Ragna Borries
PSY 409
Dr. Leon James
9/5/95
Week 2 Report: Using Netscape for the Second Time
A. Self-assessment ratings:
How difficult was this week's task (lumping all the subtasks
together) ?
Circle one.
Very easy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Very hard
This week's rating=7
How much negative emotion did it cost you, all in all?
Very little 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Very much
This week's rating=6
How valuable for later use is this knowledge or skill going to be for
you?
Not useful 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Very useful
This week's rating=8
How hard did you try to get through this week's task?
Gave up easily 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Refused to give
up
This week's rating=7
This week's assignment seemed even more confusing than the
one from the first
week. Although I was able to master the simple tasks, like Add/View/Bookmarks
and Go To I had a major problem with saving an image. A fact that added to my
confusion was that the clic lab was not open on Labor Day, and I would have
liked to spend more time on the assignment. Moreover, the "simple" task of
connecting with my CSS account and establishing my homepage gave me some
headache because I forgot that I was supposed to use small letters
(homepage.html). Thanks to Mr. Bogan, though, I eventually discovered the
mistake and was able to fix it.
The first option I approached was Go. It took me to Go To or
Create. I did not really know what to do after this, so I continued to
go on to Bookmarks. This option did not make sense to me at first. Since
I am not a native speaker of English I simply imagined that this option would
allow me to "mark books" or texts in a certain way. However, I discovered that
Bookmarks offers me the opportunity to locate a list of different places I can
connect with. I even found an option to connect with Patricia Ford's Model
Calendar '94.
The next option I tried out was View. It gave me Refresh and
Source. The Refresh option did not do anything when I clicked on it.
Source came up with a. Local Web Servers, B. Other places to surf, and c. Music
Stuff. Since I am a music freak I clicked on Music Stuff. After the Music Stuff
I decided to send myself some basic Netscape info via e-mail. I opened the
Netscape Homepage and clicked on Exploring the Net. Since I found
interesting information on the internet I decided to send this section to my
e-mail address ragna...hawaii.edu. I opened the File and found Mail
Document. That sounded quite right, so I clicked on it. I clicked on Attach
document and then Send. When I was done I went to my e-mail index and there was
the message listed as new mail!!! How exiting...
The Search Engines Lycos and Infoseek Search
amazed me. First,
Lycos showed me the Catalog of the Internet and when I asked for information on
advertising it gave me a whole list of 17 options for specific information on
different points of advertising. I clicked on advertisinglaw. However, it took
so long to connect and in my impatience I began clicking all over the place. I
did not pay attention to the display on the bottom of the page which showed me
how many bytes of the full document had been received yet. In my despair I
actually managed to freeze the screen. When it finally unfroze again it went
wild...I ended up at the Netscape Homepage again. From now on I will always
watch that display at the bottom of the page, and wait until the entire
document requested has been send. The second Search Engine, Infoseek Search,
seemed more easy to use. I chose to open the Entertainment file, and then went
into MTV.com. Wow!! What a homepage..I had only seen such colorful graphics in
movies (yes, I might be a little behind when it comes to technological
advancement..). The Animation file gave me information about the latest news in
the music business.
My last option to try was View Source Files. Well, I clicked on View
and Source and got a long list of programs or files. I didn't understand what I
was being presented with.
This assignment felt very complicated at first. Since I was
very curious to
save an image and did not succeed, I was very much frustrated. However, I
discovered great options to use Netscape through the Search Engines. Therefore,
my frustration was minimalized. My overall fear of using the system has
diminished, and as I come to understand the basic operational functions I feel
like I am more in control of what's going on. What surprised me the most was
that I am now able to read German newspapers through Netscape. This discovery
went way over my expectations. I realize that people can get very exited about
the Netscape communication system.
My own experience within the last two weeks has shown me that I am beginning
to feel the desire to understand and learn more about the options I will have,
once I master the system. During this week's assignment I
also developed a
notion about how it feels to become addicted to Netscape. I see a danger in
this addiction because it will give people even less time to communicate in
person. As I was surfing the net I became aware that all I could do if I felt
sick of people is simply indulge in all the different sections of the net.
There is always updated information waiting for me. Images and graphics provide
the neccessary creative balance I need in order to remain stimulated
visually.
Although I have mentioned the danger of diminishing interpersonal
communication I am very happy to observe my personal progress using the system.
I feel much more connected to international happenings and also realize how
technology is very helpful for mankind on certain levels.
Ragna Borries
Psy 409
Week 2
Dr. Leon James
9/6/95
Self-assessment rating
How difficult was this week's task?
very easy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 very hard
This week's rating: 4
How much negative emotion did it cost you all in all?
very little 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 very much
This week's rating: 6
How valuable for later use is this knowledge or skill going to be for you?
not useful 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 very useful
This week's rating: 10
How likely is it that you'll be getting good at this week's task?
not likely 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 quite likely
This week's rating: 10
How satisfied are you with the computer and the internet system?
not satisfied 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 very satisfied
This week's rating: 9
How hard did you try to get through this week's task?
gave up easily 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 refused to give up
This week's rating: 10