Used Meebo which i knew about before hand but had not used, so this was the perfect platform from which to try it out. Allowed me to chat from one place across many different accounts: gmail, MSN, ICQ and others. Also it was web based so i didn't need to download a client onto my desktop. I signed up for ICQ; i already had gmail and msn accounts. Last week i also joined the internet discussion group set up on yahoo so i could use that account as well. announced myself on the discussion board inviting others to chat. So far so good, other people made announcements too. took there account numbers and bookmarked them in meebo. Everybody seems to be very busy. No one seems to be online when i was. And then someone turned up!!
What now. with a little trepidation i ventured into the online world of real time chat. Very hesitant at first. wasn't sure of the proper etiquette. How do i start a conversation? Something safe i suspect. should i ask a question about there life outside net11? or is that considered just too intrusive? And how much of myself should i reveal? Don't use CAPITALS because it means you're shouting.
It's more than that though. This is real time conversation without the non verbal cues that make up so much of normal conversation. In my other life away from studying i work in a place where i meet new people everyday. I have learn't to develop rapport quickly because i have to. I do it not so much through what i say as how i say it and through my body language, being careful to come across in a welcoming way. Also, i do some volunteer work on the side as a telephone counsellor: No visual cues here but plenty of auditory ones. We're trained to pick them up: the tone of voice, the silences, the sighs . we do that and learn to find the feelings underneath and to let the caller know you have been listening: by reflecting back what they are saying. by paraphrasing, by the tone of your own voice. Comparing this with real time text based chat, i found this very difficult. it was pointed out in the conversation that you can use emoticons to display how you are feeling. great! But my first thoughts are that it is a very limited vehicle for carrying on a decent conversation.
The other thing i found difficult was knowing when to pause. in face to face speech, people instinctively know when there is a pause in the conversation enabling them to speak ( At least most people do). But i found i was talking (texting) at the same time as the other person some of the time. Should i have waited for a response before i texted again? And if there is no response, is that being rude? many questions.
Overall i found this task novel and interesting. Not sure how i rate it at this stage. You can potentially maintain a sense of anonymity if you want to with real time chat. You can use an alias for username and a disposable email address when signing up. No problems there. Perhaps that is part of the attraction? You can then be rather disinihibitated if you choose, say things that you might not really have the nerve to say in situations where your identity is known.
Many things to reflect further on as the course progresses. I 'll come back to this i think.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Lists, Discussions, Feeds and Live bookmarks
Lists vs Discussions?
They're both asynchronous forms of communication that allow a "many to many" exchange of information and opinions. Email lists deliver the discussions and conversations directly into my email inbox. The Internet studies group set up on yahoo groups is a good example of a list.
Discussion boards or forums are another way of interacting and have been the preferred way so far in the course. They insist that I log on to a central place where i can peruse the posts and threads to read or even not to read.
Pros and cons? It depends on your own perspective and how you like to deal with this "many to many" type of information.If you are the type of person that doesn't want to miss anything related to your chosen topic of interest then i would think email lists are entirely appropriate. Every discussion is pushed into your email inbox. Some communications are more important than others of course. Everyone needs to stay in touch and connected in this unit since our tutors choose to communicate to via the whole group and not individually. Perhaps email lists would be the way to go here rather than a discussion board. This is an example of probably the only reason i can see at this stage where email list would be the preferred means of communication over a discussion board: the importance of the content.
For me generally though, it's a matter of control. Lists are delivered to my email box but sometimes I'm not in the mood to read them. I could mark them to read later, but the risk is that i might ignore them altogether and just press the delete button. Perhaps not with stuff related to this unit but with other groups this may be the case where my interest in a topic fluctuates over time. I also hate a cluttered inbox full of messages, although this is not such a problem these days as i try to maintain a zero inbox by archiving instead of deleting my emails.
Discussion boards require me to make some effort but at least i can see which discussions are relevant for me. Must admit that i do waste a bit of time reading the course discussion board only because I'm afraid of missing something important. Seem to spend too much of my time mouse clicking my way through lots of stuff. If only there was a way to simplify this process, some sought of middle ground between potential information overload and no information at all.
I wondered if there was a way to subscribe to a Rss feed of the discussion board and just get updates of what has been added. I couldn't find a way probably because those sites are password protected but i did find a way with the email lists. Yahoo groups doesn't let me set up feeds but gmail does. I forwarded all my yahoo emails into my gmail account and then subscribed to a feed of my inbox using Live Bookmarks rather than a dedicated newsreader. I also use this method to keep tabs of new posts from everyones blogs. A great example of automation in dealing with lots of information.
