The first week of this class was for me confusing. While I
have had a little experience on computters, nothing came close to what
I was about to experiece. The instructions seemed clear, however.
upon my arrival at the clic lab I soon knew that This task was going
to require a lot of hard work and effort. While I made the best attempts
possible in class to prepare myself with good notes and general comprehension
of the materal, I soon felt myself in a state of panic when things
did'nt work out as I thought they should.
My first attempt was by all means a tragidy. It was atthis point that
I felt that this class was going to be a nightmare. And at this point,I
still feel like this a majority of the tine. These are all typical of people
who are new to information. My first few hours on the computer were just
getting to know how the system worked. I've never worked on this type of
computer and was almost completly lost. I thought this might be the case
after the first class was over and I was so information shocked that I
thought about dropping the class. As that first week went by I did feel a
little better about working on the internet and was more confortable with
the computer. Then the next class rolled around and a new set of problems
faced me, was this going anxiety going to last the duration of this
class?
In the second week of this adventure in cyberspace I was able to
creat my files and send e mail. I was becoming a master of this machine,
or so I thought. I was able to write a portion of my paper using emacs.
I saved it and was able to get it back when I went to the Home Page
of our class and it was there.
That was the hight light of this whole experince so far. So with that
under my belt it was time for bigger and better things.I typed my entire
paper about my experience thus far, and a masterpiece was born. Then came
the easy part; to save this piece of knowledge to share with the world,
then desaster. Upon my comand C-x C-c my paper was deleted nothing was left
except the paragragh I typed the day befor. This has also happened to another
class member who was told that it was a result of program confusion within
the system. A solution to this problem has yet to come, yet CLIC lab staff
are as lost as I am and the Keller staff really arnt sure what the problem
is. The only solution for me was to change from emacs to pico which does
seem to be working rather well.
I'm really getting excited now about this class as I see
everyones home pages, labreports and glossarys are coming together. It
seems that many of us had many of the same problems in the begining.
I rember the first time when several of us were in the lab and none of us
could get in the files Gustie or Kwock. This was also the case in getting
around in emacs magnified because nobody else seemed to know either.
Looking back at the past few weeks it seemed like I spent more time
worring about this class than getting anything done about it. Its
important to foccus on the task at hand and not get overwhelmed
with the whole system. Looking at this as a whole it seems very
complex and confusing. This is also a point the book makes, when faced
with a massive amount of information we procrastinate and try to avoid the
situation. The author also makes the point that information systems
are not created for the users ease. This is also the case with this
system of information. The weeks to come should be interesting for all of
us.
Go to top of document
Week three and four were much more productive than the past weeks.
Since I've changed to pico I have accomplished quit a bit. I was able to
creat this report and use lynx to tie it in with the rest of the class.
It sounds easer than it was.I ran into a few problems when I tried to use
them to get to other files. This was a result of my poor typing. A big
help was seeing how other students did their lynx and anchors. I'm still
not able to use anchors effectivly for some reason. Finding the anwsers
for these questions is my goal for next week.
I'm really getting used to using the computers and getting even futher into the World Wide Web. Once the basic commands are learned it get much easier to get things done a lot faster. One problem I had and I think other students had at the begining of this course was that those who knew and uderstood the system did not take into account what those who did'nt knows' thinking process. Yhe brain is an amazing thing but it to has its limits. The lab assistence would wiz through programs, but not show the user how to use them.
Being positive when things only seem to be going down is hard.
Compound this with a computer thats refusing to do what it was designed
to do and you have an explosive combination. Now add to this the stress
of not having awnswers for all your questions and the result is a crazy
psychology class that you think you should drop befor its to late.
I think that when placed in those situations people often do try to
excape. There have been many occasions in the past weeks that have resulted
in me just leaving the lab out of pure frustration. Then you have the
times when things work out and you want to go on. If it were'nt for those
few times every time I'm on the computer I don't think I would enjoy
this class at all. At this point I'm starting to enjoy it a little,
which is an improvement on the original dreed I felt in the first weeks.
