I did not like the fact that I had to go to the clic lab which I thought then was the only place to go to use a computer. I loathed the waiting list and the hot and humid atmosphere in there. I couldn't do last minute works either because I never knew if I could land a computer right before class to do my essays. The fact that I only type an average of 20 words a minute didn't do me much good either. They would kick you out of the lab after a couple of hours when there was a long waiting list.

I bumped into a friend a couple of weeks before the semester started and I was forwarned about what I should expect. He had been a member of generation two. At first I thought "How hard can it get?". Little did I know that it would take over the rest of my remaining days at UH. Another was that I would be back once again at the computer labs at school. One thing that I did discover was that there are computer labs in just about every building. There's one at Porteus where I'm usually at, Crawford, and Keller. These of course are just a few of them.

To avoid going to the lab once again, I invested on a modem. I went out and bought one on the first day of class. To be honest I've made more use of the computers at school that I have with mine. It's difficult to connect at certain hours of the day and if you do get through there is the great chance of getting cut off. I think it's best to work at school so you don't have to worry about that. The lab hours are pretty reasonable.

What I've written so far may all sound a bit negative but that isn't my intentions at all. I think this class has actually proven to be a great challenge for me. Okay, so I don't get to hide in the middle of large lecture classes anymore or skip class just because I can't get up in the morning. This class has been very stimulating. I learned later that I actually looked forward to attending class even if it is after my lunch break. It has opened up my eyes to something very new. It has even made me more confident around the uses of the computer and gain insight on the internet to make me seem like I actually know what I'm doing and talking about.

There was no doubt that there were certain tasks that I had to tackle for this class. We were told to make six files: wib page, home page,topical index, data, report one, and report two. Long and sometimes weary hours went into putting these up and with every step of the way there were exhilerating feelings from dramatic successes, as well as, feelings of anger, frustration, and hopelessness when things did not work out. The following are summaries of what I encountered during the making of my files. This is starting to sound like Hollywood..."The Making of the X-Files"!!

World Wide Web (WIB) Database File

Dr. James mentioned in class that his wife wondered whether he would allow us to exchange topics because not everyone might not be interested in the topic he suggested for us. He thought it would be easier if he just assigned it because then we would have to come up with ideas as to how we will distribute the topics out for everyone. I think it was a good idea that he gave it to us instead of allow us to choose. It saved everyone time and confusion and angry feelings may have resulted from it too.

I personally felt comfortable with my database topic because it was easier for me to relate to. There are other members of the class that thought the subject of their database was not particularly interesting at all. I'm sure some may have wanted to exchange and Dr. James gave permission to everyone who would be interested in doing so. I doubt there were members willing to exchange theirs for a difficult one. Looking through the first list there were several names that were missing so I assumed others had dropped the class.

I am in charge of maintaining the database for Confessions: Relationship Things. This was not particularly a difficult subject. I know that everyone somehow had relationships with one another. We are a human race and interaction is very important in order to survive a meaningful life. I thought about my database and didn't want to limit it to love relationships at all. There are various types of relationships this database can cover. It was going to be a way for others to share their experiences with either happy or sad things concerning relationships.

My WIB database went through major construction from the very beginning. Of course it took quite a few weeks to finally get it running at its present state. When writing our term papers for any class we go through several rough drafts to get the final paper free of errors. It is just like making the WIB page. I am still currently going through trial and error trying to put my work up. I think Dr. James would like us to maintain this until the end of the semester, so I don't think this is the final stage of my WIB site yet. I will experiment with more graphics and an inviting message to get people to contribute more. Afterall, that is the purpose of the database. For now I think I've done a pretty good job with my site.

From the start I was stumped on ideas for making my site interesting enough to get people to visit and leave a contribution. That week after Dr. James passed out the sheet telling us what database we had to manage, I asked my roommates and friends for some ideas. They were hesitant to give me suggestions because they did not know what WIB was and what exactly a web page was. I began to feel frustrated after I realized that I too did not even know what the main purpose of my work was going to be at the time. I couldn't sit down with them to explain web pages either because it was all too knew to me.

