Since the beginning of the semester, I have been involved in a self-witnessing exercise. With the first 4 assigned tasks, I was required to fill out pre-ratings before starting the tasks, take notes while doing them, and fill out post-ratings after their completion. The empirical notes that I have taken helped me analyze my information behavior.

The bulk of this report will include descriptions of the four different tasks, the steps involved, and an analysis of the errors I made while trying to accomplish the tasks. In delineating the steps for each task, I have noted my affective and cognitive information behaviors at the time. Affective information behaviors encompassed feelings, emotions, intentions, and reactions; cognitive information behaviors encompassed thoughts, strategies, plans, and interpretations. In categorizing my errors, I have decided to use the following classifications: minor and major. Minor errors are errors that can be easily corrected. Such errors include typos in discussion messages and forgetting to include the student’s name in the subject line of the comment message. Major errors are those that usually cannot be corrected. Such errors include posting a message in the wrong category in WebCT.

The first half of the report discusses the first four tasks. The four tasks will be discussed in the following order: 1) registering on the web as a lab user and sending an email to the instructor, 2) posting the first week’s Web discussion messages, 3) exploring the Generational Curriculum, and 4) uploading my home page and Report 1. The second half will include summary tables and analyses of my pre- and post-ratings for the four tasks, my thoughts on facing due dates, and an analysis of my information behaviors.

The First 4 Tasks

Task #1: Registering as a lab user and sending the professor an email

Steps

The table below delineates the steps involved in the first required task, which was to register as a lab user on the Social Sciences website and send Dr. James an email.

Table 1a

Affective and Cognitive Information Behaviors Associated With Task #1

Steps	My Affective Information Behavior	My Cognitive Information Behavior
1. filled out pre-ratings form	- felt a bit relieved to find out that it was not as long as last semester’s pre-ratings form	- thought this was easy - it’s good to start off with an easy task
2. went to the Social Sciences website (webdata.soc.hawaii.edu/lab_user) to register as a lab user	- did not feel any anxiety at all because I registered as a lab user last semester	- this was easy, too
3. send email to the instructor, following his guidelines	- I felt confident because I usually follow directions well	- I have been using email for years now; sending email is easy
4. waited for instructor’s confirmation that I completed the task accurately	- 4 days after I sent the email, Dr. James said that he did not receive it and I felt dumbfounded - when I did not receive confirmation a day after sending him another email, I was beginning to feel very anxious because I could not believe that I failed to follow directions correctly again - after talking to Dr. James, he informed me that he decided to finally accept it and I felt relieved but still a little dismayed because I was made to think that I did not complete such an easy task correctly the first time around	- I know that if an email has not been sent, Yahoo or some other server would inform me that the email address was probably wrong or simply that the email could not be sent to the intended receiver - I sent Dr. James a second email on Wednesday, a day after he told me that he did not receive it - I did not receive a confirmation by Friday morning so I called him that afternoon; the problem was the extra lines that Yahoo emails contain at the bottom of the message - I later received the confirmation from Dr. James on the day that the task was to be completed
5. waited for the registration confirmation from the lab	- felt very anxious because the confirmation took about three weeks	- the lab should have responded earlier - Does the system have some kind of automated response feature? If it does not, it should because that would make the whole process of registering faster
6. filled out post-ratings form	- felt a bit disappointed because I did not seem to do the task correctly the first time; my self-efficacy decreased a bit	- I noticed that the post-ratings form paralleled the pre-rating form; I thought that was an improvement from last semester’s forms

Analysis of errors

I made one minor and one major error while trying to complete this first required task.

Table 1b

My Errors While Doing Task #1

Description of Error	Error Classification	Explanation For Error	Solution
I typed in the wrong address for our class home page.	Minor	I assumed that I could memorize the address and type it in without looking back at the syllabus for reference. I typed in “leonj” instead of “leonpsy”	I should not be overly confident in thinking that I can memorize a long URL. There is nothing wrong with checking back with what was on the syllabus to correct any other errors I could have made.
I did not take notes while doing the first task, which was to send Dr. James an email	Major	I thought that emailing would be too simple of a task to take notes on	Since my first email was not received, I had to send Dr. James another email and could therefore take notes this time around

I know that I memorized the URL to our class home page last semester and I wrongly assumed that I could type in this semester’s class home page URL without looking at the syllabus. I assumed that I could just change the numbers “18” from last semester’s URL to “19” to reflect the current generation. I made a mistake in the URL anyway and so had to look at the class syllabus to find out what was wrong with what I typed in. It made me realize that minor mistakes like this could be prevented by just taking the time to double check things.

