stressful +1 pleasant
stressful -3 pleasant
stressful -3 pleasant
stressful +3 pleasant
Data Collection:
My Personal Data:
Understanding the Misunderstanding:
Looking over my personal self-evaluated computer sessions, I was faced with the following negative/positive word pairs: stressful/pleasant, dissatisfied/satisfied, wasted/valuable,
confusing/clarifying, and discouraging/hopeful. After numerous consecutive hours sitting in front of the computer, along with skipped meals and tired eyes, I pulled myself through each session to reach the finish line. Like a marathon runner, I felt relieved and satisfied that I had managed to come so far. Unfortunately, the words relieved, accomplished, and successful were not used by Dr. Leon James as positive correlation words to describe my individual computer experiences. To my amazement, I originally rated some sessions between #1-6, and all sessions #7-11 including report 1 negatively because I did not understand what I was doing, where I was going, (with the computer lesson), or why I was doing it. Here are just a few of my personal ratings:
dissatisfied +2 satisfied
wasted +2 valuable
confusing 0 clarifying
discouraging +2 hopeful
During these four exercises, I was particularly learning to do two things at once; typing certain commands and being aware of where my eyes should be looking. Not having much computer experience, I didn't know where to focus on the computer screen...everything seemed so overwhelming. Once I became comfortable of what I was doing, and knowing where to focus on the computer screen everything else became easier. Therefore, as I did these exercises, my negative evaluations turned positive.
dissatisfied +2 satisfied
wasted -3 valuable
confusing -3 clarifying
discouraging +2 hopeful
Due to the instructions being a bit vague, I found myself confused most times. I knew I could do the exercises however, the direction I was going wasn't always up (+). I found myself going in circles which lead to my personal discouragement, my feelings of time being wasted, and stress that was impinging upon me. But, I continued on!
dissatisfied +2 satisfied
wasted -3 valuable
confusing -3 clarifying
discouraging +2 hopeful
The amount of time that I spent on this one project was quite amazing to me. On Thursday and Friday, I spent five hours respectively, and on Saturday and Sunday, I spent eight hours respectively. Knowing I had a deadline to meet, I pushed myself to complete the task. The time factor contributed to my stress, and the slow computers at the lab contributed to my time wasted. So, I decided to join Hawaii Online to speed things up on my computer at home. What a big difference! I found the computer response was much faster allowing me to have a positive/hopeful outcome.
dissatisfied +3 satisfied
wasted +3 valuable
confusing +3 clarifying
discouraging +3 hopeful
This was the real test, to see if I understood what I was working so hard and so long for. I believed my goal was finally reached, as you can see by all of the positive ratings that I gave this lesson. Report 2, (this report), was quite easy for me to do because I knew the direction I was going, my time was not wasted, I was satisfied with my results, and I was hopeful that this report would help educate future generational curiculum students.
We all use the word understand in our daily vocabulary without much thought. The word understand may carry various meanings amongst different people therefore, leading to the word misunderstand. Without question, our English language is a complex language composed of words with several meanings. But, it is not only the words themselves that carry meaning but also the content in which they are used. According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the word, misunderstand means, "a failure to understand correctly," and the word, understand means, "to know thoroughly by close contact with or long experience of; to grasp or comprehend the meaning intended or expressed by another; to comprehend the language, sounds, forms, or symbols of any kind of expression; to have understanding, knowledge, or comprehension." Therefore, my interpretation or my understanding of my original negative thoughts and feelings that I had towards my computer experiences were formed out of misunderstanding, and my positive feelings were formed out of understanding. To actually understand what you are doing and why you're doing it is a great feeling. This feeling can be quite addicting and satisfying. This feeling of personal satisfaction has lead me to want to do more, and learn more in the cyberspace world.
Trials and Tribulations of Learning the Internet:
The Personal Process:
4 Different Viewpoints From Former Students:
The process of getting to know the web comes with experience. Like most things in life, practice makes perfect along with time, patience, and a whole lot of grease...elbow grease! However, once you understand how the web works, what it has to offer you, and the amount of knowledge that you can gain from it, you can easily become a cyberspace citizen. Here you will see 4 summaries of former students' reports that I read and compiled. Each student expressed their personal thoughts regarding cyberspace. After reading them, you will see how each student described their emotions similarly to one another.
