INTRODUCTION
Throughout this class I have learned a lot. I learned how to use the internet for both research and recreational use as well as it's concepts. Learning about the net was not an easy process for me, but I learned certain techniques to successfully complete this class. In this paper I will discuss the Motivational dynamics involved in getting through this class successfully.I will do this in a question/answer format.
BODY
What has motivated me in this class?
I think the most important thing you have to do is be prepared. What I mean by "prepared" is that you should be prepared to spend a minimum of fifteen hours a week online. When you have accepted this Reality then you can stop making excuses about not getting your work done because fifteen hours online should at least get most of it done. This was the reality check part, but that alone still won't motivate you to stick it out in this class.
What I did on top of that was constantly remind myself how expensive it is to take an internet/computer class outside of UH and how important it is for me to take advantage of the fact that I'm killing two birds with one stone; (1) Filling an educational requirement and (2) Learning important information that a future employer might want. I know what your'e probably thinking, "That's still not going to motivate me!" True those things aren't the only things that I had to do to get and remain motivated. I also had to try stay ahead of the game. By this I mean getting a headstart on the work and trying to learn a little more than what was taught in order stay motivated. The plus side to this is that you won't be stuck in a serious cram session becasue you have neglected the work.
Finally I think you should try to enjoy this whole process, and believe me if you stick it out you will catch yourself being really happy when you finally learn a concept that was giving a lot of problems. Maintaining this kind of performance is tough so I believe that you should give yourself a pat on the back after you have accomplished a task. This is important because you are rewarding yourself for the hard work and by doing so you will be more willing to do more work because of it. Also be sure to give yourself a little break from the computer if you have been on it for a long time because your eyes need a break from looking at the computer screen for so long.
What conficts have I experienced?
There are so many conficts that I have experienced in this class. The most major conflict was understanding what I was doing. To me it is very important to understand what your'e doing in order to do a good job at it. I had a hard time understanding certain mechanisms and concepts. What I had to do and I suggest it to anyone who doesn't understand something is just to ask someone who does. It's that simple and if you didn't understand them ask someone else. I know it's hard for some people to ask for help for whatever reasons they have but keep in mind that if you don't ask you are robbing yourself of useful knowledge that most likely can be required by a simple question. I also tried to make my self a cognitive picture of what I was doing so that the abstract tasks didn't appear to be so abstract. In other words do what you have to do to make life easier on you!
Another conflict I had in this class was the computers. I don't own a computer so I have to do all my work in school but sometimes all the computers are busy or broken or slow or virus infected etc... These kind of Pains can really interfere with your performance and sometimes deter you from doing your work because you are frustrated with the computers. What I did to overcome my conflics are to first try and get to the computer labs before they open so I was garaunteed a computer and also I went to labs that were not busy during the times I wanted to work there. If your computer has a virus don't panic, simply get it cleaned by one of the lab monitors and/or see if your computer has a virus cleaner/checker. Finally if you have a slow computer do the part of work that doesn't require much Loading until you are able to hop onto a better computer.
The final conflict I will talk about is pessimism. I found it really difficult to fight pessimism especially when I am pressured to produce something in a short period of time. What I did to combat this was to avoid getting in this kind of jam in the first place. I tried to stay ontop of the work load so these kinds of negative feelings won't come out and further hinder my educational experience.
How demanding & challanging was the internet?
As I mentioned already, it takes a minumum of fifteen hours a week online to be successful. I would like to emphasise the word minumum because I spent over that amount a week and sometimes I even doubled that amount but that is the kind of commitment I had to make in order for me to make it through this class. So as far as demanding is concerned it's VERY. Time wasn't the only thing that the internet was demanding but also patience. This is one trait that I really did't have much of but I gradually learned how to acquire some.
As far as challanging is concerned, I believe that it was very challanging for me because I had to get over my Technophobic hang-ups.Facing this technophobia day in and day out slowly challanged my fears and eventually desensitized me from it. I also had to get over the fact that I didn't know much about computers so I had to result to asking everyone who was around questions, which really isn't a bad thing but it could get annoying for the people that I was constantly bothering.
