ROBIN'S REPORT ONE
VISTING G1 AND G2

Kevin Bogan the King, no that would be Dr. James; okay, the Prince of psychology on the Internet. No, better the Knight who sought justice and freedom for the people. How can anyone criticize his homepage. He helped us all with his FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS and other files. His homepage is like a god-send to the novice Internet user who is trying to set up his first homepage. Anyone who doesn't use this information is a fool.

His layout is basic and to the point. Like I said, I would be a fool to criticize one who has helped sooo many. I would like to know which one he is in the picture and also why he has the picture of George Washington above that picture. Just a curiosity that's all.

After reading Kevin Bogan's self-reports on his progress, now I see why his files are so thorough. He spent hours and hours and hours every week working on his files. I mean, I spend hours and hours also, but it looks like his whole life during this class was spent working or thinking about his files.

In the beginning he talks about how the email system made his life more efficient. I too appreciate its convinience. It saves time trying to track down professors or waiting around their office for them to finish up with the previous student. Also, it keeps you more "connected" with the outside world.

One thing I noticed, which I think has become a problem now, Kevin never complains about problems getting through to UHUNIX from his home computer. I gave up trying to get through because the only times I could get through was at 3:00 a.m. or 5:00 a.m. There is a reason for this; people are supposed to be sleeping at this time.

BEVERLY DIAZ

The flashing ALOHA has got to go, but other than that it looks pretty good. Plain and simple, just the way I like them. There is a nice graphic of an orchid which is nice and a rainbow bar, just enough to get the visitor's attention. I guess that the email wasn't hooked up as a link yet? I have noticed many people from Generation One list their email address but there is not link to it. Maybe they just didn't know how to do it.

Her files and links are all listed with an appropriate description for each. She went "above and beyond the call of duty" (as Dr. James would say). Many of her generation did not go to this extreme. We who are visiting the homepages sure appreciate it.

Beverly's files are well organized and it is easy to figure out were you are and were you want to go. It seems simple enough, but in some of the files once you have clicked on a few links, it is hard to figure out where in the heck you are. Also, her files are annotated well. The only big problem I saw was with the anchor links. She should have put the heading for the file and the anchor links. I don't know maybe this wouldn't be workable, but it seems like it would be easy to follow if you knew what file they came from.

While reading Beverly's report, I thought, here is somebody I can relate to. Her first few weeks and all the frustration she experienced I could definetely relate to. When she wrote, "I love to work and fool around with computers, and I can have the patience to sit in front of the monitor for a few hours. . ." I thought, yeah that's me too. So, I didn't feel so bad when I saw all the struggling she was doing also. It makes me feel like less of an under-achiever.

It sounded like she was even having problems with the email which I also did. When I first went to the CLIC lab to check out the email, I sat there in front of the computer and had no clue what to do. I had to ask the person at the desk to help me twice (and they are not all that happy to help to begin with).

As I further reviewed her files, I saw that like myself, she became a proficient user of not only the email, but managing her homepage and other files as well. It sounds like she got a lot of help from her classmates, and I think that makes all the difference.

CHERYL REMATA

When I first clicked onto this homepage, I thought--looks pretty good. Her homepage grabbed by attention, so I began to investigate. I saw a link that read "(remata) add a link to your bookmark file here" So, I tried it. Nothing happened. Don't know what that was all about, but not a good way to begin. Then I proceeded down her homepage. I found it very confusing. She has nice rainbow lines, but her text sometimes begins at the end of the lines which makes it difficult to follow. Her homepage also looks too bunched together. She should have put spaces or breaks or something to seperate some of her files and ideas.

Again, like her homepage, when I clicked onto her topical index, I thought--looks pretty good. Then, as I proceeded down her page, I wasn't very impressed. She seemed to have the bear minimum in this file and nothing was annotated. It took me several hours to go through all of her files to see what was in all of them. I don't think Cheryl can be blamed for this since many Generation One students had no descriptions for their files.

Like most of us, Cheryl was excited at first at the prospect of learning the Internet and building her own homepage, then, like most of us reality set in and she saw how much time and effort was required to make a homepage. In the beginning, I think she found the most fun in experimenting with the search engines and different addresses. But, her fun and games soon turned into major amounts of frustration.

Cheryl discusses her pessimism and trying hard not to "fall into the role of the victim." She felt her pessimism beginning to win out and felt like everything was working against her. I think this is a typical response to a lot of new things, especially things that are challenging. I think many of us are used to having things easy, so when something comes along that we need to really work at it feels almost defeating at first. But, it is the ones who persist that overcome this feeling. Cheryl said it best, "I acknowledge my feelings of stress and anger and realized that they come up naturally. However, it is how I react to those feelings that makes me successful or not."

Cheryl had the right idea to gear her thoughts towards the future. She recognized that exposure to the internet will only help her in the future. She realizes that all of her hard-spent time will only benefit her in the long run. This is something all of us should keep in mind, especially during those really frustrating periods (which sometimes last a couple of weeks).

NOEL NEDLI

The title of this homepage is Noel's Universe. The graphic which he used in the beginning of his homepage is nice. However, at the very bottom of his homepage when you first click on there is a blinking "WARNING" sign with a graphic of a person digging a ditch and under this it reads, "This homepage is under construction." This is not only inaccurate (since he most likely is still not working on it), but it takes away from the homepage. I instantly want to leave because I think it's incomplete in some way.