As for the major error I committed, I felt awful when I found out that taking notes was a must. I suppose I was a bit stubborn because I thought that sending email would be so easy that I did not have to take notes. Unfortunately, I was wrong. It was a good thing that I learned early enough. If not, I would have not been able to write up this report. It also made me realize how valuable the notes were for analyzing my information behaviors. Although I started off quite bad at the beginning of the semester, I believed that I could make that wrong into a right.

Task #2: Posting the first week’s Web discussion messages

Steps

The table below delineates the steps involved in the second required task, which was to post a research and comment message in WebCT.

Table 2a

Affective and Cognitive Information Behaviors Associated With Task #2

Step	My Affective Information Behavior	My Cognitive Information Behavior
1. filled out pre-ratings form	- I want to take good notes	- I can do this - I understand that I need these ratings in order to analyze my information behaviors at the end
2. logged into WebCT	- felt no anxiety at all because I did this last semester	- thought this was easy
3. clicked on our class discussions’ link	- I felt motivated to post a message because somebody already posted his message.	- I wondered if anyone else already posted their messages. I discovered that somebody already did.
4. read message from Dr. James, which was an overview of the instructions and topics	- felt confident that I could do the task	- I should have no problems with posting messages
5. decided on a topic to research and chose a subtopic (questions to answer)	- felt a little dismayed because I was not interested in researching some of the topics	- realized that there were not as many categories as last semester; noticed that there was not a category for other topics
6. logged out of WebCT	- felt excited because I would be posting my first week’s messages	- I will probably have to log in several times a week to catch up with responding to research messages and posting mine
7. used a search engine (Google) to start looking for articles	- felt calm because I have searched using Google countless times	- thought about searching for many articles and keeping them handy for future postings
8. bookmarked certain articles	- felt excited that I found articles	- I love the bookmarking feature
9. looked over articles	- felt a bit disappointed that I did not find all the information I needed	- I had to search for more articles
10. logged back into WebCT	- felt relieved that I finally had enough information to post	- I thought that other topics might include questions that are difficult to find articles for
11. read over some students’ research postings	- I can’t wait to respond to more messages	- I thought it would be fun to start replying to students’ messages because I like it when they respond to mine
12. clicked on Compose Message and started typing in my message	- felt a little nervous because I was anxious about what other students would say about my message	- proofread to make sure that I did not have any typos and checked that my link worked by copying and pasting it into a new window
13. posted my messages	- felt relieved that I completed the second task	- I thought I could get more practice doing so because we will be posting messages each week
14. filled out post-ratings	- felt stupid that I posted my first research message under the wrong category	- this task wasn’t too bad - I wonder what topic I will research next

Analysis of errors

I committed two major errors while trying to complete this second task.

Table 2b

My Errors While Doing Task #2

Description of Error	Error Classification	Explanation For Error	Solution
Posted my first research message under the wrong category	Major	I was not doing the task with my full attention because I was talking on the phone at the same time.	I should not multitask.
My research message contained broken links	Major	I typed in the URLs correctly and checked by copying and pasting the URL into a new window. I thought that maybe it did that because the URL was too long.	Check to see if it happens again in the future and if it does, to ask Dr. James or another student why it is so.

I felt quite stupid when I found out that I posted my research message in the wrong category. I thought, “how could I have done such a senseless thing?” I tried to search for a way to delete the message, but the Help guide did not find a match for such an option. In order to cope with my embarrassment, I responded to my message. Included an apology for placing my message in the wrong category. To make another point that I was aware of my error, I included a statement about noting it down as an error. I felt stupid because I posted messages in WebCT last semester and I never included a message in the wrong category before. I thought about what people would say if they found out that I took a class taught by Dr. James last semester. They would assume that I should not have had a problem. The ironic thing is that I did. However, I thought that my error was a reminder for me not to undertake more than one task at a time. I need to focus on one task at a time to able to do it correctly.

Task #3: Exploring the Generational Curriculum

Steps

The table below delineates the steps involved in the third required task, which was to explore the Generational Curriculum. I had to look at the home pages of students who have taken a class by Dr. James before. I took notes of the home pages that I visited.