Looking for information is one of those things that can either be
a really good experience or a complete displeasure. I think that it's
like doing your taxs, when it's all over you say to yourself "well it was'nt
that bad." Its not always bad, there are the times when it all works out
and you get the stuff you need fast. I always find myself asking why I
have to do this hidious task? Whats the point of looking up info that
your not going to need for any duration. If it were so critical, the
instructor would either give it to you or it would be in the book you
paid to much for. This point was made by other students so I'm not
alone. The problem as I see it is that we are so time constrained we don't
want to waste any of it, anything over that becomes a burdon. The system
of information assortment is not user friendly. If it were people would
flock to the libaries of the world in a mad rush.
Week five was great. I was able to get on the information super
high way. I was amazed at the amount of stuff I found. Iwas able to get
into yhe Nirvana fan club link which had a variety of stuff on what the
band had done in the mounths prior to Kurt Cobains death. I was not able to
reenter it a second time, the computer would just freeze on me. It seems that
Inter Net is less prone to this than the Webcrawler that I found in Dr.James
syllabus. I was also able to get into
Michigan State Universitys files were I was able to see some work my
friends had done. Now that I can get arond in cyberspace I want to find out
more about getting specific information. On the webcrawler I was able to
do this, but I could'nt get in some places,and when I could it was'nt
what I wanted. This was the case with the subject "Taiwan travel".I was
given 32 choices but the ones I could get into were not related to travel
at all, the other one was a travel agency out of the Hallond.
I was so excited that I was finally getting what I wanted out
of the computer that instead of typing my report I spent almost three
hours going in and out of different links. I did all this using Netscape.
It not only freezes less but I think its faster and eaiser to find what
you want. It's much more user friendly in my opion, you can go anywhere
with just the mouse. Last evening I was looking for the subject "science"
and ended up going into a university research lynk. Lost I went back a few
steps and found somebodys favorite dishes. I was'nt able to get into very
many peoples home pages, the computer would give me the message "host will
not accept". I had a lot more luck with university and college home pages,
a great resource for up to date information on a variety ao stuff.
I read KevinBogan
reports a few weeks ago, but at that point
was not at that level of computing knowlege. He really wrote quite a
report. It should have been added to the sylibus. He was very specific
with every step.Since he was concerned with working out of hos home
his paper delt with his problems with his computer and getting on line.
One interesting point I found in his paper was the continuing advancement
in later papers. He really seemed to become a crazed user. If anyone out
there has problems getting to unix from home you should consult him.He
also mentioned a few programs he had used and the benifits associated
with them, as I'm not formiliar with them you'll to ask him yourself
iif your interested. It also seems that last semesters class got into the
internet quite q bit faster than has our class. One very helpful point
he outlined in his paper were places I could go to find more information
and address reguarding the net.
In his personal evaluations of his preformance he seems very optimistic
about what he was doing. That does'nt seem to be the case with the rest
of his class. From what I have heard thus far many of the students from
last semester had many of the problems we are having now. He stated that
when things did'nt work he ask himself "why",it sounds like he was able
to be objective in his pursuit. He also states that when things worked
out for him he had that "thats it" attitude.It seemed that he thrieved
on his accomplishments,which may explain why he was able to get as far as
he did. As the semester went on it seems that he got more into this class.
With evey step he took on the computer the further he wanted to go.
Well now that eveyone has started to write their lab reportsI've been able to see how
all you have been doing. A few of you have helped me quite a bit with
your back pages,I tried to useallison
labreport to find out what I was doing wrong when my lynks were'nt working
but, the lynk I wanted,Kyle
Fujii'slabreport lynk was'nt on the back page for some reason.So I
then went to the other students labreport file, went to the back page and
there it was.
As for advice for students who have to suffer in future class's I have none.
Just keep working on it until your blue in the face. You will spend a lot
of hours on the computer just to find out that you did'nt get anything done.
Thats the nature of the beast. When this class first begain I thought
that I was'nt going to be able to get the first assignment done, but I did.
Then week two rolled around and I thought the same thing, but I did
finally get it done. The most important thing I think is to work on it
every day. This class is so easy to put off, there are many days, including
today, that I would rather be someplace else.On a more positive note,
just think once you done you one step closer to getting paid for your
frustration.
((Bev: please make a link from your paragraph to this anchor))
As I was
reading Bev's report I noticed that we all had the same fellings when
this class started. Feeling Intimidationwas a daily
activity. I rember thinking "how does he think we can get all this done
in a week" and the "well I can always drop this class." Getting over
that has made this class much better.I'm not over it all the time, in fact
I feel like that right now, Its that I know that as long as I do my best
I don't really care what the grade is "justification?"
