Mary's NET11 Blog

Easy navigation guide to this blog

2007-05-23T11:50:00.000+08:00

Module 1

Telnet and more..
FTP
Traceroute and more..
Module 1 tasks continued
Domain name system

Module 2

Email tasks
Lists
ICQ
IRC
Newsgroup message
ICQ chat

Module 3

HTML task
Validating my Web page
Copyright on the Internet
FTP my Web page to Oasis
Blogs
Rules for writing online
Tips for new bloggers

Module 4

Downloading tools for the Web
Search engine task
Boolean search task
Organising your search information
Evaluating information

Assignment 1 Progress

Resource project
My annotated bibliography of resources
Final mark on my resource project

Assignment 2 Progress

Approaching the essay
Essay progress
My conceptual understanding is becoming clearer

Reflections on studying NET11

Waitresses are like Web browsers
Netiquette, security and organisation
Lists, newsgroups and online chat
Study progress
Online publishing and writing
Effective practices
Study progress and use of tagging

Internet Studies

First day of study
Accepted for BA of media & information
What I have learnt

What I have learnt

2007-05-23T10:26:00.000+08:00

I've had a great time studying NET11 this semester.

I've learned a lot, from how to organise and evaluate information I found online, to researching for critical articles using Gecko and Google Scholar.

By completing the tasks in this unit, I gained a further knowledge of the Internet history, Internet law, and copyrights, as well as enhancing my skills in emailing, chatting, blogging and communication online.

It has been wonderful having this learning log to keep chart of my progress throughout the 13 weeks - It was so helpful I actually started a similar log for the other unit of study I was doing.

Thank you to my tutor, Cynthia, who helped with her in-depth posts on the discussion boards clarifying assignment requirements. :)

Thank you to all my fellow students for their help, advice and ideas on this unit through out discussion board and chat sessions. :)

Can't wait to start further studies on campus at Curtin for next semester!

- Mary

Final mark on my resource project

2007-05-22T13:43:00.000+08:00

I got my results from my first assignment in NET11 yesterday, and to my complete shock I got marked as 30/30! I did not have a clue how good or bad my assignment was, and would have been completely satisfied with a B or B+.

Thinking back to when I was working on that assignment, I do remember enjoying it - as I love searching, categorizing and even referencing (I never could have guessed I would love that!) plus the assignment taught me some useful skills, such as how to evaluate information, and how to annotate it so it will be of further use to myself and others.

Getting a mark like that was a good surprise, and made me more confident that I am on the right track with my studies. :)

Studying for my BA!

2007-05-19T11:38:00.001+08:00

I got a letter from Curtin containing an offer to study for the Bachelor of Arts (Media and Information). I accepted the offer, so from next semester I'll be an on-campus, full time student!

Yay! :)

I'm very excited and can't wait to begin! and, hopefully, I'll meet some of my online tutors when I am studying there.

- Mary

My conceptual understanding is becoming clearer

2007-05-11T10:18:00.000+08:00

My essay for assignment 2 is progressing nicely.
It's kind of funny to think that this time last week I was feeling fairly lost with not much idea of how it was all going to come together. But reading, thinking, writing down any ideas as they came to me, and constantly going over the concepts document have meant that I've finally got a good grasp on what I am writing about and how I am going to write about it.

I find this essay is very reflective, almost a case in point for Concept 4, Reflective Communicative Practice, because at every step of the way, I am looking back on how I've improved throughout this unit. And in other ways this essay is making me realise how much conceptual knowledge I already had, (and just didn't realise!). Just in little things like thinking before I do anything online.

Well back to the essay, this semester is winding up quickly! :)

-Mary

Essay progress

2007-05-05T11:29:00.000+08:00

I've just read some articles about transmission models of communication from the media studies infobase (which was recommended in the assessment details for this assignment)
The articles I've read so far are:

*The Shannon-Weaver model.
*Transmission models -criticism.
*The Lasswell formula.
*Berlo's S-M-C-R Model.

These were all very interesting, and certainly got me thinking, but I'm unsure about how I could use them in relation to my assignment. I guess I'll keep on reading.

Yesterday after listening to Helen Merrick's entertaining lecture on Information Ecologies (she really got me enthusiastic about this essay!) I did make a ~450 word start on my essay - just by going through the concepts documents and thinking about which concepts related to any module tasks I completed.

This was good, as it at least got me started on my essay, even if I won't use any of what I wrote yesterday.

I also reflected on some questions posed in Module 5:

How might the metaphor of an ‘ecology’ impact on the way you think about, understand or use the Internet?

