Concluding Reflection

At the outset of this course I was faced with what seemed to me, to be a multitude of insurmountable difficulties.

My Asus Laptop bought brand new in March 2008, had already spent one quarter of it's life being repaired and rebuilt, and I was unable to properly utilise it until week 3 of the Study Period.
An incredible set-back for a course that is 100% internet-based.

I have two other desktop computers but they were equally useless to me:
- I have a computer in my studio, solely for my teaching work. Internet capable, but with not enough working or storage space or memory: I type curriculum/syllabus notes, newsletters, References (for students applying for scholarships etc), stage plans for performances and other teaching applications on it.
I tried to use this but due to the sluggishly slow speed, it was a total waste of time.
- I have my main computer in my bedroom. It hosts the Telstra broadband system which allows internet access to the other 2 networked computers in the house. However, Norton Anti-virus won't let it display anything...I need to get a technician in but haven't had the time.
Even my brother (who is meant to be very good at anything to do with computers) couldn't fix it - in fact, he actually made the situation worse!

Prior to the course commencing, my experience browsing the World Wide Web had mainly included answering and sending emails, as well as occasionally searching for movie times, holiday destinations or airfares.
Internet access was largely a leisure activity that took up approximately 10 minutes at the end of my day.

While accessing the NET11 WebCt message board during the first month of studies, I came across many computer and internet terms that were not only unfamiliar but alarmingly alienating.
I felt very uncomfortable with not just the course notes, but also the tasks that needed to be completed.

I'm not ashamed to admit that this is the very first time I have ever felt 'out-of-my-depth' in anything, and that it felt extremely unnerving!

Just over 40 years of living a life that has been massively unchallenging...until now.

I had two options: leave/move on or stay and try (I was going to type 'fight' because that's how it felt at the time, but it was only a fleeting state of mind).

There is no way that I would ever leave anything because it was difficult.
Unfortunately, I have left Uni 3 times before due mostly to immaturity: an overseas backpacking trip sounded like a better deal, then work seemed more important, and finally, my health messed things up.
I couldn't let that happen again!

To my surprise, what kept me going back to the WebCt, and one of the reasons I conscientiously strove to discover the bits, pieces and connectors that were missing in my Net11 curriculum comprehension...was the fantastically supportive and inspirational environment that our tutors Cynthia and Peter nurtured.

This environment allowed the students to relax and open their minds to the possibilities that were available to us (albeit mostly and tantalisingly - out-of-reach!) if we attempted the tasks.
We didn't have to complete anything to perfection, just try out the tasks and blog our experiences - warts and all!

As a consequence, the entire community that was fostered over the Christmas/Festive season, was one of hope, encouragement, and most importantly, humour :)

I know that I still have a very long road to travel, but for me, life is only worth living if you are continually learning, helping others to learn, and utilising the skills you have learnt.

Today, I feel that NET11 has helped me to achieve a 'Personal Best' in terms of being able to understand my own computer capabilities, maneouvre around the internet and find information (even if it requires several attempts - but this is improving), download programs, contribute positively and in a manner that promotes the enhancement of a supportive online community.

Recording my findings and reflecting on them has been intrinsically valuable for both helping to formulate ideas as well as utilising them in my internet forays.
Thank you Peter for helping us with the opportunity to start a blog and the encouragement to keep going.

As I have already mentioned, I still have a very long road to travel.
More than that however, I need to find the road that I will be travelling on...there are so many options that are appealing at this stage!

The course content was extremely foreign to me at the beginning of December.
Although I now feel I understand the NET11 curriculum, I am still unsure that I have the technological aptitude required to pursue this pathway to its completion.
I am looking forward to the first day of NET12 on March 2, and hope that doing another course in this area will help me to discover if this is merely a brief moment of consciousness...or if I was truly meant to be here :)

Thank you once more to the students and tutors of NET11 for helping me to learn so much in such a short time.

Wherever my studies may take me,

\0/My life will always be richer
for the time I spent here with you\0/

From the album 'Lead Me On'
(Amy Grant)

NB (From Tessa) This is one of my favourite songs of all time: the lyric-line inclusion was not intended in a romantic way (as I believe the words of the song were originally intended)...I just felt it fit this post perfectly :)

Module 5 - Information Ecologies

This module served as both a revision and also a conglomeration of the aspects of 'Internet Communications' that have been discovered throughout the course.

