"My motivational dynamics involved in getting into this class
successfully" hmmm....
Well, first of all, I've always liked what computers can do,
except I could never get
them to do what I want which is pretty fustrating. A nice thing about
computers is that you usually know when you did the right thing, got the
right answer, or
went through the right process(es). I love the freedom and free exchange
of knowledge in the internet. I always wondered how people made
home pages. I was hoping that this class would give me more knowledge in
surfing the net, creating web pages, and how to use computers which it
did. I wish I had learned more about programming though. My new found
love and interest in the internet and computers motivated me to do well
in this class.
Another reason why I joined or took the class? Simply put, I wanted a
psychology class in which I could get
an A in. This was the class. It was a class where your grade depended on
how hard you worked which made it very easy for me, and than it made things
fun for me. A challenge is always motivational for me.
There is always a little
competition among me and my friends. The fact that my other friends made home pages was also very motivational
for me because it was a mutual interest and love we all had, so I tended to
spend extra
time on this class to make my page "cooler" (than theirs of course). Once I
knew I was gonna
get an A in the class, I started experimenting on newer things. My next
challenge is VRML during the summer semester, if Dr. James will give me
some time to experiment, or more likely I'll make some time. Also, I found
that if I don't get into the clinical grad
program here, I might get a degree in computer sciences cause I love
the capabilities and powers of the computers and the money involved
difinitey doesn't hurt. I have heard, however, that computer jobs in
Hawaii are few in numbers. I know if I
can't get into psyche here or where ever else I want, I can get into
computers here. Of course, I'll never be great in computers since I
started so
late, but atleast I have will, determination, and dedication to advance
in computer science if that is my decision. This class opened doors
for me that I wanted slammed shut. I hated computers in the past because I
could never get them to do what I wanted in programming classes. Now, I can
make compters jump,
roll, and beg, figuratively of course. I've always loved the games you
could play with them of course. I also realize there's a lot
more to mastering computers, and I actually plan to spend some time on
learning programming for
computers out of pure interest. I believe I'll take ICS 111 because of
this class. For a while, I wanted a better
homepage than others in my class, but software and class limitations
ultimately discouraged me.
Conflicts experienced... no conflicts
really?!?
The only real great conflict was time. I
didn't want to work at UH. I really wanted to work at home above all
things. I always had time, but place or space in which it was spent was
my problem. There was a lot of fustration though, but I focused it to be
used as fuel for my determination. Wait! I did have conflict against Dr.
James's
form and structure for the whole internet experiment/class. I really didn't
like the form he wanted, and I also didn't like the way new rules kept
popping up. In the end, these conflicts were just little bumps in the
road.
Since, I've written so little about conflicts in the
paragraph above, give me some time to come up with or recall some other
minir conflicts.
Of yes, I now remember a few. First of all, I was really ticked off at
the beginning because someone mispelled or typed in the wrong account
directory for me. I couldn't see my work which was really irritating for
me. I felt like knocking the head off of who ever typed the data in. I
thought for days about the depth of my own incompetance which was not mines,
but someone elses in the end.
Atleast, I wasn't the only one with such problems. It feels nice
when another human being shares similar troubles and fate. There's a
feeling of companionship, understanding, or kindred. Another conflict
was with the computers and software. I really dislike the computers
everywhere on campus except at the MacLab computers at Keller which are
often taken
and people are waiting outside for them. Another conflict or fustration
that came was due to the fact that we
were really not taught how to utilize HTML language or whatever it is
called. Sometimes, I felt like giving up. The internet is nothing like
anything else I've ever learned in the past or have experienced.
There is no reference point or knowledge I can use to make my WIB or WEB
page. It's frustrating to be thrown out into the middle of no where.
Atleast, Edmund
and his personal web page gave me some hints and advice! What made
things more tolerable for me was the fact that I had friends at the
MacLab. They didn't help me too much in the home page building
department because
most of them started building real homepages after I did, with the
exception Edmund of course. He's the ICS major.
My time management and my dedication to other classes did
produce some conflict. I didn't want to spend the large amounts of time I
was spending on this class. I just realized one of the reasons why this
class was so necessary or important to me. It was an upper level class with
writting
intensive criterias which is very important to my graduation. I kinda
forgot about all these types of complications after I started having fun
building better wib or web pages. I think I may continue to develop my web
page
and make it more popular, or I will develop a HBA web page which I think
will unite my highschool classmates better. I want to explore other
programs and software, but time is the immortal enemy. There is always
conflict for me to ignore things, and just veg out on the couch watching
t.v. or just playing tennis.
Demands and Challenges in Many Ways...
The class was extremely demanding in time and patience. In order
to do well in this class, you need a lot of dedication and time. One also
needs a lot of control or you will either go crazy or end up hitting any
key on the computer with a sledge hammer. Was the class challenging?
Yes, it was! It was challenging not because of the level of difficulty,
but because of the patience and dedication needed to pick up the new skills
and abilities needed to control and manipulate the
internet to one's whim. We were in a sink or swim type of situation.
The skills needed to learn were totally unlike anything in the external
world outside computers. I really can't say that this class had that many
great
challenges besides computer of software problems like when I can't get
them to work properly or when my directory is typed in wrong.
Wait, I do remember a lot of small challenges now, all of a
sudden! I remember all the dang assignments. Let me tell you typing in
past psychology archives is boring work. Mastering
gopher was damn hard and challenging. It was so irritating untill I
used another computer system or explored different gopher servers.
Learning to
use Apples, sorry Macs, was a little irritating. Learning to use inferior
computers
compared to the one I had at home was irritating, but I got use to it.