Table 3a

Affective and Cognitive Information Behaviors Associated With Task #3

Step	My Affective Information Behavior	My Cognitive Information Behavior
1. filled out pre-ratings form	- felt a little anxious about being able to visit student homepages because I want to visit all of them	- I will set aside time for several sessions to complete this task
2. went to class home page to find link to previous generations	- wow, 18 generations to look at – that’s a lot	- it is very helpful that Dr. James includes all necessary links on our class home page
3. scheduled several sessions to view home pages	- I was starting to feel bored at times, especially when students’ home pages were just plain links on a white background - I expected a few recent home pages to be more exciting	- yes, this is a smart idea; there is no way I could have viewed the number of home pages I want in one sitting
4. searched for links to their home pages while looking in the directories	- I hate it when students’ links don’t work	- by the end of the semester, Dr. James should deduct points from the students if they still have broken links - students should realize that current and future generations want to view their work; if the links don’t work, then the sharing of information is hindered
5. made comments about some of the home pages/reports	- why don’t some people want to add more personality to their home pages?	- taking notes is not so bad - noticed that some students had too many folders in the directory - some of them should have used more straightforward file names like home.htm
6. filled out post-ratings form	- I’m glad that I didn’t have to learn how to do HTML and make home pages from scratch like the early generations	- it took awhile, but I think it was worthwhile - I was able to see how the more recent student home pages have progressed from the very first generations; we also have a much easier time because applications/programs automate certain commands/features

Analysis of errors

I made a major and a minor error while completing Task #3.

Table 3b

My Errors While Doing Task #3

Description of Error	Error Classification	Explanation For Error	Solution
I wanted to make a list of all previous student homepages so that future students would have an easier time viewing them instead of having to click through their directories	Major	I misinterpreted my self-efficacy; I was overly confident	Since Dr. James allows for regarding, I still have time to improve this report and include such a directory on my home page
I did not write down the full URLS of some home pages until I noticed that earlier generations had a very different URL; one that included two “leonj”s	Minor	I wrongly assumed that the addresses would be all the same except for the semesters and names of the students	I was able to notice it early enough, though. I went to double check which generations used only one “leonj” in their addresses and which one used two “leonj”s

Differences between earlier and more recent generations

The following table lists the student home pages that I visited. The links lead to the students’ home pages.