I couldn't find his topical index, although, I'm sure it has to be in there somewhere. I had to laugh (I'm sorry Dr. James; it's at your expense) when I went to his Psychology 409 class file. He has a message to "Say hi to my professor" and as you page down, it is a picture of Yoda from Star Wars. I don't think you should get too terribly offended by this Dr. James since Yoda does symbolize the get Jedi Master of the Force.

His Psychology 409 file is entitled "Welcome to My Personal Hell." I think most of us can relate to this, although this class probably isn't as bad as the real thing. I take it from this introduction that Noel had a hard time with this class, but I can see from his homepage that he must have learned a lot even if he struggled.

My eyes thank Noel! When I clicked onto his report it was in larger print. My eyes get sooooo tired looking at the tiny little print that most people use (including myself). I was surprised that Noel had an easy time using the ftp and telnet. I had a terrible time; and, even though I can do it successfully, I'm still not sure exactly what it is. Noel thanks his friend for helping him on this and again I can relate. Without the other members of my class, I would probably still be trying to logon to UNIX.

Noel writes about his progress, "I believe as long as I continue to do these exercises and just do the basic commands over and over again sooner or later some of this stuff will sink in." I think that is exactly what we have to do. Keep trying things over and over; and, when we are lost, ask your classmate sitting next to you!

I see that the part of this class Noel enjoyed most was personalizing his homepage. I think that is true for most of the class. What a change from Noel's pessimistic attitude in the beginning. He now writes, ". . . the progress that has taken place in my computer knowledge. I enjoy working on my homepage and creating new links and exploring the web." I feel more like this now, but I still have a way to go.

NITSA McCARTHY

What a personalized homepage. I like when I arrive at a homepage and feel like I am walking into someone's house. All of her graphics, backgrounds, bars, and icons worked together to make it a nice feeling. She didn't go overboard on her graphics. Everything looks nice.

Her topical index stays along the same lines as her homepage. It is well organized. She didn't give a description of her files which is beginning to be a pet peeve of mine since it takes soooo long to review all of the files when there are not descriptions.

Her files are all listed as "go to the index for . . ." When you click on any of the files, you get a run down of each of her files. So, I guess I should look on before I begin complaining about something. I liked the way she did this. Every thing is just neat and tidy!

Nitsa's final paper was impressive. She begins with a description of a homepage. "A Homepage provides a single window point-of-access, allowing one to embark on digital journeys to a multitude of information resources and services." Later she explains it as the "front door" which is a good way to describe it. Because it is the front door, it is all the more reason to attract people to it. This must be Nitsa's philosophy also.

Nitsa also explains how as a homepage architect, we are in charge and we alone determine the structure, links and appearance of our homepage. This also makes us the only ones to entice others to come visit and stay once they are there. Nitsa's homepage is a good example of good architecture and design.

She also goes on to explain why she is involved in the process of building a homepage. She shares, "this sense is reflected by the affective and cognitive experiences that we share while learning in a hypertex environment." She is correct. Most of us start off knowing absolutely nothing about the Internet, except what we hear on television or other forms of media. When we begin this class, we have the high expectations of diving in and enjoying the experience. However, on the way we encounter, like any learning experience, many bumps and bruises. But, how we learn to handle these problems is part of the learning experience itself. If we choose not to give up, we will end up with a wonderful accomplishment. Being part of this new Internet system; and, one step in a generation that will go on to accomplish more than we have.

INA MILLER

Calvin and Hobbes, I just love them. So, being this is my last report I was glad when I clicked on to Ina's homepage. There was Calvin screaming. . . sort of like how I feel right now. But to get on with my evaluation, and "enterance into" Ina's world. She had another graphic below Calvin of women warriors; I'm not sure what it symbolized, but it seems appropriate at this point. After I clicked on this I found a poem and the rest of her homepage AND MORE CALVIN AND HOBBES.

This is one of the best organized I've seen. I don't know if it's just that I am getting less critical or what, but I like all of her graphics. Usually I think too many graphics take away from the purpose or just clutter the homepage. But, Ida make it work for her. She has everything well organized maybe that is why it works for her. Her topical index has a lot of interesting links a few of which I tried out; I guess that is why writing this report is taking a long time because I find the links irresistible.

Ida writes about her phobia of the computer--a term now known as technophobia. She said "computers used to be her friend" until she stated this class. Then she felt they were "arch-enemies." I guess I should feel lucky because I never felt things got that bad. She writes as if the computer is a living and breathing thing and maybe that is were her problem lies. I remember when I first began working on computers; I was so afraid of breaking or hurting something. My boss, at the time, told me to go ahead and bang on the keyboard. I wasn't going to hurt anything. I can remember the fear of thinking I could press one button and all of my hard work would disappear. I guess this is a type of technophobia--thinking the computer would take my work and not give it back.

Ida writes about her hard work being eaten by the computer. I don't know why this happens when we first begin working on computers. Possibly because WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING. Ida put it well when she said, "This is certainly a trial and error kind of relationship. . ." That's a lesson we all have learned from this. The people who get the furthest in this class are the ones who don't give up!