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

Why don’t we talk of a ‘communication ecology’?

Because communication is not the implied result of swapping information.

- Mary

Approaching the essay

2007-05-04T14:07:00.000+08:00

Well the assignment that will be the hardest is now upon me, yes you guessed it - an essay!

After wondering how I should start to approach the question

"How can our 'Net skill and knowledge be enhanced by a conceptual understanding
of the Internet?" (Allen, n.d.)

I decided to start by asking myself some questions;

What is meant by 'conceptual understanding?'

What skills and knowledge is enhanced?

Why is our knowledge and skills enhanced by a conceptual understanding?

To what extent are they enhanced?

Time to get studying!

- Mary

References

Allen, M. n.d. Internet communications concepts document. Retrieved March 26, 2007, from webCT through Curtin University of Technology.

My Annotated Bibliography of Resources

2007-05-03T11:54:00.000+08:00

Just a quick note to say that my first assignment for NET11, an Annotated Bibliography of Resources, can be found at

http://internetstudies.wordpress.com

I had so much fun researching, reviewing, evaluating, annotating and putting together this blog that I think I would like to maintain a similar type of resource on tips for studying at university. It would be a great project to have while I am studying for my degree, with the added bonus of helping me keep the skills I learnt in this assignment sharp.

- Mary

Module 4: Evaluating information

2007-04-26T09:30:00.000+08:00

For this task, I have to choose a Web site from my last task, and annotate it.

Stevens Institute of Technology. (2000). Advanced internet user tutorial. Retrieved April 19, 2007, from http://www.k12science.org/tutorials/advanced/

The tutorial offered by the Center for Improved Engineering & Science Information, covers basic web browsing customization techniques.

Targeted at a upper school students, this tutorial is probably a little basic for advanced Internet users - despite being titled 'Advanced Internet users tutorial'.

This tutorial would be a good resource for beginning Internet users who want to learn some tips on how to better use their browser while surfing the Internet.

Questions -

1) in terms of your own future use, which 'body ' of information (ie. the original 'snapshot' of the site, or your own, annotated, analytical version) would be most useful to refer back to?

The annotated version would be the most useful, as it explains and evaluates the source concisely. This helps me to quickly remember why I saved this link.

2)In term of external users (i.e. if you included this site as a hyperlink or resource on a website) which body of information would best help them judge if the site was useful or of interest to them?

The annotated version would best help users to decide if they wanted to visit the link, as they can see an evaluation of the link before they decided to visit it.

Module 4: Organising your search information

2007-04-25T15:25:00.000+08:00

To organise my search information I use Diigo, which has been the best tool I've used to sort and organise information online, mainly because it is so simple and easy to use.

To bookmark and record information about my 3 best sources found while searching for 'advanced internet users' I'm going to use Diigo.

First I click 'Bookmark/share' and automatically the URL, page title and screenshot are recorded, after that I can add my own tags and comments to this page. In this case I added 2 comments, "Found while searching google for advanced internet users" and in the second comment I recorded the author and institution of the Web page.

Source #1 - Advanced Internet Users Tutorial

Source # 2 VICNET Internet Training

Source # 3 CyberSavvy UK - Advanced Internet Techniques

References:

Cybersavvy UK. (2003). Advanced tutorials. Retrieved April 25, 2007, from http://www.webpr.co.uk/practical/advanced.asp

State Library of Victoria. (2007). Advanced internet training - more advanced users. Retrieved April 24, 2007, from http://www.vicnet.net.au/training/advance.html

Stevens Institute of Technology. (2000). Advanced internet user tutorial. Retrieved April 19, 2007, from http://www.k12science.org/tutorials/advanced/

Saturday Reflections - ( Part VII )

2007-04-21T16:09:00.000+08:00

I've been busy all week working on my first assignment, the annotated bibliography of resources.

After deciding on a format ( a blog ) and finalising what content I had found, I cut it down by evaluating each Web site I had found, and finally came up with a short-list of 11 pages that I am now going to annotate.

One Web site I am sure to include is the wonderful Diigo, I cannot speak highly enough of how useful this tool is! the ability to highlight, take notes, and bookmark all over web pages and then being able to organise, tag, share or blog with your information has been fantastic - when I review my pages before writing the annotation I can 'interact' with the piece of writing by asking questions of the content (eg. I'll read "The balloon floats when filled with air" so I'll sticky note with Diigo it and say "why? note to self: find out") this helps me really evaluate and understand exactly what I am reading.