Table 3c

Critique of Student Home Pages of Previous Generations

Generation (generation #, followed by class)	Student Home Pages	Comments
1 – 409a	Kaneshiro	- Found a link to “Technophobia Laugh and Cry,” which were hilarious stories of people not very computer literate
1 – 409a	Bogan	- Included a lot of links for help with creating web pages
2 – 409	Cortez	- Included a long list of weekly reports she did - the work looked overwhelming
2 - 409	Cho	- home page had a counter at the bottom; he had over 1,000 visits since Spring 1995
3 – 409	Ragarpao	- had contoured boxes enclosing links - since they had to code their home pages by hand back then, what is the code for making such contoured boxes?
3 - 409	Grantmur	- included a topical index for his reports
4 – 409b	Sedward	- his CyberPsychology Guestbook still works; there was a question asking the reader what his/her favorite report was, what rating he/she would give the site, etc. - neat organization of introduction and links
4 – 409a	Gandrews	- she made her own personal website - I don’t think she should have used Dr. James’ directory to include a personal website; I’m sure she could have used her hawaii.edu account
5 – 459	Thiraoka	- at the bottom of the page were little icons; the first one on the left was a picture of Dr. James; there were other icons that led to the other classes and reports
5 – 409b	Travisa	- there was a picture of Dr. James that span around and around and beside the picture were the words “Official Leon James Fan Club Member!”
6 – 409a	Naoyuki	- right hand navigation menu - I have usually seen left hand navigation menus - when I tried to click on her links, the report opened up in the small column on the right; it wasn’t very efficient
6 – 409b	Erintana	- contained a simple navigation table - I assumed it was required because many people had it on their home pages
7 – 409b	Nakamits	- he was in the class 12 generations earlier and gave some good advice “To all you G8 students, don't give up. No matter how you feel, it will all be worth it in the end. And don't be shy, if you need help, ask for it. Either Dr. James will help you or the other students in your class will help you. And once you get going, click all around to see everything, believe me, it helps. Because I believe they'll take this as far as they can. They will only improve on what we have done and make it even better.”
7 – 409a	Kamcharl	- was one of the earlier students that used frames successfully and efficiently - I discovered that there was a “WebFind” for the first generations where students could search sites by using keywords, concepts, and names - we should have that or some other method to organize all student home pages of the Generational Curriculum in one place
8 – 409b	Chang	- I was bothered by the picture of a guy who was hung - however, the student gave advice (which is something I do): “If I were you, when doing a report write a skeletal frame of all the tagged subtitles and table of contents first. I found it was much easier to plug my text into these spaces than to write it as I went.” I know that they used to use tags when making their pages, but I think the general idea of having some kind of outline first helps with writing the report.
8 – 409b	Matsuda	- included several disclaimers (Important Psychological Disclaimer, Copyright and Disclaimer Statements, Disclaimer of Liability, and Indemnification) - I thought that was a little too much; I’m sure people would have known that it was her website, but then, I guess she just wanted to stamp her trademark all over it
Generation 9 was missing
10 – 409a	Finta	- saw a drop-down menu used for the first time (out of the earlier generations)
10 – 409a	Libed	- had an evaluation of the OGC (Online Generational Curriculum): “The Problems... The biggest problem with the OGC is that you practically navigate it blind. There is no grouping by subject, author, or title. The best you can do is go by generation, but you don't really know who is in the generation (or a class within the generation) until you get there. Running a close second is the mountains of words. It can seem lifeless and can make you go blind, but it is worth it when you find a report that is really good. The Long-term Programs... I think the long term programs that the generations (like 499) should look at is some sort of database organization so we can look up things by Author, title, or subject. It will take a lot of 499 students with a lot of coffee before we get to see anything looking like a generational database. I would help, but I am graduating this December. Seriously, it is a worthwhile effort to organize this wealth of knowledge on the web. Think about it...... “ - his advice makes sense; we should have some kind of database organization of all student home pages - I know that would be a huge undertaking, though
11 – 409b	Chen	- used frames
11 – 409a	Lee	- used a poem for an introduction Sykalogee Homepage Poem Welcome to the my page, there's so much to see, Start with my first report, which is report number three. From there we go to look at what's next on the list, To report number one, be sure not to miss. Almost to the end with report number two, What does a Driving Buddy do for you? Last but not least, The oral I presented in class, Global ethics, is it in the past? So there we have my webpage to see, Tell me what you think and contact me! - I thought it was very creative; I didn’t see any other home page that had an original poem
12 – 459	Pederson	- used frames
12 – 409b	Man	- used frames
13 – 409b	Marrs	- provided tips on posting home pages - because he took Dr. James’ class the previous semester, he did not have to do more reports; instead, he drew cartoons - I could easily relate to the situations depicted by the cartoons - his layout was simple and functional
13 – 459	Muraoka	- had a song playing in the background
14 – 409b	Yoshioka	- I wasn’t too fond of the home page, but I was impressed how each report was presented using frames - a static left hand navigation bar is a good idea
14 – 409a	Mackura	- used frames; the organization was very crisp and functional
15 – 409b	Wong	- nice subtle background, sunflower theme - neat layout
15 – 409a	Holland	- there were a lot of links, but there were neatly organized
16 – 459	Aftershock	- included rollover images - included a little trivia question with a submit button - used a drop-down menu - I was impressed by its features; very technical - interesting pseudonym
16 – 409b	Raemie	- really good content; very informative introduction on home page and in reports - simple and easy on the eyes
17 – 409b	Reich	- used frames - nice use of the color green
17 – 409b	Robinson	- neatly organized home page - cool color scheme - good use of links on left hand side of reports
18 – 409b	Stefan	- interesting audio that said, “Somebody put me back into the fridge” - picture of him with frosted hair, icicles/frost on his earlobes, chin, eyebrows, and nose
18 – 409a	Dechert	- the most advanced feature – flash! - the first time I saw it, I said, “Wow!” - he had music playing in the background; however, reader could adjust the volume or stop it from plaing - used rollover images for his links

While exploring the past 18 generations, I have noticed some differences in the overall content and appearance of student home pages

• Many of the earlier generations used navigational tables. These were tables that organized their links in cells.