As I was reading some of the other students work I was amazed to see that Bev read my report I really like her reports, in part becuse when I get stuck I look at her back page for the anwsers I need. I agree with her that the web is'nt so hard to get around in. I really enjoy it, I'd rather do that than this report any day!!!
((Kyle:Please make a link from your paragraph to this
anchor))
Also while going through reports I saw a lot of comments about
KylesHard
head,and he's right! Asking for help is the last thing most guys want
to do. It's funny when you get put in the position were you can't do
anything but you don't really want to have to ask. You don't have very
many options, lucky for us we have Kevin to ask.
((Grant:Please make a link from your paragraph to this anchor))
One thing that struck me about Grants report was hissuggestionsfor future
students.He's so right when he says "take it with a grain of salt".This
is,for most students,a difficult class. And while its easy for some its
hard for the majority. So just rember that others have been were you are
now and they got through it and so will you.
Well this week was not that great to be on the net everytime I tried
to get something done something went wrong. I made quite a few attempts
to use theWeb Crawler,but each time I tried it, my computer
froze. So then I went to netscape. I hear a lot of people don't like to
use it becuase its slow, for me its
not only faster but more enjoyable to use. After I was able to get on
line finding items on traffic was'nt very hard at all. I surprised at the
number of files I was able to find on traffic, even when I spelled it trafic
I still got 15 returns.
One of my first finds was theLos Angeles
trafficreports. In it you;ll find more than you ever wanted to know
about traffic in L.A..While looking through this file I thought to myself
that any city that has a need to post its traffic flow has to much traffic.
If you are really intreseted in traffic you might also findSan Diegostraffic
interesting.
The next thing I found was a file about asian satellite transmissions.
But when I got into it, it turned out to be a server. Its got lots of
interesting things in it like newsgroups,links and newspaper stuff. I
stoped when it got to the part about money. Under the same URL I also
found something about north american satellite transmission
information.As of yet I have seen anything about it but I have'nt looked
at the whole thing yet. Any ways have a look for your self,
Xmissions.
While I was looking into cyberspace, not seeing what I wanted to
I found this cool little link, and while I have no idea how its related
to traffic its still cool enought to link here. Its called the GNN Whole internet
CatalogIts got lots of neat things on it so you should take a look at
this one to. This was the best thing that I found on that day.Anothe cool
thing you should also look at if you have'nt already is calledYAHOO, I've seen it in a
few of your reports. These are HOT,HOT,links if there ever were.
I am so happy to be almost done with this assignment, I had a little trouble
finding thing, due mostly to this computer. At first this looked like it
might be a little hard to get done. I can't seem to get my links to work
on the first try, this time I was a little more lucky. The more a get
into cyberspace the more I want to look around. The only thing holding me
back are these reports. Aiso I wonder if any one reads these, Not that I
care but if you name is Ryan Higa, Jill Kaneshiro, or Berry Kwock would
you please link this paragraph with one of your own, thanks
((Joleen: please make a link from your paragraph to this
paragraph,thanks)) The first paper I read this week was that of
Joleen Lai's.In It she tells other students to keep their cool.This mat
sound easier than it is but she adds,"try and try again." Good advice for
those who will be subjected to this course in the future. If you would
like to take a look at what else she has to say clickHERE
((rayson:please make a link from your paragraph to this paraghraph, thanks))
It seems that eveyone is having lots of problems with their modems. Kevin
Bogen also had this problem when he first tried to get on.So did
Rayson,he reports that he spent three hours on the phone with somnbody in
the lab just to have to start all over. It looks like he got it to
work,I'm almost glade I don't have a modem, so I did'nt have to deal with
that too. If you would like to see what he has to say clickHERE
((Trudy could you please make a link from your paraghraph to this paraghraph, thanks))Trudy starts her report out by saying this class will be"one of the most interesting I will ever take". She's right! Its not only interesting but also really sucks at times "sorry Dr.James its true"Trudy had the same problems I had with emacs, I'm glade I'm not in this boat alone. Pico is the way to go,trust me you.Why don't you take a little time and have a look a Trudys report, just clickHERE
Yea just as I thought, At first It was hard and now its still hard but a
little easier. It looks like most people had the same problems. When the
class started most of us were lost in cyberspace and now we're getting
our space legs. I'm still not sure anyone except Bev is reading my
work,are you Dr.James?