Firstly, the notes encouraged us to revisit the concepts but this time, in relation to 'information ecology'.
Secondly, the case study of peer-to-peer file sharing was explored to encourage an understanding of the implications and consequences that can arise when using the internet in this manner.
Lastly, as the internet is an area that has developed rapidly in the last few years, literature was provided to promote an understanding of how the definition of an 'advanced internet user' may be changing now, and will possibly change in the future.

How Might the metaphor of an 'ecology' impact on the way you think about, understand, and use the internet?

My own personal thoughts kept reverting to how much I have learnt with NET11 in a very short space of time.
Three months ago I had never heard of FTP, blinkenlights, ICQ, Twitter, ping rates, Kindle, HTML, XHTML, CSS, Blogs, Mozilla Firefox - the list is ominously long but brilliantly inspiring!
In a way, the set-up of NET11 fostered a sort of Information Ecology in a gradual way.
To start with we all posted introductions then began working on the tasks.
Many students, already familiar with content in the set tasks due to previous experience, were able to assist the tutors by guiding the more naive members like me, to make sense of what was required.
Our posts on the Discussion Boards, as well as links to helpful sites and other snippets of information, helped us to write up reflections about our progress in our online blogs - all these factors contributed information into an ecological system, which we then reused, expanded on, discarded, filed away for fulture use et cetera.
Our very own Information Ecology.
I know that we have definitely added to online information, because I set-up a Google name search for myself.
This has reported back references of my name that were actually me (!) and were found mostly on social networking sites like facebook, Twitter, blogs - as well as through other areas not related to the NET11 course.

After reading the articles however, I realised that Information Ecology is also about being aware of the Concept of 'Invisibility of Difference', and in some ways is closely related to W3C.
I have come across a few articles that explore accessibility issues between information rich societies and information poor societies, which Capurro (2002) claims is continuing to increase.
More about Capurro (2002) in a moment.

'Information Ecology' appears to be a recent term that encompasses the transfer and sharing of information across the Web, and is driven and created by people.

No proper dictionary or encyclopaedic definition could be accessed apart from a Wikepedia definition, so a quote from an article accessed through 'Google Scholar' will be referred to initially,
Information Ecology and Knowledge Management by Yogyesh Malhotra PhD (2002)
as it extends the definition to go "...beyond the emphasis on information, to account for action, performance and adaptation of self-regulatory systems." (2002:2)
Although Malhotra's article focusses on Information Ecology within business organisations, the main premises follow the same pathways and encompass the myriad of interacting and interdependent streams that shape the creation, flow and use of information within that environment (2002:2). Without the people that send out the information, retrieve it, reuse it, adapt it etc, there would be no information ecology. In fact, an information ecology emphasises the people rather than the technology.
Malhotra acknowledges that the area of Information Ecology is dynamic and changing rapidly in the current climate and therefore needs to be continually adapted.

How are the concepts of 'information' and 'communication' understood within the framework of an 'information ecology'?

Towards an Information Ecology by Rafael Capurro (1989)
This was, personally, a particularly thought provoking article, and I appreciate that Capurro mentioned that his ideas were in no way exhaustive - the subject of Information Ecology is possibly only at the precipice of the threshold - *a* threshold - in terms of our understanding of the topic.

In his paper Capurro compares the publishing and sharing of information on the Internet with world environment issues.
He claims that natural resources like water and fossil fuels have and continue to be taken for granted, misused and not managed properly.
The main fear here, is that information that is published may also end up being misused, mismanaged and exploited due to irrational thinking and a disregard for the consequences of proposed actions.
As the whole area of information sharing using the internet is relatively new (compared with the advent, for example, of printing ie books, newspapers), Capurro recommends that internet users need to reassess their contributions and the way that they contribute.
The Institute for Information and Communication Ecology was set-up in 2002 to focus on scientific research areas and the responsible protection and contribution to the sociosphere (Capurro, 2002:3).

Quite frankly, the topics Capurro broached are similar in a lot of respects to the concepts (Allen, n.d.)
He mentions that any information needs some form of pre-understanding (of any content), a responsibility toward different cultures, customs, points of view, social rights, levels of technological advancement, the richness of the past and the constraints of the present (Capurro, 2002:2).

Why don't we talk of a 'communication ecology'?

Information Ecologies
By Felix Stalder (1997)
In this article, Stalder defines the processes of intangible information that flow across the media built environment, to be the primary setting within which humans interact.
His paper on 'information technology' utilises this process in an effort to understand how to avoid its dangers and instead, promote positive development and further harness its potential.