1.Diane Beauchemin:
Here Diane states the importance of observing your own thoughts rather than denying them or lying about them. She believes that it is o.k. to be different, and encourages you to be expressive about your thoughts and feelings because this is an honest approach to self-monitoring. Diane also feels strongly that by being honest only helps future generational students to understand that their feelings are normal. Finally, she reports that class discussions were very helpful to her and other students for problem solving techniques and emotional support.
2.Rebecca Ross:
Rebecca also clarifies her feelings that she experienced on the computer and in the cyberspace world. To her, one of the most important things that she learned was finding out, through reading previous students' reports, that many other students shared her same anxiety and frustration. Not only did she feel more at ease finding out this information, but she also felt a source of energy, a drive that directed her to complete her work. She continues her report by pointing out the time factor. Here Rebecca acknowledges the fact that it takes a lot of time reading other students' reports and also noted that many of the reports weren't very interesting to her, while others she learned a great deal from.
3.Lori Morita:
Stumbling through weeks #1-5, Lori openly guides you through her trials and tribulations in a very interesting way. This report by far is my favorite because it is well focused, it's not repetitious, (it doesn't drag along), and it has a touch of humor too! Lori analyzes herself through an in depth look as to what the
real problem was that she was facing during a specific week. At times she realized that her frustration wasn't towards the class assignment but rather towards so much of her personal time being spent in the computer CLIC lab rather than at the beach. Other times, Lori felt she was just having a bad week. Although, she does admit many times of the fear that she encountered, the frustration that she tackled, and the anxiety that she overcame. She shares her feelings of starting off with negative feelings which progressed to positive feelings, and her ability to turn herself around.
4.Shane Cobb-Adams:
Through his writing, Shane fastened the affective domain (feelings), the cognitive domain (thinking), and the sensory-motor domain (doing), to the "developmental patterns for learning the internet." He feels that the process of learning can be evaluated through one of these domains therefore, while learning the internet, he applied these three domains to his own learning behavior. He also shares former students' thoughts, feelings, and attitudes towards learning the internet. He ends his report with a little advice to future generational students, and proclaims that he is a survivor of one of Dr. Leon James' classes!
My Internet Experience:
Similarities and Differences:
While reading the 4 students' reports that I just summarized, I was relieved and confused at the same time. Each student expressed their fears and anxieties when they interacted with the computer which gave me a feeling of relief because I could identify what their feelings were...(I wasn't alone!). This commonality bonded me with those students as it has done amongst me and some of my classmates. Furthermore, it has lead me to question why this kind of behavior is still continuing amongst generational students every semester? What is the actual cause or stimulus that is the main source of which provokes this kind of behavior? Looking through the previous reports from the 4 students, not one student made an attempt to answer this question, and yet, the 4 students and I all basically agree upon our negative thoughts, feelings, and attitudes that we had first experienced. By answering this question, I can highlight a few similarities and differences amongst all of our experiences.
Time management is a very resourceful commodity that each of us value differently; some more than others. As a mother of 2 year old twins, I personally feel that there's not enough time in one day, one week, etc. All it takes is some uneventful occurrence, such as an illness, to really throw your schedule out of whack. Then, to play "catch-up" on all of your assignments for all of your classes can become overwhelming.Diane Beauchemin,Rebecca Ross,andLori Morita,all shared this same view. Learning the computer, learning the internet, being involved with newsgroups, reading reports belonging to former students, creating a web page, learning HTML amongst many other things, all channel through time. When we are pressed for time, we feel pressured. When we feel pressured, we create anxiety, and fear within ourselves that we might run out of time or energy before finishing our reports or class assignments. This leads to frustration!
Goals are places in front of us everyday, whether it be at school, work, or at home. As generational students, we all share a common goal; to receive an "A" for the coarse by working hard and doing our best. Earlier, I explained that I felt like a marathon runner crossing the finish line when I finished my report. Well, I'd like to add to that. With no computer experience, I felt like a marathon runner that had never trained before and still crossed the finish line! Diane Beauchemin, Rebecca Ross, Lori Morita and Shane Cobb-Adams all expressed their positive feelings they encountered upon completing their reports. All of our negativity changed positively because we reached our goals.