I read Dr. James work, wow they are long. But it seems that those students and the student in our class act and react the same. It is nice to know that if your stupid at least there are a few of you.I think you can see quite a few simularitys as far as how students felt then and how students feel now.Take a look atthis Go To Top
Week 8
Well what can I say, Its the last minute and I can't get a few of
my links from last week to work. Everything I try does'nt seem to help.
Worst of all, when I tried to see what oher students had done on their
back pages it was'nt there. On some links you can't see where there
from, so while they have them, and they work, I'm stuck and just sitting here
wondering what I should do next. I tried looking at stories to Laugh and cryto, but it did'nt help.
After that I went to theInformation
shockpart of
Dr.James comments file. Intersting but it did'nt make me feel any better.
Information shock is nothing new at this point, but at least its a good link
to add to this weeks report.
((Kendall Matsuyoshi, would you please make a link from your paragraph to
this paragraph,thanks)) As part of this weeks homework we made the leap
into psy459 to see what they've been upto. I must say it was nice to read
reports that were'nt dealing with internet problems. I liked what Kendall
had to say about driving in packs "this was a issue that another student
had brought up" it was something that I did'nt really think about but
that I do. Since I have'nt driven in almost two years, I had forgotten
what the mean streets were all about. I think that being part of the pack
is more than just conformity, its an issue of comfort. It seems to me
that a popular idea of comfort is what the masses deam as normal and
approved. That is, if everyone is doing it, it must be the right thing to do.
Maybe a better term would be group think. If you stray from the norm your
bound to outcaste in some manner, maybe in this case is all you'll get is
the finger. If you would like to know more about driving in a
packtake a look at Kendalls report.
Internet traffic
The Next Generation
For this weeks homework we made a few new homepages. Befor I could do
this I had a look aroun the web to see what everyone else was doing.So I
got on usingnetscape. The using the
Yahoo linkI found quite a few
homepages on Yahoo, its a great link to have. Last I went to WebCrawler. searched under "homepage" and here too I got lots of good stuff. Following is a small sample of my search have a look and get a feel of whats out there.
Chicago
Community
Well at all the homepages I looked at It seems that indexical are
the favorites of netheads all over the web. Its a simple way to organize
you hyper text so your quest can get around. I used this in my homepages
too, as it seems to work rather well. also had a look at some of the
other studentshomepages to see what they
had done. They also used the same format. Maybe we like indexical systems
because we are so used to using it. Well at any rate have a look and see
for yourself.
My Homepages
Problems with my homepages
One thing that I found interesting are the people who have homepages.
Under the Chicago link above you can find the homepage of a high school kid.
I also found one of a yet undiscoverd musician. There are quite a few
people out there who are using homepages. Dr. James thinks that soon we
are going to see faimly trees on the web, only time will tell. Get out on
the web and have a look.The future is now.
Go To Top
Next off I had a look at Jae lsalabreport. This report
was also interesting, but the most noticed part in it to me in the parts
that I read was a comment about communication on the internet. The effect
of this medium as far communication is concerned is yet to be seen. A
question posed in this report is will we in the future study the exchange
of information on the internet, I think the answer is yes. Things are
bound to get a lot more complex as more people get online and more junk
fills cyberspace. I think that in the next few years getting online will
be as simple and easy as getting cable TV, its going to be interesting to
see what happens to the web when its commercial value is exploited. When
QVC gets online is when you know the web has arrived. To see these
comments and a lot more"all worth having a look at" take atComm Tech.
Pack Dynamics
Another interesting point I found first in Kendall"s report and then in
Rayson Noguchis report was a behavior termed "Pack Dynamics". This is
when drivers tend to avoid driving side by side. This is another fine
point that I had never stoped to think about while driving. I guess this
behavior could be justified as a saftey measure, but I think its another
example of learned behavior. Most people would say that they learned how
to drive in high school or that their parrents tought them, however I
think that a majority of what we know about the mean streets we learn
from other drivers. The social model is in my opion is the most important
model we depend on for a reference of daily accepted behavior. You should
have a look at Raysons
commentsfor futher insights into this behavior.