Feeling very discouraged I did not work on my database. Instead I continued to search through the net for more exciting pictures and information. That's another story though. My file remained empty for the next few weeks until Dr. James came to class and said he was very disappointed in our progress. There were only about two or three databases that were working. With enough prodding from my conscience or what Dr. James would say cognitive aspect, my body began to act on it (sensorimotor) and during one of our lab sessions I was excited (affective) to put something up. (A little note to Dr. James if he ever comes across this...wouldn't this be an example of what you were explaining to class one day? The exception is that the occurence do not follow in the order of A-C-S. I think the relationships between the three are very complex that it cannot possibly go in the exact order all the time. There are times when the thought of something makes one feel a particular way.)

At first, of course, I was a bit apprehensive working on my css account because I did not have a full grasp of the commands. I came to realize that if I kept my fear of computers then I would not get anything done. Besides, I hadn't put anything up yet so why was I afraid of losing my text. This fear arises from past experiences when I have had a whole text disappear in front of my eyes.

With fear riding behind my back and I curious to see what magic I can do with my WIB page I set out to place the required instructions for others to understand what exactly my database was about and how they could contribute their experience. I suppressed my eagerness to see how it would turn out when I viewed it through netscape. I worked on it even when class was over. I stayed at the lab wanting to get my results at least acceptable enough. I knew it would take more than a days work and I had all semester long to finalize it. I had decided on a black background with white text to make it visible and the Tazmanian devil to put in the center below my heading. I was proud of my accomplishment but no one was around to share it with me. Still I walked out of the lab with a smile reaching from cheek to cheek. I was a happy camper.

About a week later, Dr. James looked through my work and suggested to put a more subtle picture. He said this was like a personal database and the Tazmanian gave it an eerie feeling. Visitors to my database would probably not see the seriousness of this site. Reading his face, I think he might have thought that others would take it as something humorous instead of what the reason of the database should be. I decided to act on his suggestion.

I wanted to scan a couple of pictures but I haven't yet learned how to use the machine. Instead, I used the net search and found exactly what I wanted to put up. I typed out Precious Moments on net search and found the picture that is currently on my WIB page. I was almost ready to give up until I came across this picture. Thank heavens this time I had a bit of patience. Eagerly, I copied the picture and tranfered it onto my directory. Now the picture gives my database a more personal touch to it. Exactly how I would want my visitors to think of this page, something like a diary where they can write their Confessions on Relationship Things.

Data (Contributions) File

I was both nervous and excited about the progress of this file. When I received my first contribution from Donna Handoe through email I waited til lab session to ask Dr. James how I would go about putting it in my data file since I could not figure it out on my own after several attempts at it. I exported it from my unix to my css account the same way we had done in one of our homeworks (Netsurfer Report). When I had it in my directory I learned from Dr. James that all I needed to do was open my data file with the same command at the www prompt (pico data.html) and just insert the contribution with the command "control R" which reads the file making sure first that the cursor was at the point where I wanted to insert it.

I thought that was easy. Okay, I must not forget those directions because I'll have to do that for the rest of the contributions that comes in. I jotted it down in my notebook for future reference. It was that first contribution that prompted me to work on my data file next while still finding ways to beautify my WIB page. I put the heading up and decided on a white background after I learned the coding color system. I then settled on the feather gif to separate the contributions from each person.

As the weeks progressed, I found more contributions for my file on my unix account. I was happy that people were interested in my database. I placed them all in the same manner that I had done for the first. This time I had to also go back and put the month and year, as well as, the city and state of the person contributing which Dr. James suggested that we do. When I received mail from Calvin Cheung, it was during one of our lab class and he taught me how to open up another window in unix so it would be easier to copy and paste the short contributions that were given to me. Unfortunately, I was not able to write the directions down so I can't explain how I transferred one of the contributions. Dr. James said once that he would show us how it is done but he hasn't yet and I am always so wrapped up in doing my other pages that I neglect to ask him during lab. Now I must make note of that.

During these past week I found that if I contribute something to my classmates then they give me something back. Wow...it's beginning to be a give and take relationship here. I feel bad though because some of those who contributed to me haven't received one yet because I've been busy trying to get my pages done before midterm grading. From the bottom of my heart I do apologize. I'll get one out to you in no time. Patience please...

