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Dr. Leon James
10/3/95
Week 6 Report: Catching up and Beautifying my Home Page
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=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=2
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 Internet systems?
Not satisfied 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Very satisfied
This week's rating=10
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
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU !!! This week's assignment, or should I rather simply call it "letting us catch up", saved my spirit for this class. As you might remember, last week I labeled myself "stupid". This week, however, my frustration was erased by just having fun, and being able to take the time to actually "make beauty".
I started out my venture by simplyfying my homepage. To seperate the weekly team reports and the written reports I made seperate links using pico. Today everything seemed much easier, and I felt very encouraged to try fun stuff with my homepage. I added a smiley face (../../leonpsy/icons3/smiley.gif) to my welcoming message. When I viewed it on Netscape I was amused. It really sends the visitor a very friendly welcome greeting. I liked that...In order to create new files for the actual weekly reports I went into pico and created new files. By using ctrl R I was able to insert my old homepage into the new files. This saved me from having to create new links to each report from scratch. I guess I could have also used the copy and paste mode, but I still don't feel 100% comfortable with this options. Why? I don't know. It seems to be one of my fossilized errors.
After creating the new files for the team reports and weekly reports I played around with the font sizes for the headings. I am not able to view the results at this point because Netscape always takes a while before it actually has fully prosessed the changes, and lets you view them. I am curious to see how the final version will eventually look.
Furthermore, I was able to learn how to center a heading and ad the <li> and <dt>. I noticed that these minor changes really help the appearance of my homepage. I perceive it as being much more organized. In fact, it looks like a real document.
Analyzing my self-assessment rating I feel that this week's task did not seem difficult to me at all. I tried hard to accomplish at least those changes that would make my homepage appear somewhat professional. I could have continued this task for hours..here I go again..this is an addictive activity!!! Moreover, compared to especially last week's report I had hardly any negative emotions. It might not seem very much what I did to change my homepage, but for me the simple changes I have conducted are of a very great value. I am sure that I will be able to use the knowledge that I gained through this task later on in my career (or as a Web addict <img src="../../leonpsy/icons3/smiley.gif">). Therefore, I can honestly report that I am satisfied with this week's task, and I actually feel that I might be able to get good at it, too. If I only had more time....
My fossilized errors this week have been minor. I notice that I should/could spend more hours on the computer. However, at the present moment I simply do not have the time. The feeling of being lacunae did not appear in my spectrum of this week's emotions. Quelle chance!!! Do I notice progressions in my work on the web? Definitely! I am in control again. This week's task has allowed me to take over the commands again. I am glad to say that since I am much more aware of what I am doing with this machine, I can apprechiate it again. Saving images had been a big questionmark for me, since I had not had the time try it out. However, after realizing that the smiley is easy to place wherever I want it, my mood is uplifted. After all, this course is manageable, and I will not be labeled "dumb" for not "getting it" right away.
Each week I experience the web from a different angle. This week's assignment has shown me how very useful this system is for our society. I have contacted friends and family in Europe, and we are now able to catch up on each others lives. Moreover, I am able to really let friends who do not share my daily life know what subjects I am working on---through my homepage. Isn't this great? The web manages to connect people from many different places in the world. Some people might have lost touch, however, now they are able to communicate on a daily basis if they wish to.
Lori mentioned in class last week how you can "cut the crap" by using the computer to communicate. The unnecessary information is left behind, and people are able to get to the point right away. I agree. We are also able to control our emotions. Too often human beings are caught up in their emotions when interacting with each other. What a waste of energy...I have the feeling that through the web we might be able to develop a clearer mode of communication. Isn't it great that the computer, an instrument created by humans, has become almost like a filtering device for our emotions. Thus we have helped ourselves to be more precise (and maybe thoughtful) in our communication with others. I am glad to see that human beings seem to actually be improving themselves after all.