Final Comments
Looking at the other class's was a nice change. Not that I don't enjoy
our classes labreports,but it gets a little old after a while. Its like this,
we all went throught the same problems and still have the same problems.
At first it was nice to hear that everyone was stuck, and to a great
degree it still is. Well anyways it was a nice change to see what others
were up to. I had no idea that people spent so much time thinking about
driving behavior. I guess thats the great thing about humans and the mind
evolution provided them, they love to ask why.
Week 9
A Look Back
For this weeks homework we went back in time to see what those
befor us had done. For a preveiw have a look at
What Interaction?
As I was reading through the file it seems that the
student-teacher interaction was a little more open than it would be if it
were face to face. Students were very open about what they thought about
teaching and test materials. This was evident in the question of multiple
choice questions. It seem that most students really don't like them. I agree
I can't stand them, in my veiw they seem like an easy way out for the
instructor. It seems like most instructors only really have to work the
first semestor, that is they read the book then write a multiple choice
test. With all the work done, they have lots of time to devote to waiting
in their offices for students who never come. If you can't tell already I
hate multiple choice questions and in general have little respect for
instructors who use them.
A Wasted Class
Something else that got my attention was the comment by an instructor
about students who don't participate in class. It does seem that a lot of
students are naerly dead in class. I too have this problem, most times
its in class's that I really don't care for. Since its the instructor who
sets the tone in the class, maybe they should take an active role in
makeing their class a place peolpe want to be. Its easy for a instructor to
complain that students don't interact as they should, but the real test
is to get students involved.
Students Reactions
It semmed that students were more interactive with other students
comments. They all seemed to jump in. Most comments seemed to me to be of
a negative nature. That was'nt always the case but the tone seemed to be
a feature in a majority of the interaction between students and teachers.
This may be due to the lack of daily open communication. It may also be
due to a misunderstanding of whats being said. While the computer helps
us communicate, it lacks the major component of nonverbal communication.
So it may not be an issue of whats being said but how its interpretted.
I guess they will need to work on this in the following generations.
I think a good way to keep this going is to make it available for all
students in all courses. This would give many students a chance to tell
instructors what they think about that class. An education is a product,
so their need to be continual interaction between producer and consumer.
Every one talks about incraesing the quallity of education this may be a
good place to start. This could also be used by students to tell
administors what they think about the way the college is being run.
Predictions
Well I think we would see quit a change in the power of the
student body. Students at UH seem to lack any real voice in what happens
here. Maybe this would be a good place to start. The reason this place
exist isn't to give out plush job for a few lucky educators. I think if
you look at the great colleges in America you see quit a bit more
interaction between those who teach and those who learn. This could also
be extended to high schools. I would guess that is were this may offer
the most advance in education.
Instructors Articles
As part of this weeks work we also were ask to read the Instrutors Articles.It seem
that after five years of doing this class, Dr.James has a mass of
information on this subject. A point that I found interesting was the
issue of student
anonymity. People do seem to be more open when given
the option. I would have like to see students interact at the end of the
course after spending the whole term interacting using assumed names.That
in it self would be an interesting experiment.I liked what Dr.James had
to say about
generational peers. The future holds a lot for the internet. As it
grows its going to play a greater role in our modern system of social
interaction. Move over MTV.
Credits
Arisona State
University
Cats
Well in building my homepages I used a lot of what I saw in others. I
tried to build homepages that would help my visitors get around. I listed
all my links in one, my anchors in the other, and an explanation of what
they are about in the last. As of now my graphical homepage is in trouble.
I can't get the images to come out like they should. If you want to have
a look at my first homepage click HERE.My next
homepage can be seen if you clickHERE.The last
homepage I built can be seen if you clickHERE.Give them a try.
At first when I saw this weeks homework was less than thrilled. I had
visions of the begining of this term and how much trouble it had been to
make my first homepage. These were easier, but still a few things don't
work and I don't quite know why. The hardest part for me is getting the
graphics to work, I hope this will be in my past soon.
For this week we read Kuhlthaus' book. At first I wondered why we
even had this book as it has nothing to do with computers.I had never heard the term information shoch. The premis
of this book is that in seaching information causes anxiety. If those in
the library information services can help reduce this shock it should
lead to people making better searches. Well that sounds great but its no
small task. The human race has accumulated a mass of information so great
that we people to organize it for us. To do this they have to use some
system, but this is were the problem lies. How can you make a system that
is freindly to those who don't know it?