The environment is constructed of flows of information which people use to communicate with.
Just like a biologically-based ecosystem, an information ecology is a group of interacting parts that together, produce a stable system through the cyclic exchange of materials (Webster's Online Dictionary).

A 'communication ecology' is therefore not spoken about because it is information, not communication, that is being transferred and cyclically exchanged.
Instead, it is the process of sharing information that is classed as communication.

Peer to Peer
It was interesting to read two of the articles - I'll admit that my brain couldn't handle any more, and that I actually fell asleep while reading both of them.

Nevertheless, they didn't actually say much that I didn't already know.
I have never used any music-sharing sites before.
Perhaps this is due to a lack of prior technological know-how, but I'd like to think that it is because of my diligence in sustaining equality and a sense of moral conduct while perusing the internet.
I remember that there was a site in the 1990s that suddenly couldn't be found - that might be Kazaa that was mentioned (in "Copying is Theft..." by Mark Rasch), but I'm sure there was another one...I think it was called Napster.

Being a recording musician, I am keenly aware of the current issues surrounding piracy, and know that it is still alive in terms of not just illegally downloaded music, but also movies.
That this deprives a host of people (composer, performer/s, recording engineer, artwork designer etc) of their well-earned income is obvious, yet people still do it.

I remember bumping into a friend at a shopping centre on Christmas Eve in 2007 on the threshold of JB Hi-Fi (isn't Hi-Fi a redundant term now?).
Anyway, we were just entering and he was leaving and very excited about his purchase:
"A $0.99 Black & White B-Grade Horror Movie".
All he could keep saying was "Sorry - I got the last copy!".
Secretly, I couldn't have cared less (obviously, JB Hi-Fi thought they'd see how many people they could dupe for $1 instead of throwing the DVDs in the trash) but I kept up the charade as we spoke about holidays etc.
After we parted, he came running back and told us that he could burn a copy of the movie for us, as he was still so sorry he had bought the last copy.
I was stunned into silence (that's rare!) but my partner politely joked that it would probably cost him more to burn the movie than he had paid for the original!
So he invited us to watch it over the holidays instead....obviously I'll never think secretly unkind thoughts again. Punishment. However, his BBQ was fantastic :)

My point is, though, that there are people who are so entrenched in their ways, that they're not even thinking of the real cost - and that can include a fine of $150,000 for illegally downloading music, along with an array of other penalties.

Preparing for Future Shock
Internet2: although I was not aware of its name, I've known that Government Schools (possibly every Government school) is going to have a large interactive screen installed for the pruposes of interactive learning with, for example: NASA, undersea exploration, Universities, schools, etc from around the world.
At one of the schools I teach at, I was in a room that was being measured up for a large screen that would enable the students to interact with other students and places of interest around the globe.

The Australian Advanced Research Network or AARNET, is a group that worked from 1996 to a few years ago to enable Australia's Research and Education sectors to network around the world more efficiently. It was headed by George McLaughlin, who was given an Australia Day Award for his efforts on January 26, 2009.

As technology continues to improve, the people of the world will become increasingly more connected not just for business or educational purposes, but also socially.
Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube already have phenomenally large numbers of users, and there are many more sites that are in existence.
The short messaging service Twitter is, I believe, already a forerunner of instant news and knowledge before it is widely known.
Not only will the speed of access and information transfer improve, but cultures will hopefully also begin to understand each other in positive ways - cultural boundaries are already disappearing.

When I was younger, cousins from the USA, and the Philippines would send me new clothes for my birthdays.
I remember being asked which shop I had bought the clothes from because they were unusual, like floral sneakers in the 1970s (my friends usually had plain white and later on 'joggers' in blue, brown or grey).
These days, fashion follows the UK, Europe and the USA by the next season or instantly (as in, for example, outfits worn at the Oscars can be found in some stores (mostly online) the very next day.

The article on Dr Vint Cerf (who helped engineer the first internet) was quite thought provoking.
Mobile phones have been able to access the internet for a few years now.
The fact that a nine-year-old boy in Singapore is writing applications for the iPhone is, I believe, a portent of what is still to come.

The last paragraph of the article on Dr Cerf is the most thought-provoking though:
"The internet is a reflection of our society and that mirror is going to be reflecting what we see," he said. "If we do not like what we see in that mirror the problem is not to fix the mirror, we have to fix society."
Again, it is another reference to the Concepts (Allen, M. n.d.)studied in the NET11 course.