Getting people to contribute was difficult and advertising my wib page to
other pages was challenging. It was so irritating filling out all those
forms and retyping it. What was challenging sometimes was getting HTML
commands to work because I was working on some really complex stuff and a
minor change could screw everything up. Experimenting had its ups and
downs. It was fustrating at times, but rewarding at the end. The most
challenging thing was getting the box thing to work on my wib page.
Getting to get those box things to work perfectly is so hard once it gets
way complicated. Often, I got lost trying to figure out what I was
doing
sometimes. My experimentations sometimes cost me aood home page, and I
had to
start from near scratch again. What was really bad was when the computer
would not register the changes I made into my HTML files. I kept trying
to make changes always wondering, "Is it me or the computers?".
Value and Worth of the Class in Ways...
The class was definitely worthwhile and valuable cause I now know
computers,
and I can get together extremely well with them. I also learned that
computers
are another chance for me to get a master's degree in, and earn a living.
I'm
beginning to like computers and psychology equally as much. I also look
like a nerd, so me and computers look like we belong together, and now we
do mix and work together rather well. I've learned to really like
computers since now I know how to actually use them more. Also, me, and
my friends are thinking about getting into the server or internet access
provider business when we
grow up which is a realistic option. Computers are a must in the future
unless some totally wacko accident happens, like global warefare or nature
itself goes wild. I'm beginning to know how slim the chances are of
me getting into
the clinical program here at UH is. I may decide to get a part time job
latter, and get a degree in ICS, and at a latter time work at a master's
degree. I realize
now that there is something else I can make a living at, and that is
something I can
also be great at. I see more doors and possibilities in my future. I
feel more relieved. Despite it all, I think I will learn some
programming skills at some point in my life no matter what happens. To
think, I was so irritated at computers before. Perhaps, I still am from
time to time.
This class may latter be more valuable than I thought, as time
goes by. I must admit, "I learned a lot." It's worth is difficult to say
or measure. I don't know how important computers might be to me in the
future. So much to learn... I learned a lot about the internet due to
this class. I
now know some technical jargon. I wish I learned more computer stuff
though. I have searched and explored farther into the net than I ever have
before.
Involving Online Experience and Aspects Affected
Actually getting involved in the online experiences because of this
class really doesn't apply to me,
and I already used the internet previous to this class. I merely surfed
the net instead of contributing to it in the past. I must admit, "I now
experience the net in a new light." I now see web pages as the
creativity and amount of work a person puts into it. Because of this class,
I've actually made computers a
part of my life through interest, and not only entertainment. Also, I now
check e-mail which is something I never did before this class. I also
don't surf the net as much now and actually end up spending time
improving my homepage. I
gained a lot of new experiences through this class, but I did have a lot
of experience surfing the net before and grabbing things I wanted. I
think it might have been better if we were given asssignments in which we
needed to grab things such as actual programs or pictures at only
specific sites or something of the sort. I think that we really haven't
surfed a lot of the net. Every time I surf the net, I find some obscure
link that brings me to another whole world of things. I must admit that my
research skills through the internet have improved vastly. This class
made me experience for the first time how to use pico and how to build a
web page.
VISION
Past, Present, Future, and Societies
The internet now seems to me to be like a dirt road which
leads to
wonderous cities paved with gold or into the vast chaotic
jungles. The internet is not very well structured, actually unstable.
It is difficult to get into certain places. Now that the internet is
supressed by laws, I find the government now encroaching in a virtual
world which was free of all rules and laws. It was the wild west, and
now, it is a
little less exciting and a little less free!
The affect on
society...
I really have no idea since few people in the world actually have
access to the net. As for our society, western of course, it has powerful
ramifications. The internet is now one of the largest and most easily
accessed library or data base, with the appropraite tools of course. The
amount of knowledge and junk in it is
staggering. All the information is rather difficult to destroy or be
destroyed. People will now have to learn to use computers just for
comunnication reasons alone. Any business which hopes to get a bit of an
edge should think about the internet and creating a network
within their business. The internet now is a very important factor in
western life,
even if you forget the data and information aspects of it. The internet
is the ultimate means of communications. It connects practically anyone
with a good computer. I'm beginning to also see the limitations of the
internet software and computer hardware. There is a bottle neck effect.
The software limits unification of varying languages, processes, and
structures. What's most irritating is the lack of good physical links.
We need fiber optics to make real changes. The United States
government should
sell our telephone lines to other countries and replace them with
fiber optics. Hmmm... perhaps, we can communicate through the airwaves
or radio waves or something like that. My site really isn't that
important to the net surfers, excluding the class and my classmates of
course. I doubt that
many people have surfed over to my site. I will gather data on visiters
over
the summer to see if Dr. James is or I am correct about how many people
actually visit our corner of the web. I really wanted other
surfers to contribute and visit my site. I believe the most important
aspect was linking Dr. James's home page to other well established wib sites
similar in
nature, or to other sites where people already contribute very often.
That is the
key to success! We need better links and topics, especially links to
the wib page.
The promise and destruction the internet can bring is out
of this world. It can allow us to communicate in better ways and means. It
can
promote understanding of other people, races, and cultures. It can link us
all making it a smaller world. It can allow civilization to grow more
knowledgeable by easy access and use, or it can destroy by breaking down
morals through greater exposure to pornography and violence, promote
hatred and racism, or give people the knowledge to create weapons to be
used. It can also promote and store research and knowledge. So many
possibilities
and promise, so much like a person. Will it ever gain consciousness?
Will it become a resource accessible only to those in a society with
wealth? Will It change only western societies that have access to the net?
I think the net will only be accessible to those with considerable resources
and will
make those who have access to them more open minded and knowledgeable. The
net will never become a public library!
What a pity!
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