Report 2: Developmental Patterns for Learning the Internet
Phase 1: Frustration
In reading many of the home pages of students from other generations,
they all seem to have suffered from "Technophobia."
Joleen
Lai also experienced technophobia when she was learning how to use
uhunix. She said,"I was so afraid at first to hit any keys, fearing that I would
delete something or can't get out of it."
Soon after technophobia fades away, a language barrier develops
Noreen
Dorion stated after receiving the lab report handout,"After I read
through the sheet thought for a moment if I had actually signed up for
another foreign language class."
Learning how to use the internet is not an easy task as Denise Tanaka found out. She
stated that, "This internet stuff can sure be frustrating. I have yet to
figure out how Netscape works."
Christina Kealoha had
negative feelings when she said, " I often felt like I was not
accomplishing the tasks myself because I constantly had to ask people how
to do them. Although I did figure
certain things out by myself, I did not feel a great sense of
satisfaction after completing a task because I did not feel that I was
the one accomplishing the task -- I felt that the other person helping me
was."
Phase 2: Grasping the Concepts
One barrier many students were facing was understanding the assisgnments
handed out. Shane
Akagi stated,"I was not really sure which reports that we were supposed
to comment on, but after reading some of the other people's reports, I
came to realize that it was the reports that were handed out."
Sharla Supnet was able
to use the different search engines. She said, "The Metacrawler search
engine was too busy at the time, but it gave me the option of using other
search engines. So I clicked on Webcrawler and typed in cellular phones
and traffic."
Rey Cortez was getting the
hang of the assignments when he stated, "this assignment was duck soup
compared to the rest of the assignments. I felt a sense of relief to have a
simple task like this one."
Phase 3: Addicted to the Internet!
After I got the hang of how the Internet works, I experienced what a lot of
other students have experienced. I was totally addicted to the Net! I
found myself spending two hours straight on my computer, just surfing the
Net! I would sometimes stay home on the weekends and just stay on the
computer because it was much cheaper than going out to a movie or go out
drinking. When I mentioned this to my brother he said I have a real
problem. Here are a few students who expressed their addictions to the Net!
Darin Kawamoto
like many other students realized how great the internet is.
Once you go through phases 1 and 2, you begin to enjoy the
internet so much that you can't stop using it. He said, "I spend
a lot more time on the computer. I believe I spent more time on
the computer this semester than I did before the semester."
My View on Learning the Net
In the first few weeks of class, I was very lost. I came into the class
with very little knowledge of the Internet. I knew how to do searches
through the different search engines. Surfing the internet is so much
fun! There is endless things to click on to. You can sit there for
hours and not even know how much time has passed by. But surfing the net is
much different than trying to create a web page. But once I learned how
to do links and all that other stuff, the reports are so much easier to
do.
My Advice
Get a Head Start
My advice for anyone taking Cyber-Psychology is to get a head start on
your reports. You may think 16 weeks is a lot of time to finish your
reports. However, time flys so fast and before you know it the semester
is over. Start on your reports as soon as you can.
Get Help
Secondly, don't be afraid to ask for help. Learning how
to create your web page is not an easy task. You will need help from
fellow classmates. You will find that other students have the same
problems and questions as you do. You are not alone! Also, don't be
afraid to ask questions during class.
You will be surprised at how helpful Dr. James and the class can be. I
know I was very hesitant to ask for help. But as I made some friends in
class and we helped each other,it help alleviate some of the stress of
building a web page.
Don't Give Up
I know that sometimes you may get really frustrated
while doing your reports because perhaps your links aren't working or you
are having some other problem and you feel like punching your computer.
(Which I did one time, however, was not effective at all) But don't give
up, just step away from your computer and take a break. My suggestion is
to just go somewhere quiet and close your eyes and meditate. Meditate?
Yes, all you need to do is close your eyes and concentrate on your
breathing for 5 to 10 minutes. You will feel more relaxed and refreshed and
you will be able to start on your reports with a fresh outlook.
Maintanence
Maintanence is very important. You need to discipline yourself into
working on your reports daily. By doing this, you will not fall behind
and have to stress out at the end of the semester when you have to worry
about your finals for your other classes.
Click on to my other reports:
Report 1
Report 3
Report 4
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