• It seemed that the earlier generations had fewer broken links. I noticed that some students in the more recent generations have not fixed their broken links. It was easier for Dr. James, in the earlier generations, to make a list of the students’ names and include links to their home pages because their links worked. Now, it has become a little more difficult to navigate through directories and folders to find the link to students’ home pages. I liked it when a list of the students’ names was provided on the class home page. Clicking on their names to get to their home pages was very efficient. Currently, we see class directories and have to click a few links before actually landing on someone’s home page.

• Many of the student home pages in the earlier generations used colors that clashed or were not very pleasing to the eyes. For example, I visited home pages that had very bright colored font on very bright backgrounds (ex: red font on a yellow background). This was probably because there was only a set number of colors to choose from in those days when the students had to code their home pages and reports.

• The earlier generations also used more animated images. Some of them used too many of them. I have noticed that the more recent generations have toned down their use of animated images. I think this is for the better because it makes their reports somewhat more professional-looking.

• Earlier generations had more oral presentations to do. I noticed that some of them had weekly presentations. Their 3-minute presentations were short compared to the 20-minute ones we have today. However, our long oral presentations are beneficial. They force us to improve our oral communication skills. Such experiences in college make us better candidates for graduate school and higher-paying jobs.

• I noticed that some students (like those in Generation 13) had extra credit reports. Why do we not have extra credit reports now? Is it because Dr. James gives us another chance for regrading at the end of the semester? Even then, will he not offer extra credit opportunities now or in the future?

Overall evaluation of the Generational Curriculum

I know that there are a number of students that do not see the benefits of being part of the Generational Curriculum the first time they sit in class and receive the syllabus. However, if they do not drop the class, I believe that they will finish the semester having learned many new things. They will realize that they have taken active roles in their learning processes. Everyone has the potential to be autonomous, lifelong learners.

The Generational Curriculum itself fosters the learning of information literacy. Students learn how to search for reliable articles on the web to use for the weekly discussion postings. They find other resources to support whatever they are reading in their assigned texts which they can use during their oral presentations. They learn how to use FTP applications and make home pages. All their behaviors in class deal with information literacy. Hence, I have a very positive appraisal of the Generational Curriculum. Other classes at the University of Hawaii should implement such a curriculum.

Being part of Generation 19

I was part of Generation 18 last semester and felt that I increased my self-efficacy by the end of the semester. I had never made web pages before and knew nothing about FTP, but I realized at the end of the semester that I had the potential to be an autonomous learner. I could learn things on my own as long as I wanted to and took action. Because of the desire to learn more about making web pages, I have been reading tutorials over the summer to help me make a better web page this semester.

As a contributor of the Generational Curriculum, I know that my reports will be read by other students. Some will learn new things from me like I have learned from past generations. I look at their reports and gain ideas on how to improve mine. I visit their home pages and take mental notes of how to make my home page more user-friendly. All students who are and have been part of the Generational Curriculum, are active contributors and learners. All students help themselves and each other one way or another.

The future of the Generational Curriculum

I think the future of the Generational Curriculum is very bright. Dr. James still has a steady number of students signing up for his classes each semester. Judging from their reports and home pages, most students leave the class with a positive attitude. They seem to have enjoyed learning new things. I think the Generational Curriculum still plays a very active role in producing autonomous, lifelong learners. Until Dr. James decides to stop teaching his classes, the Generational Curriculum will continue.

Task #4: Uploading my homepage and Report 1

Steps

The table below delineates the steps involved in the fourth required task, which was to upload our home page and Report 1. The table is separated into sections; the first half deals with the steps for uploading my home page and the second half is about uploading this report. I separated the steps because uploading my homepage and report 1 seemed more like two big tasks to me. They could have been stand-alone tasks.