They're both asynchronous forms of communication that allow a "many to many" exchange of information and opinions. Email lists deliver the discussions and conversations directly into my email inbox. The Internet studies group set up on yahoo groups is a good example of a list.
Discussion boards or forums are another way of interacting and have been the preferred way so far in the course. They insist that I log on to a central place where i can peruse the posts and threads to read or even not to read.
Pros and cons? It depends on your own perspective and how you like to deal with this "many to many" type of information.If you are the type of person that doesn't want to miss anything related to your chosen topic of interest then i would think email lists are entirely appropriate. Every discussion is pushed into your email inbox. Some communications are more important than others of course. Everyone needs to stay in touch and connected in this unit since our tutors choose to communicate to via the whole group and not individually. Perhaps email lists would be the way to go here rather than a discussion board. This is an example of probably the only reason i can see at this stage where email list would be the preferred means of communication over a discussion board: the importance of the content.
For me generally though, it's a matter of control. Lists are delivered to my email box but sometimes I'm not in the mood to read them. I could mark them to read later, but the risk is that i might ignore them altogether and just press the delete button. Perhaps not with stuff related to this unit but with other groups this may be the case where my interest in a topic fluctuates over time. I also hate a cluttered inbox full of messages, although this is not such a problem these days as i try to maintain a zero inbox by archiving instead of deleting my emails.
Discussion boards require me to make some effort but at least i can see which discussions are relevant for me. Must admit that i do waste a bit of time reading the course discussion board only because I'm afraid of missing something important. Seem to spend too much of my time mouse clicking my way through lots of stuff. If only there was a way to simplify this process, some sought of middle ground between potential information overload and no information at all.
I wondered if there was a way to subscribe to a Rss feed of the discussion board and just get updates of what has been added. I couldn't find a way probably because those sites are password protected but i did find a way with the email lists. Yahoo groups doesn't let me set up feeds but gmail does. I forwarded all my yahoo emails into my gmail account and then subscribed to a feed of my inbox using Live Bookmarks rather than a dedicated newsreader. I also use this method to keep tabs of new posts from everyones blogs. A great example of automation in dealing with lots of information.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Reflections after two and a bit weeks.
here I am late at night sitting at my laptop. Into my third week of the course and what am i thinking? Well i am loving it. I haven't studied for some years and I must admit I love the stimulation, but are lacking in some of the study skills required to pull something like this off. Guess they have got to be learned as I go.Here are some things i have discovered so far, in no particular order:
- my eyes get tired looking at a computer screen too long! My best thinking work is done with a lead pencil and paper pad in front of me. then i put my work down in computer memory so i don't lose it. Even printing out the course notes and doodling all over them as I go has been helpful.
- Floundering a bit when it comes to using the blogging tools. source of great frustration that there is no one central repository of all our blogs! Not everyone has a Google or a delicious account. it is just taking too long to cut and paste them all into my blog roll. Sure i haven't got half of the blogs there to be read.
- I spend too much time reading the discussion boards when I should be working on the guts of the course work. I am afraid i will miss something important, but a lot of whats there isn't that crucial to know. have limited reading the discussion board reading to ten minutes every second day.
- Have started working on the concepts assignment. Using Zotero has been a godsend for managing my sources: allowing me to cite while i write and preparing annotated bibliographies.
- the last thing i want to mention is about the stress and anxiety that comes from wanting too much. I want to pass the unit and i want to do well but i notice that i have a tendency to get a bit anxious because i can't find the time, don't understand a concept, can't find a good source etc, blah blah blah.I have to remind myself not to get too caught up in that.Anxiety is too much future and not enough present. what i have found is that periods of unstructured time when i am not studying are just as important as the time spent studying. some of my best thinking about the course and it's content comes out of nowhere when i am relaxing drinking tea or walking down to pick up the kids from school but it only comes after some time trying to make sense of it all. it just doesn't come. anyway time to go to bed.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Email Task
I enjoyed doing these tasks. I use email quite a lot but wouldn't consider myself a power user. I don't have to deal with loads of work related email on a daily basis, so I have never given much thought those little buttons "cc" and "bcc" on the top of the compose screen in my email client. So ...
In what cases would I find it useful to use 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all' functions of email?