I also searched the net for pages that offer tips on writing annotations, as I find it very helpful to read 2 or 3 different ways of explaining how to do something.

- Mary

Module 4: Boolean Search Task

2007-04-18T13:46:00.000+08:00

My next task was to search with the same keywords 'advanced internet users' and think of a strategy for getting the best results for the following questions.

I searched using Google for this task.

the biggest number of hits relating to these key words

1. (internet AND users) advanced
282,000,000

2. internet OR users OR advanced
279,000,000

BEST RESULT

3. (advanced) internet AND users
291,000,000

My best result was 3.

I achieved this by specifying Google to first search for advanced, then follow it with internet users.

sources relating to skills-based information on these key words.

BEST RESULT

1. "advanced internet users"

18,000

Searching with quote marks surrounding the words made sure they were all included in any document Google returned. I found that I got lots of skills-based web sites for advanced internet users using this method.

information coming only from university sources

BEST RESULT

1. "advanced internet users" site:.edu

895,000

Searching with site:.edu meant that all results returned were from educational sources.

Module 4: Search Engine Task

2007-04-18T13:05:00.000+08:00

I searched for 'advanced internet users' on my most frequently used search engine, Google.

The first hit: Advanced Internet Users Tutorial - CIESE

The number of hits: 114,000,000

Next I tried the same search 'advanced internet users' using Copernic set to search 15 engines.

The first hit: Advanced Internet Users Tutorial - CIESE

The number of hits: 55

Comparison:
Google found a lot more results than Copernic, however my settings on Copernic specified that it was to only return 10 links from each engine, therefore using 15 engines limited my results to just 55.

Getting 55 more specific results is a lot less intimidating than getting 114,000,000 or so that may contain the words 'advanced internet users' ! :)

However, even though it returned only 55 results, Copernic did not perform best for me in this task. I feel that Google gave me the best results when searching for 'advanced internet users'.

Module 3: Tips for new bloggers

2007-04-16T12:56:00.000+08:00

Well after some 200 posts on my personal blog, I guess I do have some tips for new bloggers! :)

Tip # 1

Write for YOU.

Don't write your blog because your best friend has a blog, or because your favourite movie star has a blog or because you feel left behind because even your neighbour's dog has a blog!
If you write a blog because you truly want to, you'll find it is easier to write and update, and best of all you'll love doing it.

Tip # 2

Respond to comments on your blog.

Have you ever commented on a post that you loved on a blog? and then you felt so disappointed because never got a reply.
You chose to write the blog and enable comments, so you should also respond to ALL those comments - value your readers and they'll keep on reading.

Tip # 3

Blogroll.

Network, network, network! If you 'blogroll' or link to other blogs you read you'll feel more a part of the blog world and you may even get a reciprocal link, and with it, new readers!

Tip # 4

Format your posts.

Please write with a clearly defined text colour on an easy background colour. Have you even been to a blog where the writer may have had something great to say, but you could just never stand the red text on black background? Keep your readers in mind when choosing font, size and colour.

Spacing is also very important - make sure there in enough in your posts, and don't forget proper spelling and appropriate post headers!

Tip # 5

Keep it real. Don't ever say anything you wouldn't say in the middle of a room full of people.

Don't use your blog to break friendships, gossip about great-aunts or grouch about current or (possible) future employers. They can all use Google too...

So new bloggers, keep these tips in mind, go rule the blogosphere, and have FUN! :)

- Mary

Saturday Reflections (Part VI)

2007-04-14T14:58:00.000+08:00

After a break for Easter last week, my Saturday Reflections post is back! :)

I had a little bit of catching up to do with the tasks in Module 3 this week, as well as starting Module 4.

Module 4 is about effectively using the infosphere, and so far the best part about this unit has been the links to specialised databases - it is absolutely great that they have these virtual libraries to browse through! :)

I feel it has been of immense help for my preparation for Assignment 1, the annotated bibliography of resources, to have found these virtual libraries.

Searching around Google is fairly good, especially when you know what commands to use to get the best out of your searches, but searching around in a library is even better - they have already had 'human filters' deciding which pages qualify for listing in the library, which is turn makes the results I get from searching there of higher quality.

An interesting thread is taking place on our WebCT discussion board regarding the effective use of email, and specifically the use or misuse of the subject line.

I couldn't quite work out why I didn't like some people to email me without a subject line, and then I realised why..