There are two ways to accomplish this task, communication form the seacher, and communication from the provider. To make it short and sweet, you need to know how to ask what you want. Then you have to be able to listen to what been said. Really you just have to have a plane and be able to follow it. The library is a big place and if you don't ask or don't bother going you're not going to get what you have to get done done. So just do it.
In Kuhlthaus book she talks about the problems that users have when trying to find things in the library. Many users have the same problems, Anxiety, lack of foccus on topics, and just getting started. If you know this befor you start, you can take steps to counter the affects. selecting a good topic and having a good search stategie will help you gain control of the situation and conduct a good search with good results. In return the final product will reflect this effort.
Being able to find information is something your going to have to do for the rest of your life. As we aquire more of it, its going to be harder to find. Being able to deal withinformation shockis a must.Often we react to situations in the same way but we ar'nt awear of our own actions. That is the purpose of Kuhlthaus book. If we know that its going to happen we can better find ways to deal with the problem. This also has meaning outside of academic world. Jobs of the future will also depend on information more so its important to have the skills to deal with it.
So how does this relate to this course? Learning this system and all that goes with it has been a shoch. As you can see if you have a look at week 1.At that time I had all kinds of problems with the most basic task. You can also see this in myGive it a whirlanchor. One last example of this can be seen in my Better Timesanchor. In all of these anchors you see me frustration and anxiety about this class and the problems I was having with the computer.
As I spent more time on the computer and things started to work
for me I entered a new phase. This can be seen in some of my latter
reportsweek 5is a good example. While I
was still having problems I was able to deal eith them and get the work done.
Another example can be seen in my week7
report. As you can see as the weeks progressed I became better at they task.
Kuthlthau describes this in her book as moving for uncertainty to certainty.
This stage happens when we become more certain in the subject, our confidence
increases and we get our task completed.
The last stage is resolution. I'm not quite sure I've made this
stage yet. When things work I'm here and when they fail I think I revert.
I think you can see this in my latter reports. Have a look
at
Another part of this weeks homework was to look at what others
had to say about the book. First I went to Grantslabreport.
As you can see he's got a lot to say. Then I went to Jillslabreport.
In Jills labreport she said that she thinks that it helped her in this
class. For me at least it was'nt so great. The problems had more to do
eith a lack of time and not knowing the computer language. While this
book did give me something to read on the bus, I wasn't very impressed.
I guess this is were we are suposed to give a rave reveiw of the book,sorry.
It did have some interesting points, but my impression was more like a
bored over paid instuctor needs to write a book to keep her plush job.
Don't worry Carol, I think that about most text books.
For this week we had a look at the Swedenberghomepage. Once again Dr. James
has found yet another use for the internet. Here we see psychology meet
theology. The resulting reaction can be seen in the haeted debate which
resulted. As you can see the two are subject to intrepritation. I spent
quit a while reading the files, while both have good points neither are 100%
correct. This too depends on your value system and you beliefs in the
subject. In my eyes I see both confined too one system of thought.They
are blinded by their own logic.
Social Context
Visit
Week13
Week14
File names
When I make up Ttles I try to keep in mind how I'm going to remember them.
Some things seem to work better than others. The same is true with all
the other things I need to remember. As strange as it may seem I can't
remember my telephone number that I've had the last six weeks, but I can
remember my locker combination from sixth grade. Some combinatons of
words and numbers are easer to remember than others. I also try to
summerize main topics in my titles. If I know what It was about, I can think
about the title that I made for that subject. Still the more you have to
deal with the more dillicult it gets to keep track of them all.
I guess that it would'nt be so bad if you only had to rember a few
titles,a few numbers or a few dates. As the world gets more complex we
have more we have to remember.This leads me to wonder if we will evolve
in a way that will allow us to expand our power of remembering. If not we
are going to have to be able to keep all our things in order.Yea well
thats enough about all that. Lets just face it your going to have to
remember href address's and anchors and were you put your files and all
that stuff. Thats all part of this information shock thing that we find
so much time and cyberspace to waste on the subject. This is all part of
being "modern" so lets just be "modern" and shut up about it.Its funny
that we think of the term "modern" as easier or more convient or
something along that line.