Module 4: Tasks

MODULE 4: DOWNLOADS
To begin with, most of the software downloads recommended are already on my computer. The main problem with some software I have downloaded, is the fact that they take over your home page or become the *main* software for whatever purpose you wanted them for...despite the fact that I always make sure I adjust the page prior to downloading, to uncheck any boxes that state 'make this the preferred software (for whatever purpose) on your computer'.

A recent example of this is the ICQ programme software for the chat task. In June 2008 I downloaded what I thought was the Microsoft Vista compatible software for Apple Quicktime Player, so I could watch video's I had taken of my HSC (Year 12 - Senior High School) Students then email them copies.
It was a disaster.
My computer blinked uncontrollably at first and then froze.

I tried the usual "Ctrl Alt Del", but this turned my computer screen into ghostly shades of pastel with an added and eerie mirage-like quality. I could not switch my laptop off so unplugged it and closed the lid.
When I returned the next day, it had gone into 'hibernation', and when we took it back to the store it was purchased from, had miraculously came alive again.
No sign of the troubles endured less than 24 hours previously, making my story weak and unbelievable.
We went home again.

Exactly one week later, the same thing happened again (although I had since removed Apple Quicktime *completely*).
I left and returned the next day, to find a black screen randomly filled with white alphanumeric text. The text did not make sense in any English or grammatical sense.
The numbers and letters appeared to have been plucked at random. When we returned to the store once more, the technicians and salesmen were clambouring to get a look at my laptop screen - no-one had seen anything like it despite many of them owning the same brand and model.
Needless to say, I wasn't very optimistic about whether they could repair my machine let alone recover my files.
I asked if I could be issued with a replacement but was told they don't have that policy and couldn't do the 'Insurance' stated new for old replacement (it was 3 months old) until an ASUS (the brand I have) technician had looked at it.
The laptop had to be sent away.
Almost one month later, my computer returned to me with a brand new hard drive.
It has, however, never been the same.

I had other problems, although not quite as debilitating, in October, November and December 2008.
In January 2009 and continuing to the present day, I cannot have too many windows open at once, or all windows 'freeze' and do not allow any interaction from either the mouse or keys.
My computer has a loud 'hum' now and initially, after returning from being repaired at the beginning of December 2008, sounded like it had an internal 'water drip' - very similar to the sound of a tap dripping onto a metal kitchen sink. I think that sound has gone - either that or I'm deaf or oblivious to it now.

The upside is that I managed to download Apple Quicktime again in mid-January.
It could be the reason why my windows are freezing if I have too many open, but luckily there have been no crashes...yet.

Software Downloaded to date:
* Adobe PDF Reader
* Flash and Shockwave Players
* Apple Quicktime Player
* Windows Media Player

I have yet to down load these three:
* Search Manager
* Bookmark Buddy for windows
* Offline Browser
For the above three options I have always just used the saved favourites and have downloaded pdf files to my desktop for further perusal. Will check in again tomorrow with details of how I went downloading the last three.

I downloaded Copernic without any difficulties.
I decided against downloading the 'Book Mark Buddy' as I am quite happy with my new 'Mozilla Firefox' Web Browser - definitely beats 'Internet Explorer'! - which has neatly categorised everything under my 'bookmarks' Tab into the alphabetical order I prefer.

One thing I may try to eventually change though, is to move my most frequently used bookmarks to the top of my list so I don't need to scroll down too far all the time (M=MyWebCt to access the Discussion Board and Curriculum).


MY MOZILLA FIREFOX Web Browser has probably been the best thing I have ever downloaded.
I can search just about anything from just the browsing bar at the top of the page!
However, I still prefer 'Google'-ing most things due to the speed.
Some things still don't come up with the Mozilla Firefox - it seems to be very specific or may be has a smaller database.
For example, I was searching for 'Internet2'.
When I searched through Mozilla Firefox I got one direct hit:













Whereas when I searched through Google I got 3,380,000 hits.












Copernic got me 68 hits













Google Scholar got me 19,500 hits.