"..So, for me - No subject line is
acceptable when you 'trust' or 'know' the sender, as in private work emails,
emails from very close family or friends. and No subject line is
unacceptable when I have never received an email from the person/company
before.. as why would I click on an email with no subject when they haven't yet
gained my trust." (Castieau, 2007)

The subject line of an email can easily be compared with links and downloads - if you don't tell me where I am going or what I am downloading, I'm not going to click! :)

- Mary

References

Castieau, M. (2007, April 12). Skilled or unskilled emailers. Message posted to NET11 Discussion Board, webCT. http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_a/scripts/student/serve_bulletin?COMPILETHREAD+847

Module 4: Downloading tools for the web

2007-04-13T10:30:00.000+08:00

1) Adobe's pdf reader.

I already own Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional edition, I've used it to compile various pdf documents together, cut and paste pages etc. A useful program.

Alternatives: Foxit Reader 2.0

Comparison: I personally prefer Adobe Acrobat to read pfd documents, as in my experience sometimes the Foxit reader can display the pdf file a little differently. The whole purpose of pdf documents is that they should look the same on any computer!

2) Flash/Shockwave Players

I have both Flash and Shockwave installed on my computer.

3) Media Players

I have tried Apple Quicktime player, Windows media player, and Real Networks Real One.

I prefer Windows media player . I found Apple Quicktime was too slow on my computer, and Real One player (free edition) was full of advertising.

Alternatives: Foobar2000

Comparison: After using Windows media player, Apple's itunes player, Apple Quicktime player, Real One player and Foobar2000, I found that Foobar2000 offered me the most features. The best points are it is quick loading, playlists are easy to sort, you can customize the layout, and it supports almost every music file format.

4) Search Manager/Combiners

I downloaded a copy of Copernic Meta for PC and tried it out while searching for web sites for my annotated bibliography of resources. My first impressions of this program is that I do get a more varied list of results than I usually do using Google.

5) Bookmark Manager

I downloaded Bookmark Buddy for Windows and I can't say I'm a fan of this program.

To me it seemed more complicated than my favourites folders on IE7, and although it does include a search function, which allows you to search through keywords etc, these extra functions did not really appeal to me, as I already have my favourites organised well in IE7.

6) Offline Browser/Copier:

After downloading WebCopier 4.5 I decided to try it out by copying my personal blog, as this would be a good page to have a copy of.

To download a blog from blogger.com, you have to put in your user name & password. This is a good measure, as it will help my blog from being copied by someone and uploaded elsewhere under a fake name.

On fellow NET11 student Sonia's tip I then tried SpiderZilla, a Firefox add-on. It's great to see that this program has many customizable settings for you to apply when copying a page. I decided to once again try copying my personal blog, and for the time being, left the settings on default. I may change these setting if the copying process takes too long.

Module 3: Rules for writing online.

2007-04-12T10:07:00.000+08:00

After reading through the recommended articles (see reference list below) I came up with a list of -

The 5 most important 'rules' when writing online:

1. Write less, and divide the writing into meaningful sections.
If your readers see a huge un-formatted mass of content, they aren't even going to begin reading it. Make sure you include descriptive headers, appropriate formatting and remember that people don't like reading online.

2. Summarize your main points at the start.
Because people are going to be scanning across your page quickly, make sure they don't miss the important information. So start with your main points.

3. Emphasize important headers or content by applying different styles to them.
Just like I've done in this list, I've made the headers in bold and number large, to show people that this information is divided into different sections.

4.Make your links descriptive.
Just like writing a good email subject line, a good link description lets people make an informed choice about whether they will click on your link.

5. Use bulleted or numbered lists to display content.
I use this rule a lot. If you use lists it is so much easier to organise and read the content.

More Thoughts

After reading Nielsen's (2006) article F shaped pattern for reading where he notes the results of a study into eye patterns while reading online (they tend to follow an 'F' shape) I realised I read in this manner! - especially since I've started studying full time and researching a lot makes me read almost constantly for hours on end.

References

Neilsen, J. (2006). F-Shaped pattern for reading web content. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

Neilsen, J. (1997). How users read on the Web. Retrieved April 11, 2007, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html

Dartmouth College. (2003). Writing for the web. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from http://www.dartmouth.edu/~webteach/articles/text.html

Jerz, D. G. (2003). Top 5 web conventions (writing and design). Retrieved April 11, 2007, from http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/conventions.htm

Module 3: Blogs

2007-04-11T14:50:00.000+08:00

I maintain 3 blogs.

Personal Blog

About: I write about life and sports, also quite a bit of my blogging is done in another either transliterated Hindi, or Hindi. I have written 239 posts on this blog since I started blogging in July 2005.