Home Page File

I felt I did not have the right directions as to what exactly we were suppose to be doing. I thought I was already done when my WIB site was up. I was actually taken by surprise with this news of having home pages done as well. My mouth dropped and I thought how was I suppose to make another home page when I was having trouble with the one page already at hand. I think the rest of the class also felt the same way because we couldn't understand what the difference was between all the pages. We also didn't know that we were suppose to be working on our home page at the same time. After this news, a week later, almost everyone had their pages up. All it took to get them up was for us to know.

There were certain links required for our home page. Our home page is actually the remote control to get to the different channels of our pages or you can think of it as our home base. I wanted to make it as attractive as possible so I chose a rainy looking backgrond which I copied during one of my net searches. I had a difficult time with that and was ready to give up on trying. I kept pressing reload and the background remained gray. I must be doing something wrong! I tried using the background on another page thinking there had to be something wrong with that file.

Later I backtracked to see what the problem was. I recalled changing the name of my gif file, so I went into my directory and moved the name back to the original one. When I tried reloading again, I just knew from the sound of the computer running longer than before that it had to be true. YES!! I finally got my background working. My face lit up with happiness. I had accomplished something today. I was eager to get home and share my excitement with my roommates. They would also feel relieved to know that they would not have to hear gripes and complains from me for the next few days, at least until my happiness fades away and I must face another problem.

During the first attempts of creating my home page I was dissatified with the way some images would turn out. I wish I could get pictures from the clip art gallery of my computer at home. There are many images provided also in my print shop deluxe program that I wanted.

Because I was interested in Disney animations I copied many images from the pages of previous generations. I wanted to create a magical scene much like Disneyland. I wish what I could do on paper is as easy as putting it up on my home page. Dr. James mentioned in class that we could not use commercial animations on our pages because it was under the internet law and our grades would also suffer if we did not comply to what he said. Upon hearing this I thought all the effort I took in copying the images and transfering it to my directory went down the drain. Well so much for great looking animations. Now I'll have to do more searching to beautify my pages with images. I'm currently using some pictures that are readily available from Dr. James' icons directory. That way, I'm still safe from the law and Dr. James.

I did not want my home page to just contain links. Through my experiences in traveling through generation one and generation two, I realized that I did not get very much reaction to the dull pages I clicked on. I wanted mine to be colorful and lively. That is why I chose to adorn it with pictures and bold letterings. That way people will be enticed by my home page and would lead them to see the rest of the pages that I worked so hard on. I was also careful not to use too much graphics that would take my pages to load up too long. I wondered about my rainy background because it wasn't just an ordinary color coding.

Another problem that I had was how it would turn out on my visitors' pages. Dr. James emphasized this in class because some computers may not be able to handle the graphics that it would look like blotches on the computer. For example, when I was at the clic lab the pages don't turn out as good and as fast as I see them during lab at Porteus. They turn out fine on my computer at home though. I took this information into consideration for my graphics. I had to ask Dr. James if my rainy background appeared in his computer as blotches. Afterall, he had to look at them for grading as well. He told me at lab that they came out perfectly clear, so I'm leaving it the way it is for now. I know there is still more room for improvements on my home page and I will continue to improvise it as the semester progresses.

Report One File

With pen and paper in hand I went to the first generation and second generation psychology 409 home page. I looked through more than half of the students' pages until I grew a bit restless. I went back to the ones that stirred my feelings at the time and decided to comment on their pages. I chose Kevin Bogan, Beverly Diaz, and Cheryl Remata for generation one. For generation two there were Ragna Borries, Christina Kealoha, and Ryan Yamauchi.

I wrote down how the pages appealed to my senses, what reactions I received from their report, and how it all looked overall. I bypassed most of the reports because it would probably take me more than this semester's time to go through each one. Dr. James pointed out also that we could just read certain parts of the reports that roused our emotions. I thought it would be easier to see the subjects of their reports in their topical index. I found this helpful rather than scrolling down the lab reports aimlessly until my finger gets a cramp from pressing on the mouse too long. Some topical indexes made this task difficult because they only had links to their weekly reports but no explanations as to what it contained. I spent several days visiting these pages before I was able to get right down and do my report. I found it easier typing it out at home on my computer and later uploading it into the css account.