Basic computer experience or knowledge is to your advantage when enrolled in Dr. Leon James' class. Personally, I was computer illiterate before joining cyberspace psychology. I didn't know how to use a mouse, where to click, or where to look on the computer screen! Reading through the former students' reports, I found various levels and differences of understanding about the functions of computers. Some, such as myself, had to work harder and spend more time trying to understand what we were doing, why we were doing it, and how we were doing it.
Lastly, there are different interpretations or understandings of the material given by Dr. Leon James to the students. Each of us, being from a different generation, had been given a different set of instructions, possibly one more vague than the other, or one more complete than the other. Leaving out an important aspect in an instruction worksheet or misunderstanding the instructions can lead to various computer problems. Such problems can lead to a dissatisfied computer experience commonly known as confusing, time wasted, and discouraging , which I used to describe some of my feelings on my self-evaluated worksheet given by Dr. Leon James.
A Commonality Amongst Classmates:
A Rewarding Journey:
Learning something new can be an exciting journey, especially on the internet where you can get "lost" in the cyberspace world of knowledge. With so much to learn within a given amount of time seemed to have been the most popular demand on us students. Lori Rapoza and Phillipe Gaillard both express this within their report, just as I have in mine. Because of this time factor, I purposely used the time bomb image to reference the feeling you get when you feel like you're running out of time ,and you still have a ways to go on "fixing" your report, by making sure all of your links and icons work, and that your report has answered all the questions completely. Lori also states another important factor, which I forgot to mention, and that is the learning of a new language. HTML or HyperText Markup Language is the universal language used amongst computers. At first, this language wasn't clear or understandable however, through the purchase of a HTML For Windows book, I was able to see how things really worked and connected. This book took me on another rewarding journey. Phillipe writes about the negative/positive feelings that he too encountered while working on the computer. I thoroughly enjoyed reading his report because I share, relate to, and truly know what his negative feelings were all about, and how such a low self-esteem feeling can be turned around to a wonderful positive feeling. By reading both Lori's and Phillipe's reports, it would be safe to point out that no one would be able to understand the rewarding journey feeling that we have all experienced in Dr. Leon James' class except for former students and present students.
Conclusion:
My Pains and Gains:
I Survived:
Yes! I did experience a lot of pain, (frustration, stress, dissatisfaction), while doing this report but, it was on a much lesser level than what I had experienced on previous reports or exercises. This time the pain was due to my own perfectionism. Knowing that I can do more now than before, I pushed myself to present a well organized, structured, and appealing report. I attribute my gains to be that of knowledge, confidence and understanding. With these three attributions, I know I will continue to use the computer, the internet, and e-mail to better my communication skills in the cyberspace world.
Suggestions?
You Can Survive Too:
To conclude this report, I would like to point out my purpose in using the light bulb image within this report. The old sayings, "the light is on but nobody's home," or "the light is getting brighter at the end of the tunnel," or "the light just clicked on in my head" all apply to this Cyberspace Psychology class. 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. But, hang in there! Your light bulb will turn on in this class, and when it does, it's like an eternal flame. You will soon find yourself wanting to challenge yourself in doing better at a faster pace.
Learning the computer and the internet requires a tremendous amount of time. Therefore, my first suggestion to future generations is, make sure you have enough time outside of class to work in the computer labs. Because the computer labs have regulated hours, and they're usually always full, I found it much easier to join Hawaii Online which gave me the flexibility to do my work at home on my computer. Yes, this does cost a bit however, the benefits outweigh the costs!
My second suggestion is, purchase a HTML book from any bookstore. Because computers and HTML are changing rapidly, it would be best to consult someone such as, a bookstore associate, to help you find the book for your needs. A good book can guide you through areas that might be too difficult to explain however, with pictures you can get a better idea of what is going on.
My last suggestion is to understand whatever it is that you are not understanding by asking other students within your class. Start up a support group by sharing phone numbers with other classmates or set up meeting times in the lab. This will help you realize that you "are not alone" when feeling frustrated.
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