Table 4a

Affective and Cognitive Information Behaviors Associated With Task #4

Step	My Affective Information Behavior	My Cognitive Information Behavior
*Information for uploading home page:*
1. filled out pre-ratings form	- felt excited about making another psychology home page	- filling this form out is not very irritating - I think I have gotten used to it
2. made a sketch of the layout I want to use for my home page	- felt anxious to see the final product	- started sketching possible layouts and introductions while waiting for my friend to finish class
3. created the layout in Dreamweaver, create the images in Photoshop	- felt proud, knowing that I have gotten better at using these programs	- all the practice I’ve had since last semester has made this task very easy
4. Include a short introduction and links on home page	- felt relieved that I already knew how to do these things	- this is the easy part
5. opened up FTP application and created a directory for my files	- felt relieved that I knew how to upload and did not run into trouble like the students who were doing it for the first time	- I forgot how to make a new directory until I skimmed over the menu and saw “Create New Directory” under “Directories”
6. uploaded my home page	- felt excited to see it online	- I can’t wait to have my boyfriend look at it and critique it
7. made a directory for my images and uploaded images	- felt glad that uploading files is a very quick process	- I will call him as soon as I have uploaded everything and checked that everything is OK
8. uploaded my oral presentation notes	- felt relieved to see that my links to my oral presentation notes worked	- thought that it would be a good idea to post my oral presentation notes already
9. checked layout and links on the web	- felt excited and relieved to see that everything was OK	- planned to include a link to my current psychology home page on my personal home page and share with my friends what I have been working on
*Information for completing Report 1:*
10. compiled pre- and post-ratings	- already felt very anxious because I just started on Report 1 a few hours before it was due - felt a little relieved that I did not have to deal with as many numbers as last semester	- thought about how I would organize my data and if I should use any colors to shade the cells
11. compiled handwritten notes taken while completing tasks	- felt a little appalled that my handwriting was messy at times	- I will type them out next time while completing the tasks because it will be faster and neater than keeping handwritten notes
12. opened up a new web page in Microsoft Word and saved it as report 1	- started to feel very stressed because I knew it would take several hours to complete Report 1	- focused on working on one section at a time
13. started outlining the paper by including the title, headings, subheadings, and links back to my homepage	- felt a little less stressed when I realized that I knew exactly what should be included in the report	- thought it was a smart idea to start with an outline first
14. Started making tables and inputted data; had to find averages	- felt a little more relieved that my report was being completed little by little	- I do not plan on procrastinating like this for future reports
15. Wrote introduction and started working on the individual sections, one by one	- I hate time pressure	- on the other hand, time pressure forces me to be productive
16. Proofread my report, checked to see if my tables were labeled properly	- I’m feeling a bit sleepy and might overlook mistakes	- my report should be OK for the most part
17. Uploaded my report and checked the links	- still felt a little disappointed that my report was late	- figured that I could not do anything about it now except post my report as soon as I finished it - it is better to complete the report than not do it at all
18. emailed Dr. James to let him know that I published my Report 1	- felt very relieved	- now I can somewhat relax - I think I will start looking at the instructions for Report 3 since I already did my two oral presentations - I can start on that report early and won’t have to worry much about it when the deadline approaches

Analysis of errors

I committed two major errors and a minor error while completing task #4.

Table 4b

My Errors While Doing Task #4

Description of Error	Error Classification	Explanation For Error	Solution
Setting too high of an expectation for myself by planning to view all previous student home pages and make simple directories to make navigation easier, especially for the more recent generations	Major	Perhaps my self-efficacy was misinterpreted to be too high at the time I made such plans.	I should set realistic goals. However, since I have till the end of the semester to improve my report, I can still carry out what I intended to do in the beginning. I can include such directories in my report/home page later on.
Missing the deadline for Report 1	Major	Procrastination	For the next reports, I should break them into manageable sections and work on them at least a week before their deadlines.
A few links did not work	Minor	It could be due to typing quickly and dismissing the typo	I realized that I just had typos here and there; an extra letter that had to be deleted or two letters that had to be switched around. Broken links were easy to fix, because my notes contained the addresses and I knew where to look for them on the web in case I did not have the address with me.

I know that last semester, I included advice in my Research Report about not procrastinating. It seems that did not even follow my own advice. It could be assumed that since I completed my tasks on time last semester, I would have no trouble following the same kind of regime this semester. I am disappointed at myself for not having started on this report earlier. I knew that it would take a lot of effort and that I could have had broken it down into smaller, more manageable sessions, but I just realized that I have not been managing my time wisely these past few weeks. My self-efficacy is still the same; I believe I can finish this report. However, I am not in a very positive mood because I already missed the deadline. Missing the deadline will cause me to lose a few points, which serves as a punishment. I believe this punishment will motivate me to complete future reports on time.

I was not too frustrated with fixing broken links because they were relatively easy to fix. They were minor errors that needed minor changes.