Style: The style of this blog is like a journal, basically an online compilation on my thoughts, observations and photos.

Readers: I have had at least 20 different readers comment on this blog.

Cooking Blog

About: I post photos and recipes of interesting things I've cooked.

Style: The style of writing for this blog is informal, with lots of information being presented by use of photos and recipes.

Readers: I have around 4 -5 readers who comment if something interests them.

Sports Blog (for my local swimming club)

About:I set up this blog for the Bunbury Swimming Club, as I felt a blog was the easiest and best way to manage a Web site that would be updated frequently.

Style: This blog includes lots of information such as swim meet results, records, and season fixtures. The main 'blog' page has short, news-like posts.

Readers: No comments so far on this blog (except spam!)

Module 3: FTP my web page to Oasis.

2007-04-11T14:27:00.000+08:00

I used Filezilla to FTP my web page to Oasis, all the files uploaded fine and I was ready to view my page. However, I couldn't see anything I had uploaded when I typed in the address http://student.curtin.edu.au/~13769789/ all it would do was time out!

So I checked out the NET11 discussion boards, and sure enough the secret to getting this working was installing Curtin's VPN software on my laptop. A quick laptop restart and http://student.curtin.edu.au/~13769789/ was working fine.

- Mary

Module 3: Copyright on the Internet

2007-04-11T11:54:00.000+08:00

This task required me to read about copyright on the Internet, and then answer the two following questions:

Have you used images or words on your web page or website that contravene copyright laws?

I haven't used any images or words on this learning log or on my Curtin webCT student page that contravene copyright laws.

Any images used in my learning log have been drawn/created by me, and all text written by me. If any other information has been used to form my view on an issue, I have referenced the sources at the end of each post.

The template I am using for my learning log has been used in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Licence. That means that I am free to share or adapt the template, so long as I attribute the original author in some way. (in this case by the link at the bottom of this blog, showing that the template was designed by conzep.com).

My webCT student page uses a background image that I didn't create, however when I downloaded the image, the author offered it for use on any Web site, provided that a link back was provided. I linked back to the author in the footer of my page.

Would you be in breach of copyright if you put the Curtin logo at the top of your web page for an assignment?

Yes.

I feel that after reading about copyright on the Copyright Website and also Copyright at Curtin that putting the Curtin logo at the top of a Web page for an assignment would not be acceptable.

If I did feel I needed the Curtin logo at the top of my Web page for an assignment, I would first have to contact Curtin and gain the necessary permission from them to include their logo on my Web page.

Reading about Copyright also reminded me of a post on the NET11 webCT discussion boards 'Blogging for Assignment 3' where we discussed if it was good netiquette to ask before you linked to someone else's blog. The Copyright Website had some good advice in regards to this issue:

"As it stands now, there appears to be a doctrine of implied public access on the
Web. The Web was created on the basis of being able to attach hypertext links to
any other location on the Web. Consequently, by putting yourself on the Web, you
have given implied permission to others to link to your Web page, and everyone
else on the Web is deemed to have given you implied permission to link to their
Web pages.¹" -(Copyright Website, n.d.)

In my personal experience this does hold true, as whenever I create a link to a site, I don't go and specifically ask them for permission, unless they have written on their Web site that they want people to ask them before linking.

This has happened once to me, as in a post for my NED11 studies I wanted to link to Hobbes' Internet Timeline. However, he had specified on his page that you should ask permission before linking. So I emailed and asked for his permission to link to his Web site - and it was graciously granted.

Here is the post in which I linked to Hobbes' Internet Timeline.

The more study I do, the more I realise what an important issue copyright is, and that it is essential to understand exactly what copyright rules are relevant on the World Wide Web.

- Mary

References

¹ Copyright Website. (n.d.). Website linking issues. Retrieved April 11, 2007, from http://www.benedict.com/Digital/Web/WebLinks.aspx

Module 3: Validating my web page

2007-04-11T11:01:00.000+08:00

I tried to validate my webCT student page (found in the student presentations area) using the W3C Markup Validation Service.

I first encounted 7 errors, these were easily identified and fixed by closing some tags, and making sure everthing was nested properly.

The next 2 errors I encounted were solved by removing the /> from the end of my declarations in the head of my page, and replacing them with just >

The final problem I am left with is as follows;

Namespace Found in non-XML Document
Namespace ""
found,
but document type is not XML!