Suggestions
Articles
I took this class becuse I needed a filler. I had no idea what it was about.
So I go to the first day,and was more confused. I just told mtself I can
always drop it. At times I wish I did. But here I am and I got it all done.
Its not that bad if you have the time to put into it, or can make time.
Befor this class I had no idea what the internet really was. This due in
part to the fact that I spent the past year out of the country, but still
I had no idea what the web was. Now I can go all over it, and creat
documents I hope people don't read. Its important to keep on top of it or
you fall behind fast.
Mission Accomplished
Well these are the last words I'm going to type. I'm happy what I've done.
I think that even while this class was often stressful it was worth the
effort. Now is all I have to do is hope its not lost in cyberspace befor
the 10th. Oh yea, I do think Dr. James should stay on the web. As for my
files do with them what you like. At any rate the web will grow and these
files will grow old. Don't hold on to them to long.
Since this exchange wasn't face to face it may have produced more
thoughtful responses. I think both put in a great amount of effort in
trying to impart their beleifs on each other. But as I said above Both
are sold on what they beleive. While I don't think they changed their
opions about the issue, I do think they refined their argument. So did it
get anywhere, Yes and no. Only they know for sure.As far as rational,
well thats a subjective term judge for yourself.
It was an interesting visit. This issue is more than just fact,
its value. So did I learn? The answer to that question is no. As they
both have a value system they operate on, so to do I. My visit was
nothing more than that. One problem of cyberspace is the lack of emotion.
I think the language was added to add that element. It failed. While they
tried to find a middle ground, I think you can see they ended up were
they started. I think that this demenstrates the nature of this type of
exchange.
Well I thought that ths week was going to be easy. Well It was not. I
went through all my work to test my links and while most worked, a few
did not. Also a few people lost some of their work so those links are
also in trouble. Since I can't do anything about those I think I'm going
to deleat them out of my reports. My other homepages also have a few
problems, so theres quite a bit to be done for this week.
Cyberspace can be a great place if you know were you are. Titles are
important in that in gives you a place to reference. One big problem I
see with this system now is that getting to peoples homepages and
e-mailing them requires that you can remember the long address. I have
yet to be able to remembetr the long sequence of numbers and letters you
need. This system was created by a computer programer, not a user.
When I make up file names I try to use something that I can remember fast.
It should be interesting and short. Dr. James seems to feel that the
longer the better. That may be the case if you have a great number of
files, but in my case I feel that short to the point names are the best.
an example could be computer user, instead of the scence and history of
computer users in the thirty years since the computer has been in wide
use.Titles should be as short as you can get away with.
Suggestions, well I have few to offer. I think that the most important
thing is to keep all your stuff organized. Thats not so easy when you've
got e-mail address's and hrefs and anchors and all the other things you
need to know to do this class. Just try to keep things in some sort of order.
Make things as simple as you can. Thats the bottom line, keep it short
and sweet.
Week15
Well I can't believe that I made it. This is the greatest moment of this
class, well it will be once I get everything done. Looking back on the
past few months has made me see how much this class has cost me in terms
of time. I saved lots of money not going out to spend rewarding hours in
the click lab. Thats a joke most of that time was wasted. There were
those days that I spent in here and got nothing at all done. I quess
thats part of this class. For those of you reading this who are also
taking this class be ready to spend quite a few hours in the lab. Of all
the classes I've got its this one I spend a majority of my time on.
Looking around at others work it seems that I am about at the
same point as most. The one exception is Grant, that guy really got into
this class. Some people spent a lot more time on thing like graphic, but
I think That my number of links and anchors are at least the same if not
more. Was it worth it? Yes and no. I'm glad I got It all done and I hope
I get a good grade. I learned a lot about the computers and the internet.
On the other hand it would be nice to have more time to devote to class.
I think that I would have liked it a lot more if I had the time. Now that
I know a little about the web I'd like to stay connected. Lots of new
things are happening so fast if I don't stay on top of it I'll have to go
through all this again.
Suggestions
To all you who read this at some other point, good luck.By that
time a lot of the bugs of this generation will have been worked out.
When all else fails don't quit. If you don't stick with it you will fall
behind. Go to the lab as much as you can, get on the web look around and
try to have a good time. The web is big now but its growing fast so there
lots to see and do, do it. I'll just leave it at that.