Data Collection: Pre- and Post-Ratings For Tasks

Table 5

Pre- and Post-Ratings for The First Four Tasks

(Note: To view explanations for each rating,

click on the link provided for each pre- and post-ratings form.)

	Task #1		Task #2		Task #3		Task #4
Questions	Pre-	Post-	Pre-	Post-	Pre-	Post-	Pre-	Post-
4. Mood (1= negative; 10=positive)	8	6	7	8	8	10	4	4
5. Importance of succeeding at this task (1=not important; 10=extremely important)	10	10	9	10	9	10	10	10
6. Expected difficulty in performing task (1=not much; 10=a lot)	1	2	2	2	1	2	4	5
7. Amount of upset if failed at task (1=not upset; 10=extremely upset)	2	2	2	1	1	1	3	6
8. Degree of certainty in completing task (1=doubtful; 10=almost certain)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9
9. Likelihood of becoming good at task (1=pretty doubtful; 10=almost certain)	10	10	9	9	10	10	10	9
10. Main reason for completing task (a=luck; b=skills I’ve acquired; c=help from others; d= combination of things)	B	B	B	B	B	B	B	B
11. Amount of motivation to complete task (1=slightly motivated; 10=very highly motivated)	1	10	10	9	9	10	10	10
12. Computers make it easier to perform the task (1=I strongly disagree; 10=I very much agree)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
13. Expected amount of effort to complete task (1=not much; 10=a tremendous amount)	1	2	2	4	9	7	8	9

My answers for questions #10 and #12 remained the same for all tasks during the pre- and post-ratings. In regards to question #10, I always answered b) skills I’ve acquired because I do not believe in luck and I did not ask help from anyone for any of the tasks yet. For question #12, I believe that a computer is required to complete all tasks. How would we send email if we did not have computers with internet access? I know that some people can technically use their cell phones or PDAs to send emails, but computers are much easier to use for that certain task. As for uploading homepages, Report 1, and discussion messages, computers are definitely necessary. Therefore, I think question #12 should be removed from future forms because the answer seems obvious.

I know that comparisons of pre- and post-ratings between tasks are not as significant as comparisons within the tasks themselves, but I thought I should just point them out. Most of my ratings seemed constant. However, for a few questions, I had some big ranges. For the post-ratings for question #4 (my mood), it ranged from 4 (somewhat negative mood) after completing task #4 to 8 (positive mood) after completing Task #2. I think it was because I was already disappointed in myself that I did not meet the deadline for uploading this report.

A wider range between post-ratings can be found between Tasks #1 and #4. For question #13 (expected amount of effort to complete task), Task #1 did not take much effort (rating of 2) because it was a relatively easy task. However, Task #4 required more effort (rating of 9) because it entailed writing a long report and making analyses of data collected over the past few weeks. It required even more effort than usual because I was rushing to complete it. I did not want to upload it too much later after the deadline.

For the same two tasks mentioned above, their pre-ratings for question #11 (amount of motivation to complete task) produced a wide range as well. For Task #1, I did not have very much motivation because I thought it was a very simple task. I did not think I needed motivation in order to be able to complete it. Task #4, on the other hand, required a lot of motivation because I needed to complete it as soon as I could.

I also noticed that the smaller task (Task #1) required less effort and motivation than the more difficult task (Task #4), which entailed more steps.

Table 5b

Average Pre and Post-Ratings

(ratings for all four tasks taken into account)

	Pre-Rating	Post-Rating
4. Mood (1= negative; 10=positive)	6.75	7
5. Importance of succeeding at this task (1=not important; 10=extremely important)	9.5	10
6. Expected difficulty in performing task (1=not much; 10=a lot)	2	2.75
7. Amount of upset if failed at task (1=not upset; 10=extremely upset)	2	2.5
8. Degree of certainty in completing task (1=doubtful; 10=almost certain)	10	9.75
9. Likelihood of becoming good at task (1=pretty doubtful; 10=almost certain)	9.75	9.5
10. Main reason for completing task (a=luck; b=skills I’ve acquired; c=help from others; d= combination of things)	B	B
11. Amount of motivation to complete task (1=slightly motivated; 10=very highly motivated)	7.5	9.5
12. Computers make it easier to perform the task (1=I strongly disagree; 10=I very much agree)	10	10
13. Expected amount of effort to complete task (1=not much; 10=a tremendous amount)	5	5.5

My pre- and post-ratings do not differ much. The greatest difference between any two ratings was 2 points, which was for question #11 (the amount of motivation I had to complete the task). My pre-rating was 7.5; my post-rating was 9.5. Overall, it seems that my perceived self-efficacy matches my actual self-efficacy.