Byte-Order Mark found in UTF-8
File.
The Unicode
Byte-Order Mark (BOM) in UTF-8 encoded files
is known to cause problems for some
text editors and older browsers. You may
want to consider avoiding its use until
it is better supported.

I got this page to validate earlier (before I added meta-tags) so I'm guessing the remaining errors are due to me incorrectly declaring something in my meta tags.

- Mary

HTML Task

2007-04-07T09:09:00.000+08:00

I've made a page using XHTML + CSS to fulfill the HTML task in Module 3, and uploaded it to my presentation area on webCT - it was easily made up in about 1/2 hour last night.

My page on webCT

I've found that when I initially learnt HTML (around 10 years ago now!) that is was a very easy language to pick up and learn and also enjoyable, however the 'Volcano Web Site' proved me wrong..

I started and made it up to lesson 18 in 'Volcano Web' (against my better judgement, as it seemed very outdated, but I did want to give it a try before condemning it completely) but honestly, the HTML it teaches is so outdated that in the end I gave up.

I think it would be a much better idea to use W3Schools HTML Tutorial and learn some PROPER current standard HTML.

- Mary

Saturday Reflections - Part V

2007-03-30T09:25:00.000+08:00

Note: I wrote this as a draft Friday, as I had a swimming competition on Saturday, and forgot to publish it on Blogger until Monday afternoon.

Well I haven't updated my Learning Log very much over the past two weeks! NED11 Internet Design studies have almost completely taken over for now, as I have an assignment due in around 2 weeks.

Module 3 : Contributing to the Infosphere: e-writing?

I love blogging. It is a great way to have a diary of personal thoughts - especially if you are someone who uses the Internet a great deal - as I just wouldn't get around to writing a traditional text based diary!

Blogging is also a great way for everyone to have a 'voice' in cyberspace - no matter who you are if you write it, people can read it. And I think that because bloggers tend to read, comment and link to each other's blogs regularly is the reason why this form of writing and communication has become so popular.

Personally I find it a lot more interactive that the days of personal home pages on Geocities etc, as I feel a blog is like a mix of a personal home page, emails (people tend to write posts in a similar manner to emails), discussion boards (the comments section) and even to a small extent, instant messaging (if you manage to strike a time when you are replying to comments at the same time as your readers are commenting).

This mix, teamed with the fact that you need no HTML knowledge (most blogging Web sites make posting as easy as using a Web based email program) is why I think blogging will continue to be a very popular pastime for many Internet users.

Volcano Web - Task 1

I've been building the 'famous' Volcano web homepage - I guess this is to test our knowledge of HTML, or to teach us HTML if we don't know it. It is so easy that I type in the code in my spare time :)

I know I can just upload an HTML page to WebCT with a header, footer, links, meta tags, title etc., but I thought why not just make the whole Volcano Web Site for fun! :)

I'll be blogging again next week, with hopefully a LOT more updates,

- Mary

ICQ Chat

2007-03-29T10:04:00.000+08:00

I chatted with fellow NET11 student Tamara today on ICQ,

First of all we discussed why it was hard to catch up with fellow students on ICQ - then I thought of the time difference! :) and of course, with most of us spread all over Australia (and even the world) coordinating a chat does get a little difficult!

We also compared different messaging programs - Tamara said she doesn't use instant messaging all that often, while I said I prefer Yahoo! messenger or Gtalk for my online communication.

- Mary

Saturday Reflections Part (IV)

2007-03-24T13:43:00.000+08:00

I didn't get as much study done this week as previously, as I have been concentrating more on NED11 (Internet Design).

The conversation about Email Lists v Discussion boards on our webCT discussion board was an interesting insight, all together I think more people preferred Discussion Boards to Email Lists.

I still haven't been able to have another ICQ chat with fellow NET11 students, although last Saturday, Helen managed to start a chat between her, Jon and I - my connection on ICQ dropped out as soon as the introductions started, so I'm hoping for better luck next time.

I did spend Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week doing some more research for my Annotated Bibliography - Cynthia did say in response to one of my posts that I can do it on more than one topic per module. So that expands my searching for good material a little bit. :)

I had a brief look over the reading for Module 3, the topic is writing in the Infosphere and I'm sure I'll enjoy that topic as I already have 3+ personal blogs and enjoy that form of communication.

- Mary

Newsgroup message

2007-03-19T09:55:00.000+08:00

I had followed the newsgroup rec.sport.cricket for a few days, and posted a message regarding the World Cup this morning -

Saturday Reflections (Part III)

2007-03-17T10:49:00.000+08:00

Week 3 is already over - wow time flies when you are studying! :)

This week I delved into the world of Email Lists, Newsgroups, ICQ and IRC.

