classes will hurt, your general attitude will suck, and you won't want to even look at a computer at times. But if you stick it through, if you go the distance, and if you make it you may gain the most valuable experience you have ever gotten out of a class before. Not only will you be able to use e-mail, surf the net, and produce your own web pages you will gain intimate knowledge about yourself. How well you learn, how you deal with stress and frustration, and what are your personal limits. Not only this but you will improve yourself as the class goes on. Because of my experiences as a generational student I am better aware of how my cognitive-affective processes work. For example, while doing my assignments I didn't understand everything that was presented to me. But rather than look for exterior explanations such as, "these instructions suck!" or "there isn't enough time to get this done!" I begin to look to myself for answers. Perhaps I don't understand because I am not giving the work my total effort or maybe I don't really want to understand for fear of failure.
So, weigh the differences and decide for yourselves, because if its comprehensive on-line knowledge of the internet, cyber-communities, and html programming you're interested in you'll get it... but at a price.

My Exploration of the Generational Curriculum Labyrinth | My Home Page | My Report 1 on: Identifying Attitudes Through Newsgroups Messages |My Report 2 on: Acquiring Cyberspace Citizenship | My Newsgroups Report | Our G7 Class Home Page | Dr. Leon James Home Page

CLICK HERE TO E-MAIL ME!