tutorial 5&6

1) For me, the best learning experience when working in a group is that everyone has a chance to share their ideas. This makes the group have more ideas to talk about and that the assignment is completed at a faster rate. Compared to the work being done by a single individual, not only is it time consuming but the ideas are also limited. Hence in a group, more ideas are generated and shared. Individuals will learn from their friends and thus benefit as well.

2)As an individual contributor, i have learnt many things through my group members that i myself as an individual may not have learnt on my own. I have learned to look at situations from another angle at times. A scenario may not appear as it would seem. For instance the evaluation criteria, the webpage my group and i have decided to do on is in point form. Naturally since its in point form, the extent to which it is not detailed enough is low. However that might not be the case as points give sufficient information from the entire paragraph of words. In some cases, the whole chunk of words may be irrelevant and that only a small part make up the main points of the topic. This was something i may not have seen/learnt on my own.

3)The one most challenging experience i had was the recent group discussion we had was to Analise an article and pick out the main points of the news article. The information was so clustered and the points were so vague. There was a lot of information that was not related to our part. Despite this, my group memebers and i never gave up but viewed things in another view. Eventually we discovered the answers we were looking for.

4) I would advice the next batch of wiki groups to first have a strong sense of group cohesiveness so that they can tackle any problems faced. Having strong group cohesiveness would mean that the group stays strong and united together and that any problems faced will be countered as a whole instead. This would mean that group members will help one another when a problem is faced, making sure that the problem is solved before moving on to the next point.

5) i would consider using wiki for research in my own Diplomas as wiki provides a lot of updated information which would be relevant. For instance, TP's wiki (www.eir-rawkz.wetpaint.com). Information is constantly updated which means that there are always new information coming in obout a certain topic. Thus this would be a good place to start research on. In addition, students can also hold a discussion there as well.

Practical 8&9

I'll do pictures later because this computer sux and very slow..
My dream holiday is a trip to hokkaido, japan.

b)I used the "coverage" criteria to evaluate the multimedia websites for my dream holiday. This webpage shows information which are summarised into point form yet they are sufficient for readers to get hold of a general view of the package. Though not in-depth, information is still relevant and sufficient. I chose the "coverage" point because it is important for readers to be informed and get a good grasp of information of the tour package as they are many substitudes of tour packages. Thus information provided has to be enough and attractive to readers.

Virtual reality, Second life

c)I chose to go to hokkaido as my dream destination because the scenery is fantastic there and that it was an ideal place to enjoy snow and the ski resort. Not only are the sceneries awesome, the customer service and attitude of the Japanese are very sophisticated and polite. No doubt the prices of goods may be slightly more expensive, there are more pros than cons. Thus if given a choice, i would consider emigrating to Japan.

Practical 7

a) To evaluate Stomp, i used "accuracy" as the criteria. I chose this because the news is accurate as it is based on what they had seen as supporting evidence to support their article. Although there are evidence, the contents of the articles are mainly opinions which may result in it being one sided. Thus this may imply that the articles are only credible to an extent or perhaps it not even being reliable. Pictures also may be deceiving as they can be altered and thus become misleading. I have learnt that in order for news to be credible, an article has to show both sides of the situation, the pros and cons. This would hence lead to objectivity and thus the news will be reliable through the comparison of good and bad.

bi)Citizen journalism is a place where there is freedom of speech. I create my own stomp page on Early Childhood Trauma with the feature of logging in or signing up on stomp to view the article. This is to ensure privacy and that only members of stomp are able to post a comment on the article. It also has the feature of censoring off any vulgarities written by members under the comment area. Thus this ensures that comments are vulgar-free.

bii) I would include sub-headings, image gallaries, keywords, and even some videos to ensure that my “Stomp” has effectively addressed the implications for teaching and learning of Citizen Journalism mentioned in my article

Practical 6

a) I feel that searching through databases is effective however not it is less effective than search engines and directories. Databases provides/summarises information which are short yet rich in content. However some information provided are also provided in search engines and in some cases search engines provide even more information which are useful. Thus this shows that the information provided by databases may be essential if doing a simple article, but may not be sufficient if doing something such as a portfolio which requires in-depth focus and explaination. Therefore, using search engines and directories are more effective than databases.

b)I would search the invisible web for my diploma, Accounting & Finance. Databases provide information which are short yet enriching. I can use TP database, SPARK to search on my diploma. Furthermore, since it is a database in TP, it would mean to show more information than other search engines and directory outside.

c)i learnt that databases provide enough information varying on situations. For instance if i'm doing an assignment on TP, databases would prove to be better as TP database would show more information than any other search engines. This is because TP should specialise enough information in the school compound itself rather than other search engines providing more info on the school. Compared to wiki, wiki may show a lot of enriching info however it may not show enough details of TP due to security. Therefore, information which will be chosen from either "spark" or "wiki" is dependent on the type of information being researched on.

Activity 3 (1)

http://www.aaets.org/article174.htm (Meta Crawler)

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_signs_types_diagnosis_treatment.htm (Yahoo directory)

Practical 4&5

Activity 3: 2a)
Answer:  Different search facilities give me different benefits which are related to my topic on early childhood traumas. Taking meta-crawler and subject directory as examples. Meta crawler branches out into other search engines such as google, yahoo and bing. Thus it widens the chances of finding the information you need. Meta Crawler also shows various results which are relevant and specific information i require. It thus aids me in searching for very detailed information. Meta Crawler also protrays fast, easy to use and good results. Results selected are also very accurate and it does not consume too much time.
For subject directory benefits, it showcases other portals to diverse into the categories that i need. For my topic i'm doing on, early childhood trauma, it makes my findings easier and thus more relevant. Results protrayed by yahoo directory are shown in a very detailed manner and it also shows a lot of links that are very broad in range. Links showed by yahoo directory are very rich in content and this aids in researching. Yahoo directory also protrays information which are formal as they are cited by professionals. This makes the information credible.

b)Using site feeds in my blog help others to understand my reasons/explainations about my research topic better. This site feed helps to back up my reasons with citations from professionals and thus this makes my reasons credible. Certain site feeds also include videos and media which also showcase the information in a simpler way to the reader which thus helps them stay interested in finding out about my topic better, instead of just reading long and mundane sentences which could put the reader off.

c) Collaborating on wiki with other students allows us to share similar thoughts as well as share different opinions on our research topic. This allows us to think out of the box and it thus aids in widening our knowledge about our topic.

Individual Activity on Second Life

Compared to my E-shopping Spree on Internet which i did on practical 1&2, it was a very enriching experience.
This e-learning experience has heightened my sense of direction and allowed me control my budget wisely instead of spending excessively. The most challenging experience i had was deciding what to buy, a necessities or  luxuries for $500. As this was a virtual world, not having necessities would not matter. However, i still chose to purchase necessities as they prove to protray a better and simpler image compared to having luxurious items such as rings and necklaces.