I had problems with the uploading. I went to Porteus but the lab assistant was not very helpful. When I loaded it up and went into my dirctory and pico the report one file, half my document was missing because it was off screen. I wanted to justify it but didn't know how to go about doing that. I pressed every button on the commands but was unsuccessful in my attempts. I sought the help of the lab monitor but he told me there was no way to justify it but do it manually. That meant I would have to spend the next few hours going through each line and returning and deleting. At this point I was in a state of anguish. This was definitely not my day. I was banging on the keyboards and muttering under my breath. I looked around in hopes that I would find one of my classmates . Surely there was a way around this. There was no one in sight. I felt so frustrated, but I persisted in what I was doing. Finally the last line appeared on my text and boy was I relieved.

In the final stages of my report I had to put the necessary links and anchors, which I thought was very difficult because I had to first get lessons from Rowney Martinez on how anchors worked and Dr. James showed me how to link certain parts of the texts on the previous generations' pages. This task was the most difficult. I spent hours at the lab trying to find the link to the previous generations' reports. At the time I was visiting their pages, I did not yet write where they anchored their paragraphs or links that they used which I should have done to save me time. I had to once again go back to those I chose to write about and find in their reports parts that I referred to in my report. This is what took me almost all day at the lab. I remember going to lab class from two in the afternoon and leaving the lab at closing which was ten o'clock. I was determined to get my reports done. I had to do that for both my 409 and 459 reports one.

While fixing my links and putting the necessary anchors, I had to undergo several attempts at putting the correct relative link (that is the ../../) that Dr. James wanted. I was getting very confused and angry when they would not work. I clicked from Netscape to check if my links worked and then went back to pico to change them all over again when it showed (Not Found). I was getting very restless at this point and my whole body was aching for sitting there eight hours straight. After I was through with both reports one, I decide to end my day there and the lab was closing too. I had reports two to look forward to the next day. Oh what a thrill...

When I was done with the text, I had to choose the background and the layout of my report. I didn't want my efforts to go to waste and not have anyone read through my work. I wanted to somehow attract the visitor's attention and at least take a glimpse at my report one page. I kept a white background just because it reminded me more of a regular essay I hand in rather than one displayed on the net. I decided to put the blue bar which looks almost like my home page to give it consistency. Now I was ready for the presentation of my report to all the internet users who visit my pages.

Report Two File

One aspect I found helpful in doing this report is that we look back from the first week of class and realize the progress that we have all made. We all deserve a pat on the back and be glad that Dr. James thinks that we have excelled even faster in the past few weeks than the previous generations have in the same amount of time. Of course we must take into consideration the fact that generation one was entering a new frontier and paving the path for the generations to follow. Each generation is unique in their own accomplishments and we should all commend Dr. James for giving us the opportunity of becoming a part of the cybercommunity in applying social psychology in learning through cyberspace.

During lab Dr. James said all our reports had to be at least eight pages long. My mouth dropped when I heard this. I knew my reports one would reach about eight pages or more, but what more could I possibly say in my report two. I had alraedy written out five pages of text and thought that was sufficient enough. Dr. James said I did not have to come up with more topics but to just expand on the ideas that I have already presented. Then I thought that wouldn't be so hard. Here I am now doing exactly that. I realize coming almost getting to the end of this report that I did have more to say about the rest of my files. I just needed to dig deeper to get those thoughts out on paper.

In regards to the background I have chosen to make it all white again for the very same reasons I spoke of as having it seem like it is on paper. I also used the same blue bars as in report one. Again this accounts for the consistency that I wanted for all my pages. I am adding the rest of the anchors and links that I need to connect it to my Topical Index as well as to the other pages.

Topical Index File

When I visited the previous generation's topical pages to get an idea of how I would like mine done, I realized there were a variety of ways to set it up. For now I have chosen to categorize them in certain groups. For example a possible group could be the two reports broken down into certain section each provided with the certain subheadings and links or anchors that go with it. I'm still thinking how I could possibly get it alphabetized in that fashion as previous generations have done. Maybe I could just do that within the groups.

I believe the topical index will be an on-going process for us to maintain more than all the other pages. As I type this I am aware that I must work on my topical index to insert all the necessary links and anchors that I have been doing for the past few weeks. I have many of my files down but I still need to get them in order. I have also chosen a white background but still undecided about that. I saw an icon of a book which I think I will use for the top part below my heading to make it consistent with my home page which I have to now change as well. I'm also debating whether I should keep the owl bar to separate the different groups. I'll wait and see how that goes.

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