Christina Kealoha
10/10/95
Psy 409
Dr. James
Assignment: Browse and read the reports of Generation psy 409 students. Describe your reactions to both appearance (form, style) and content (what was Browse and read the reports of Generation psy 409 students.
How much negative emotions 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 =1
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 =7
How likely is it that you'll be getting good at this week's tasks?
Not likely 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Very 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 tasks?
Gave up easily 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Refused to give up
This week's rating =10
I found this week's task to be really easy because there were no new skills that we had to acquire, and fun because the task allowed me more insight into what the last generation of students went through. Because the assignment was so easy, I really felt no lacunae this week. My only complaint is that looking through each of the files was very time-consuming, but other than that, I enjoyed what I was doing and I felt a great sense of camaraderie as I went through each of the students' homepages. I felt no real negative emotions doing this week's task which was a very nice change from last week. While we did not acquire any new skills, there were a lot of helpful tips from last generation to future generations, so there was a lot of valuable knowledge to be learned this week. In particular, Kevin Bogan; had tons and tons of helpful hints and "how-to's" (of course, he is the class TA). I don't really think the question about how likely it is that I'll be getting good at this week's task applies because the task, looking at other people's files, was not something to get good at.
As far as my satisfaction with the computer and internet systems is concerned, I am very satisfied. As I mentioned last week, the information superhighway is so easy to traverse once you know what you're doing. I feel like we, as a class, really struggled to get where we are today, but we are in a place now where we can finally enjoy what we are doing without feeling so frustrated all the time. I noticed that last generation talked a lot about feeling frustrated. While I have felt immensely frustrated in the past, I haven't felt any of that frustration this week, but rather, have, for the first time this semester, really had fun surfing the internet and doing things and looking for things that are really interesting to me. Up until now, I have felt like I've been doing things out of obligation. This week, I have been doing things because I want to do them, not because I have to do them. Even doing the topical index, which was very tedious and took forever, gave me a great sense of satisfaction because I liked the results that I got.
Although this week's tasks were not difficult, I felt that I tried really hard to get through this week's tasks because these were tasks that were very time consuming, and despite my lack of time, I wanted to finish the task, so (I hate to say this, but) I pushed everything else aside to complete this week's tasks. I feel like I'm working so hard for this one class that all my other classes are suffering. I've cut other classes or left class early so that I could come to the computer lab and work on my assignments for this class. At first it was out of necessity, but now it's because I really want to do so much that doing my internet work has become a top priority. I think it's good to put a lot of effort into a class, but when one starts sacrificing other classes, that's no good. I think my boyfriend is getting sick of hearing how I have to go to the computer lab, yet again, instead of spending time with him. There's got so be some kind of balance and one of my goals for next week is to find that balance because I really don't want to allow one class to take up all of my time. I think my boyfriend is getting sick of hearing how I have to go to the computer lab, yet again, instead of spending time with him.
Now that I've discussed my self-assessment ratings, I can talk about my reactions to the homepages that I went through. Basically, I just started at the top of the list and worked my way down. I didn't do all of the this week because we also have next week to look at more student pages, but here's what I thought of the students I did explore:
Appearance -- I liked his class picture on the homepage and his use of diagrams, although in general, I didn't find the page to be all that aesthetically pleasing (sorry Kevin :) ). I guess I just didn't like the way he listed all the links. It was hard for me to read and follow. If they were grouped in some kind of order it would be more readable. I liked that he explained what each link led to, but I felt like there were just too many words on the page. I did like that he put a double-space between each link, with explanation; this made it easier to follow. I realize that with the amount of information that Kevin is trying to relay to us, there's probably no other way to do it, so Kevin, please pardon my criticism.
Content -- Kevin's files are a gold mine to other students or anyone who is new to the internet. He tells exactly how to get things done and I hope that for future generations, they look here for a reference if they are stuck. There was so much here, and in his reports, he talks about all the information that he has accumulated. I was just baffled by Kevin's extensive lab reports, but my only complaint was that I would have liked a little more affect. In reading Lab 6 Report, I while a lot of what he did was relayed, I didn't get a sense of his feelings as he acquired the knowledge. Perhaps Kevin had no frustration in what he was doing, or perhaps the Generation One Assignments were different from ours and they didn't have to talk about their emotions, because I didn't get much of a sense of his emotions and I wanted to read about his affect as he acquired the information.
Appearance -- I liked her big "Welcome" heading. She had a similar layout to Kevin Bogan, listing links and explaining what's in them. I thought it would be better if she categorized and made less links on her homepage so it's easier to read and follow. As it turns out, she does this in her definitive homepage, so I found that one much more visually pleasing.