Sending mail via "cc" is fine if i wish to send a copies of my message to other people where it's not an issue that everybody can see the multiple email address used.If it is, then i would send copies using the "bcc" option. This ensures that the recipient receives a copy but without revealing other recipient's email addresses in the process. The issue is one of netiquette
In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by a receiver? You do so by ensuring that the recipient has the program that can open the specific attached file. In some circumstances this may require your to communicate before sending the attachment. If the attachments are text based files, it may be an option to incorporate the message within the email itself.
What sort of rules or filters do i set up and for what purpose?
I use filters in my email client extensively. The client i use gives a number of options for dealing with incoming mail: deleting, labeling, forwarding, marking as read and archiving . The main reasons i use are for deleting rubbish, for example, spam. Unsolicited email that gets past the spam filters on the mail server only gets into my inbox once. Then I set up a filter and I never have to worry about it again. I also use filters to delete those newsletters especially those promotional types that i thought would be good to subscribe to at the time but just to clutter up my inbox. Sometimes i just can't be bothered unsubscribing to them because the link to do it is too hard to find, so i just set up a filter to delete them before they arrive. The other reason i filter is to label specific incoming mail: bills and wage invoices as well as mail from specific people, which brings me to the next question: Have you organized the folder structure of your email and why?
I am a labels man myself. I've used folders a lot in the past for the usual reasons described: to archive important mail; I hate a cluttered inbox! However I recently gave Gmail a go and now it is my preferred email system . As far as I know, Gmail is the only Email system that doesn't use folders; they use labels. I can apply multiple labels of different colors, if i like, to any email. it's similar to using tags. I don't think you can do this with folders.That is, file an email in more than one folder. Once i label an email i then archive it and it disappears from my inbox. But it's not lost. i can choose to display the "all mail" link underneath my inbox link to display all my emails. I can also search for any labeled email using the search functions. With the large amount of space allocated to users these days, there is no reason for me to delete email from my inbox (unless it's rubbish of course!).I just archive it thus keeping my inbox nice and clean. This is a good example, i think, of automation, and the benefit it provides us to deal with the onslaught of information that comes with the use of technology.
In what cases would I find it useful to use 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all' functions of email?
Sending mail via "cc" is fine if i wish to send a copies of my message to other people where it's not an issue that everybody can see the multiple email address used.If it is, then i would send copies using the "bcc" option. This ensures that the recipient receives a copy but without revealing other recipient's email addresses in the process. The issue is one of netiquette
In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by a receiver? You do so by ensuring that the recipient has the program that can open the specific attached file. In some circumstances this may require your to communicate before sending the attachment. If the attachments are text based files, it may be an option to incorporate the message within the email itself.
What sort of rules or filters do i set up and for what purpose?
I use filters in my email client extensively. The client i use gives a number of options for dealing with incoming mail: deleting, labeling, forwarding, marking as read and archiving . The main reasons i use are for deleting rubbish, for example, spam. Unsolicited email that gets past the spam filters on the mail server only gets into my inbox once. Then I set up a filter and I never have to worry about it again. I also use filters to delete those newsletters especially those promotional types that i thought would be good to subscribe to at the time but just to clutter up my inbox. Sometimes i just can't be bothered unsubscribing to them because the link to do it is too hard to find, so i just set up a filter to delete them before they arrive. The other reason i filter is to label specific incoming mail: bills and wage invoices as well as mail from specific people, which brings me to the next question: Have you organized the folder structure of your email and why?
I am a labels man myself. I've used folders a lot in the past for the usual reasons described: to archive important mail; I hate a cluttered inbox! However I recently gave Gmail a go and now it is my preferred email system . As far as I know, Gmail is the only Email system that doesn't use folders; they use labels. I can apply multiple labels of different colors, if i like, to any email. it's similar to using tags. I don't think you can do this with folders.That is, file an email in more than one folder. Once i label an email i then archive it and it disappears from my inbox. But it's not lost. i can choose to display the "all mail" link underneath my inbox link to display all my emails. I can also search for any labeled email using the search functions. With the large amount of space allocated to users these days, there is no reason for me to delete email from my inbox (unless it's rubbish of course!).I just archive it thus keeping my inbox nice and clean. This is a good example, i think, of automation, and the benefit it provides us to deal with the onslaught of information that comes with the use of technology.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Internet tools
I used the network tools site and opened up the trace-route tool from my laptop to curtin.edu.au it hopped 14 times across the network with an average time taken of 239/14 = 17.07 m secs per hop before it reached curtain with an IP address of 124.7.179..56
I explored this further by using the ping utility to ping the blackboard with it's address: 134.7.180.137
The average time taken over 10 pings was 245.3 m secs.