How worthwhile & valuable was the internet?
I must admit that my intial experience with the net was very very frustrating but looking back at it retrospectively I now realize how worthwhile and valuble it all was. Sure I had to spend a majority of my leisure times in front of a computer instead of a beach or tennis court but I acquired skills that are useful for me both academically and recreationaly.
The reason why I say it was worthwhile was because it helped me to finally break my phobia of computers. Now when I see a computer I no longer try to flee for my life rather I check and see whats on it. An example of this was when I was working for this surfing company my sister works at and while I was folding shirts I noticed that she was having trouble with her computer. I very curiously put my shirts down and went to what her problem was. She had a problem with the way her document was printing so I told her check her opitions and I couldn't find anything there but then I told her to check her chooser and we saw that the setting for the print job wasn't right. The point of this story was that I didn't know how to solve her problem but I was confident enough with computers to figure it out. If she would of asked me that five months ago I would said that I didn't have a clue. so this class was very worthwhile to me.
I can't even start to explain how valuable this class is to me. I have learned so much applicable skills that I no longer shy away from computers. I have accquired knowledge that I never thought I would or rather never even knew about. As far as my academics are concerned it, the internet is now one of my major sources that I use for research. A matter of fact I used the majority of my sources that I found on the net to do my English paper.The best thing about learning about the net is that I now have a firm foundation on the net so I can continue to learn about it on my own after the completion of this class.Financially I have really benefited from this class because the seminars that teach you what I have learned in this class are very expensive.
How involved did I get with the online experience?
I have become very involved with the online experience because of this class. I remember I got so wrapped up in this class that every time I would leave this class I would always have something that I couldn't figure out and I would take this home with me and always think about it. This of course strained my relationship with my girlfriend at times because all I ever spent my free time doing was computer work and all I ever talked about was computer problems. This was mainly due to my knowlege of the net but now I could do those things in a third of that time.
How has the online experience affected my life?
I don't think I will ever be the same because of my online experience. I now enjoy using the net for almost every aspect of my life. For example, I remember asking my girlfriend if she knew how to make a good fetuccini sauce and she said she didn't but she could try to find out by looking through a cookbook. Then I remembered that I could probably find it on the net and save us five bucks by not buying the book and just printing the recipe or downloading it onto my disc. It just shows how much easier accquiring information could be. Since I was in charge of meeting and networking on the net I learned how to utilize the chatlines. Chatlines are just another means of communication, however it can involve more than just two people chating at once. From my experiences with the chatlines I have been using them as a kind of break from my computer work. Overall my experiences with the net have affected my life both in my approach to it and my use of it.
How do I see the internet now?
I see the internet as a vital part of my educational career and means of communication. The amount of informantion I was able to get from the net was phenomenal and I will continue to use it. I am no longer afraid of using computers because of it and I also have a Real use for it in my life now. Basically I see the internet a lot different than I use to.
As far as the difference between web space and gopher space, I see them totally different. Gopher space for one doesn't have any graphics and two it's really not intergrated the web space. I prefer web space a lot more because it's easier to do searches on it and plus it just plain looks better.
How has the internet affects society?
I believe that it affects society in both good ways and bad ways.Whenever there are means of communication there are those who utilize it to benefit society and there are those who exploit it. For example, "The Phone." Most people use the phone for functional reasons such as talking or contacting someone because of an emergency but there are those who use the phone to harrass people or make bomb threats. These people do these deviant things because most times than not they don't get caught. As for the net it's the same thing. Some people use it for good and some people use it for bad. But, I think that is how technology is and as long as its there than it's up to the individual to decide on how to use it.
How is your site part of the internet?
I believe that my site is probably one of the most important sites on the net. I don't just say that because it's mine but it's a resource that most people would want to use. A lot of people out would like to meet other people on the net but really don't know how or the opposite, a lot of people outthere know of so many ways to meet other people. Either way they can contribute their knowledge and get credit for it or they can come here and utilize the knowledge. It's a WIN-WIN situation.My site will only get bigger and better due to the fact that it will continually be managed by future generations.
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