Content -- In her week 7 report she says, "Being able to talk about our frustrations and then solve them, interactively, by getting help not only from the instructor, but also the other students, decreases ... negative feelings." I don't really feel like we do this and I'm a little disappointed at that. So far, I don't get a sense that we are a true community. I concentrate so much on getting my own pages published that I don't really have time to read everybody else's reports and so, I don't feel very close to the other students. I wish I did, but I don't. Reading this statement made me feel as if the class that the Generation One students took is a completely different class from the one I'm taking now. I realize that this is an evolving class, but their class seems so different from ours, I barely recognize it.
Appearance -- I didn't like that there was no heading at the top of her page, but I did like the opus icon that was there. Her homepage was short, but sweet, and I liked the way she had a line dividing her stuff from other students' stuff and other links. All in all, I felt this homepage needed more development. Her indexical homepage had a cute mailbox, Calvin, and owl line separating general stuff from her lab report contents. I like what she did with her lab reports, making links to each section. Again, a very simple page, but it gets the job done, I suppose. On her artistical homepage, I liked her use of icons to highlight links to her lab reports, glossary, and other homepages.
Content -- I just wanted to comment on a statement she made in her week 7 homework: "I think after the semester is over I am definitely gonna get a modem! Or even sooner!" I feel the same way. At the beginning of the semester I didn't want to spend money on a modem because I figured that I'd only use it for one semester. However, as the semester progresses, and I get more and more involved in the internet, I think I'd like to continue what I am doing and having my own modem would allow me access to the internet at my convenience. My how my attitude has changed since the beginning of the semester!
Appearance -- I really liked her page. It was so easily readable. She put icons before each link and separated each section into clear divisions. Her page was visually easy to follow and very simple. I also liked the way she separated the "cool stuff" from the "fun stuff" with a color bar. On her alternate homepage, she did the same thing, plus a short explanation of each link. I liked her "ladybug zone" theme for this page although I still don't quite understand why she calls it the ladybug zone.
Content -- I liked what she had to say in her Week 7 Report about how people tend to modify their true thoughts and feelings when presenting them to others to protect themselves. I agree with this because we all have masks. We all put up fronts. We all take on different persona when we're with different people. I mean, some people see the academic me who is so driven and, (dare I say) nerdy, but then other people who only see me in a social setting see a more laid back me, who is not so tightly wound. We're taught certain ways to behave in certain settings; this is the mandate of society. (Whoa, how did I get off on this tangent?) So anyway, our true thoughts and feelings might not be appropriate to share with certain people at certain times so we modify them. Is this bad? I don't know. I think that's just how it is. I wish this were a world of truth where we can all see each other for the beauty that is within and wouldn't have to put on masks, but that's just not how it is and so, we have to adapt to our circumstances, that's all.
Appearance -- This was another homepage that I really liked. I like the way her homepage starts out with her heading, followed by a picture of a flower. She lists each lab report and what's in it in one section, and separates the heading from the contents with a color bar, then separates the fun stuff from the lab stuff at the bottom. Overall, this is a very nicely done page. In her graphical homepage, I like the picture of her class, just as Kevin had the picture on his homepage.
Contents -- I have two comments about her week 7 report. First, under "Feelings" she says, "I hope future generations reading this report will find it comforting to know that it is alright to feel baffled and apprehensive, since we've been through it too." When I first read this, I felt a warm fuzzy. It's so nice to know that I am not alone. Reading this, I feel so close to her, and I feel like time and space have been traversed; she is here in the now for me because of the computer and I love that the computer allows us to bridge that gap. Secondly, she says, "Doesn't it feel so great to have access to all kinds of information at the tips of your fingers?" Yes it does! I found all kinds of stuff this week that really excited me like Lea Salonga's homepage, the Miss Saigon page, and The Ultimate Disney Link page. How sweet it is!
Appearance -- I thought the layout of her page was very plain, but I liked the way that she had it organized into sections of class-related links, hot links, links to weekly comments, and her alternative homepages. The major headings were in large letters, which made it easy to read and by grouping her links into sections, it was easy for me to find what I wanted. I noticed some people just listed all their links and I didn't like that because it was difficult to read, so although her page was not that sophisticated, I really liked her layout.
Content -- In here week 4 report she talks about keeping a positive mental attitude (PMA) in a hypertext environment. I loved it! I haven't heard that term since my cheerleading days and I could really relate to what she was saying. It's not easy to have a PMA when you're frustrated and tired and are basically having very pessimistic feelings. But her reminder about PMA made me realize that this is what I need to do. Like she says, this is only a class and "life is too short to get depressed over a class". Dr. James is an understanding guy. He knows this is not easy for us. Sometimes I really get discouraged that maybe I'm not doing as well as I should be or that I'm lacking compared to the other students, but being reminded about PMA keeps things in perspective for me and reading her reports (and everyone else's for that matter) let me know that we're all going through it; I'm not alone.