I have a set of client networking tools on my computer and i used them to ping the curtin blackboard. In this case the average time taken was less 228ms than what it was when I used the on line network tools.
This task falls within the context of the concept: Identity and location. At this stage I can't really grasp this concept and how it is relevant except maybe if i was aspiring to become a hacker. I will leave it for now and hope to come back and expand on it later.
I explored this further by using the ping utility to ping the blackboard with it's address: 134.7.180.137
The average time taken over 10 pings was 245.3 m secs.
I have a set of client networking tools on my computer and i used them to ping the curtin blackboard. In this case the average time taken was less 228ms than what it was when I used the on line network tools.
This task falls within the context of the concept: Identity and location. At this stage I can't really grasp this concept and how it is relevant except maybe if i was aspiring to become a hacker. I will leave it for now and hope to come back and expand on it later.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Module One Telnet task
I have completed the first telnet task. The results of the first one are posted here.They were pretty easy I thought. Actually telnet leaves me feeling rather underwhelmed as a technology. My feeling is that it doesn't have much part to play for someone wanting to become an advanced internet user. It is an old technology and seems redundant in these modern times. In the library task it would have been much easier to search the library catalog via their website. I can't see that there would be much of an argument for using it on modern operating systems.
Module One: FTP task.
I found this task quite easy. The answer is : CAPITALIZATION. CAPITALIZATION MATTERS. This is the first time I have explicitly used an FTP client. I didn't use the clients suggested since I don't use windows or a mac as my working operating system. I use Ubuntu which is a Linux based operating system derived from Unix. There are a number of FTP clients to choose from. The one I chose was called gFTP.
My thoughts on the FTP task? Well I probably use FTP all the time without even realizing it. When I click the download button from within a web browser, aren't I connecting to a FTP server to download a program or whatever? Similarly,when I click on the button to upload photos to the Flickr photo sharing website, aren't I using FTP to send files? I think the only criticism I have is that the task didn't attempt to demonstrate this two way transfer of files. I actually took this step and connected to the curtin student FTP server to upload and store some files of my own on my allocated disk space. My own local ISP also allocates a certain amount of space within an account, so I accessed that using my FTP client and uploaded some files. I've realized that this is an alternative to the online storage service, Dropbox that I normally use.I think being comfortable using FTP fits in with being an advanced internet user for sure.
This FTP task is encompassed within the broader concept of Client Server two way interaction. Client Server is a term used in computer networking to describe the way information is exchanged. A client program such as a web browser requests information from a web server which in turn delivers the requested information to the client. For example, this is what occurs when I log onto my internet banking website to check my account balance, or when I log into OASIS to access my course notes or to read the latest posts on the discussion board. The idea of me as a client being able to initiate the request for data whether it be information or even entertainment gives me autonomy and freedom that would have been possible not long ago.Now I can go to University late at night when my kids are sound asleep and I can listen to Radio national on demand. These are examples of Pull technology or on demand services.
My thoughts on the FTP task? Well I probably use FTP all the time without even realizing it. When I click the download button from within a web browser, aren't I connecting to a FTP server to download a program or whatever? Similarly,when I click on the button to upload photos to the Flickr photo sharing website, aren't I using FTP to send files? I think the only criticism I have is that the task didn't attempt to demonstrate this two way transfer of files. I actually took this step and connected to the curtin student FTP server to upload and store some files of my own on my allocated disk space. My own local ISP also allocates a certain amount of space within an account, so I accessed that using my FTP client and uploaded some files. I've realized that this is an alternative to the online storage service, Dropbox that I normally use.I think being comfortable using FTP fits in with being an advanced internet user for sure.
This FTP task is encompassed within the broader concept of Client Server two way interaction. Client Server is a term used in computer networking to describe the way information is exchanged. A client program such as a web browser requests information from a web server which in turn delivers the requested information to the client. For example, this is what occurs when I log onto my internet banking website to check my account balance, or when I log into OASIS to access my course notes or to read the latest posts on the discussion board. The idea of me as a client being able to initiate the request for data whether it be information or even entertainment gives me autonomy and freedom that would have been possible not long ago.Now I can go to University late at night when my kids are sound asleep and I can listen to Radio national on demand. These are examples of Pull technology or on demand services.
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