Email Lists - well the more I read and learn about Email Lists the more they start to interest me, I'm sure if I found one which stuck to a specific topic it would be great to join it and follow along. However before I go joining any Email lists I need to get my inbox set up and organised so I won't be overwhelmed with Email list messages.

Using newsgroups is one form of Internet communications that is new to me, I had known they existed, but wasn't interested in finding out the what, why and how of using them.
Currently I'm following 4 different groups -

Blogger help group
rec.food.recipes
comp.infosystems.www.authoring.html
rec.sport.cricket

I found two of the groups through Google Groups, and the other two groups through my ISP's news server. I chose groups that had a high participation level as the discussion and topics will (hopefully) move along quite quickly and keep me interested.

I'll continue to follow the postings in these groups for a few more days, and then post on one of them.

I did manage to chat with a fellow student on ICQ! It was great chatting with Belinda, and we shared thoughts on how NET11 was going, compared studying online to on campus, and chatted about study in general. Although ICQ was the first instant messaging program, I must say I prefer the layout and usability of Yahoo! messenger or the very simply styled Gtalk.

IRC - As I suggested earlier in the week I'm not going to try IRC - too many variables for me to feel completely safe trying this type of 'open' Internet communication.

- Mary

Module 2: IRC

2007-03-15T09:36:00.000+08:00

I was curious as to what type of communications IRC offered, after being quite comfortable with instant messaging I was ready to try a new type of synchronous communication.

I read about IRC in detail in Chapter 13 of The Complete Reference: Internet, (Levine Young, 2002) and felt that this type of chat is not something I would feel comfortable doing. Levine Young (2002, p. 313) gives the first of many warnings on inappropriate messages that other people can send to you, especially if you choose a feminine type nickname.

Still not totally put off trying out IRC I downloaded mIRC and browsed through a list of channels - however no one channel appealed to me and I decided to call it off.

I guess IRC differs from other forms of instant messaging because of the privacy issues - everything seems to be very unpredictable (although there are private channels on IRC) the majority of new users on IRC will start chatting with a bunch of strangers - something that doesn't sit comfortably with me.

- Mary

References

Levine Young, M. (2002). Internet: The Complete Reference, Second Edition. California: McGraw-Hill/Osborne.

Module 2: ICQ

2007-03-14T13:35:00.000+08:00

I downloaded and installed ICQ today - it was like stepping back in time, as I last used ICQ when I was 11yrs old back in 1997. I clearly remember trying it for the first time by messaging a cousin, and all we did was use a 'laughter' button instead of typing much.

I didn't use any form of instant messaging again until 2004 - when I started with MSN messenger (because friends used it) progressed to Gtalk and finally tried Yahoo! messenger.

After signing up and getting my ICQ number (how quaint! just like phone numbers) I posted my details on the webCT discussion boards, and hopefully I'll be able to chat with a few other NET11 students.

I did try searching for the nickname 'advanced netstudies' but unfortunately ICQ replied with

'Your request cannot be processed at
this time. Please try again later.'

So I will attempt to find it again later...

**UPDATE - Thursday 15th March**

I found the nickname 'advanced netstudies' on ICQ - the number is 337 293 557.
The comment in the 'about' section says 'advanced netstudies'

- Mary

Module 2: Lists

2007-03-13T09:14:00.000+08:00

What are the pros and cons of email lists versus discussion boards?

First I thought of the different aspects of Email Lists and Discussion Boards

Email Lists
Private
Not viewable unless you subscribe
Fully or partially automated
Can view them in digest form
Moderator can approve messages before they appear
Discussion Boards
Public or Private
Online
Sometimes include an 'avatar' or picture the member wishes to display
Can include the option editing your posts
Administrator can add moderators who can help them maintain the list

I decided to discuss with my friends to compare our thoughts on Email Lists and Discussion Boards and came up with this list of pros and cons:

Email Lists – 5 PROS
- Increased privacy (because you have to subscribe before you view any messages)
- You can view them as a digest – quicker to keep up with everything if you have limited time
- Can be very informative if it keeps on topic
- Convenient to keep up with an email list whenever you check your email.
- Less cumbersome to respond to than many discussion boards.

Discussion Boards – 5 PROS
- If it is a public board you can check out the messages without joining, so you are able to see if the content is appropriate for your interest.
- A sense of identifying with each other through use of avatars etc.
- Searchable! so it's very easy to find specific information.
- Archives are right there with the discussion board.
- It is easy to be totally anonymous.