Table 5c

Differences Between Expected and Actual Times

(question #4 on Pre- and Post-Ratings forms)

Task	Expected length of time	Actual time	Differences between time
#1: Registering as a lab user and sending email to the instructor	15 minutes	5 minutes	-10 minutes
#2: Posting first week’s Web discussion messages	1 hour	1 hour, 11 minutes	+11 minutes
#3: Exploring the Generational Curriculum	4.5 hours	3 hours, 17 minutes	-1 hour, 13 minutes
#4: Uploading my Home Page and Report 1	10 hours	10 hours, 2 minutes	+2 minutes

My estimations seem to be quite close to the actual amount of time I took to complete tasks. For Task #3, I actually took 1 hour, 13 minutes less, but I was not able to do what I set out to do in the first place. I wanted to make a list of links to all the previous student home pages because some of my classmates were complaining that they had a difficult time finding home pages. They had to click several times before finding them. However, because of time constraints, I was only able to write down all the addresses of the last four generations. I did view all student home pages and made comments for those that caught my attention. Since I still have time to improve this report, I will make time during the semester to finish what I had intended. In essence, I could have spent more than 4.5 hours exploring the Generational Curriculum.

Facing A Due Date

I started off optimistic about completing each task before their due dates. However, it was not until I had to start Report 1 that I faced Dr. James’ so-called “time pressure.” Before starting the task, I was already very anxious and stressed because the deadline was only a few hours away. Nonetheless, I knew that I could complete it successfully and just needed to keep busy for some time to do it. In order to lessen my stress, I accepted the fact that I would lose a few points for uploading it after the deadline. The acceptance of the fact that I cannot bring back time helped me focus on the current situation. I just need to complete my report in order to feel relieved.

I am optimistic most of the time. I was in a somewhat negative mood when I realized that I had to rush Report 1, but I was still optimistic about completing it successfully. I think I have done a fairly good job at interpreting the instructions thus far. However, because I know that this is not the best work that I could have submitted, I know that there will be time for me to improve it later on.

Due dates are necessary. I could never live without them. Without them, I do not think I could live very efficiently. I need structure in my life and due dates are one of the factors that make my life productive and interesting. Once in a while, facing time pressure is not too bad. It gives me a rush, forcing me to be more productive than usual.

Conclusion

My information behaviors are good in general, excluding the fact that I did start on Report 1 much later than I should have. Other than that, I seem to cope well with anxiety. Because I have high self-efficacy, I always believe that I can complete tasks successfully. I have the motivation to do so because I want to earn a good grade for this class.

The undertaking of this report has made me realize the importance of its sub-steps and the proceeding tasks. The earlier tasks built on each other, leading to Task #4 – the bigger undertaking.

Living in such a technologically-driven society has made me highly dependent on technology. I have just realized this semester that I cannot function without email. Because I am a TA for three Psychology 100 Active Learning Labs and oversee volunteers from the Bin-I Project, email is one of the reliable methods of communicating with the students. When my internet browser is not working or is very slow, I get frustrated easily. I have Road Runner, but it is as if I have been accustomed to it being so quick that I need it to be quick all the time. Having that said, I think my dependence on computers and technology will increase in the future.

Last updated: December 12, 2003

[Back to Top] [Back to my Home Page] [E-mail me]

[Back to my Class Home Page]

The First 4 Tasks

Introduction

The First 4 Tasks

Task #1: Registering as a lab user and sending the professor an email

Steps

Table 1b

Task #2: Posting the first week’s Web discussion messages

Steps

Analysis of errors

Table 2b

Task #3: Exploring the Generational Curriculum

Steps

Analysis of errors

Table 3b

Differences between earlier and more recent generations

Student Home Pages

Overall evaluation of the Generational Curriculum

Being part of Generation 19

The future of the Generational Curriculum

Task #4: Uploading my homepage and Report 1

Steps

Analysis of errors

Table 4b

My Errors While Doing Task #4

Data Collection: Pre- and Post-Ratings For Tasks

Questions

Task

Facing A Due Date

Conclusion