Quick Comparison Chart:
Full Boolean vs. Implied Boolean vs. Templates

	Full Boolean	Implied Boolean	Template Terminology
OR	college or university	[rarely available] *see note below	any of these words can contain the words should contain the words
AND	poverty and crime	+poverty +crime	all of these words must contain the words
NOT	cats not dogs	cats -dogs	must not contain the words should not contain the words
NEAR, etc.	cats near dogs	N/A	near

* Most multi-term search statements will resolve to AND logic at search engines that use AND as the default. Nowadays most search engines default to AND. Always play it safe, however, and consult the Help files at each site to find out which logic is the default.

The above information was taken from a Link in NET11 course notes:

www.internettutorials.net/boolean.html

I found that when searching for information, often, the 'AND' and 'OR' were only useful if the search returned a large number of hits, or I was unsure what to search for at the outset.

Also, the first few sites listed are usually the most relevant, as often the sites listed just become any article that includes the words in your search criteria.

An annotation used in my Concepts Assignment

Title 2:Turnage, A. K. (2007). Email flaming behaviours and organizational conflict. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13 (1), article 3.

Site: http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/turnage.html

In this article Turnage (2007) explored whether the 'flaming' or 'bad' netiquette behaviour (excessive use of CAPITALS, exclamation marks!!! and question marks???) described in literature was still considered flaming, by asking participants to assess messages typically found in emails.

Turnage highlighted the potential damage that can occur in communication particularly with reference to workplace and organizational conflict, as a result of plain text messages that include excessive use of 'flaming' symbols and gave recommendations for good email communication practices.

Published in 2007, this article contains current content, addresses pertinent issues, is peer-reviewed, and contributes to good email communication practice and netiquette in general.

(103 words)

1. In terms of annotated sites, my own annotation will be most useful for future reference, because, apart from the fact that I wrote and should therefore understand it, the aspects within it directly relate to my experiences when I read the article.
Someone else's experience will not be as significant for me as it will be for the person who wrote it.

2.In terms of external users, the best indication of relevance would possibly be the Title and opening and closing sentences.
The middle part of the annotation directly relates to why it was used to support the particular concept it is written under.

Net Studies Index - the new Discussion Board

Today I joined the 'other' Discussion Board called netstudies.

The posts look very different, and more like personalised blog posts:

I'll put a photo here when my computer is back to normal...it's freezing on me and sometimes flickering...yesterday, I clicked on a stored favourite from my list...and window after window kept appearing - I counted over 40 that popped up!

Not only did I get alot of windows (the effect was like when the cards all flip across the screen once you've won Solitaire), but the computer wouldn't switch off.

Pesky.
Worrying.

At the moment it's pot luck as to whether I can open a new window.
Hopefully it's not a virus again!

In the meantime, please enjoy a manually (Ctrl c / Ctrl v) pasted transcript of my first post (which btw, is in technicolor on the new board)...I can no longer even 'right click' to copy and paste (yes, my laptop has a mouse attached due to my arthritis).

Fingers crossed X it's not a virus X


TessaGJoined: 09 Feb 2009Posts: 3Karma: 0Location: Sydney NSW Australia
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 3:14 pm Post subject: Hi and Welcome \0/

Hi everyone - I like the options for posting on this board!!! and how you can add pictures or a YouTube link...but I'm not sure if I should as the links (pictures and YouTube) would be my preference and not related to the course at all...possibly a waste of everyone's bandwidth. Do let me know if you want some pictures and images though - I can offer you a short promo from the late 80's of a marching band I used to be in when I could march (yep, totally thrilling), and a photo montage to a 3 minute excerpt of the concert band I currently perform with (doubly exciting). Okay. I'll stick to the colour, size, font options. Looking forward to reading everyone's new posts TessaG (Teresa Gutierrez from the WebCt) NB Below is a totally random poll which I'm doing purely to test it out - but please contribute if you can Hope it shows and is formatted correctly...

Conceptual Research and Reflection Project Completed

I finished my Concepts Assignment and am pretty happy it's over.

The journey was awesome, but it took longer than I expected, and towards the end my eyes were deceiving me each time I spell checked etc so I just stopped (checking that is).

My sanity won't be affected by a couple of errors.

Well, probably not.

Okay, not today anyway.

Hopefully my APA referencing isn't too off the mark either, because I couldn't find how to do some things...again, my eyes!

I've been staring at this computer screen since 8am Wednesday morning, with two 5 hour breaks on Thursday from 3am to 8am, and Saturday from 3am to 8am... but I'm still energetic enough to continue with an essay that should have been finished yesterday as well.

Please enjoy a couple of photos of how my 'Concepts Assignment' blog looks like. The background green is SOooo...vitalising!