Email Lists - 4 CONS
- Even though you have to subscribe to receive the list content, there are still 'lurkers' who don't contribute anything. In this way it can be no more private than a public discussion board.
- If you don't organise your email into folders (and have one for your email list) you can get overwhelmed by the large number of messages in your inbox.
- Searching is limited by your email programs search capacity.
- You have to find the archives on a web site, so they are less accessible than on a discussion board.

Discussion Boards - 4 CONS
- More susceptible to spam if it is a public board.
- Anyone can find a conversation by searching, so again, it's lacking in privacy.
- Graphic-heavy discussion board interfaces can take a long time to download on slow connections, making communication frustrating.
- Easier access to archives, as the discussion board has them readily available.

Are there certain kinds of communication or purposes more suited to one than the other?

In my own experience I am more likely to use a Discussion Board for finding out answers. However I would use an Email List to share ideas and thoughts on a hobby or interest.

Module 2: Email Tasks

2007-03-12T11:46:00.000+08:00

1. What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?

Most email programs only display basic information, so to find out more about my email message in Outlook Express I did the following:

File > Properties (ALT+Enter)
Click on the 'Details' tab then click 'Message Source'
You can see all the extra information regarding the email.

As Levine Young (2002) describes in the chapter about email concepts, there are about 11 standard headers in most email messages, as well as a number of optional headers, which are distinguished by an X- at the start of the description.

Return-Path: <mary335@gmail.com>

Received: from murder ([unix socket]) by spool-host7.tpgi.com.au (Cyrus v2.2.12) with LMTPA; Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:40:35 +1100

X-Sieve: CMU Sieve 2.2

X-TPG-Antivirus: Passed

Received: from hu-out-0506.google.com (hu-out-0506.google.com [72.14.214.224])
by mail7.tpgi.com.au (envelope-from mary335@gmail.com) (8.13.6/8.13.6) with ESMTP id l2C3eQ4K032618 for <lildaisy@tpg.com.au>; Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:40:34 +1100

Received: by hu-out-0506.google.com with SMTP id 20so5126504huc for <lildaisy@tpg.com.au>; Sun, 11 Mar 2007 20:40:26 -0700 (PDT)

DKIM-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=beta; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:message-id:date:from:to:subject:mime-version:content-type; b=r/ATy+WKzHYtA/ZiSqOLWgOGQ9EX7du0dI7OnAlDwLRwC9WuBCLwlMgFcyydy
lywvR4TTjgjnN0G6WLQxy9NR9fRaXxn6qTPI2OHMbf1ulYCRJuxhSFDZhzj
rw5gp2Er/8otXUptLZpfDN6kBkW2Xh3BISiKLC2MQaKSFSfUJI4=

DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=beta; h=received:message-id:date:from:to:subject:mime-version:content-type; b=Q37gToUWZKZS374K1JO1Z9fGTizPK0TagAdxGXT+dRESvozSh
5jD2IJme8m2WmjVG/Vwc4PV905VQ9vn+Ttze2aROP2CIxDC469c
VJsDO8gsB9OiLekOiWoi9iMDMSRfLHjRbRiAlwriBAbdJcd6DfKJrZM3+7yRRihiUIzwEFQ=

Received: by 10.115.93.16 with SMTP id v16mr1092737wal.1173670825210; Sun, 11 Mar 2007 20:40:25 -0700 (PDT)

Received: by 10.115.90.3 with HTTP; Sun, 11 Mar 2007 20:40:25 -0700 (PDT)

Message-ID: <2f30228b0703112040meef429au12c8a49943fcbf4f@mail.gmail.com>

Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2007 11:40:25 +0800

From: "Mary Castieau" <mary335@gmail.com>

To: lildaisy@tpg.com.au

Subject: Hi

X-Antivirus: AVG for E-mail 7.5.446 [268.18.8/718]

Mime-Version: 1.0

Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="=======AVGMAIL-45F4CBB54CEE======="

So just by looking at the extra information sent with an email I can tell:

Return-Path: What email address sent the message
Received: What hosts it passed through
Message-ID: A unique number given to this email.
Date: The date and time when then mail was sent, according to the sender's PC.
From: The email address of the sender
To: The email address of the receiver
Subject: What this email is about
Mime-Version: what version of MIME was used.
What data format was used.
Extra information added by IP and Personal virus checks, after checking this email.

2. In what cases would you find it useful to use the 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all functions of email?

I would find it useful to use the 'cc' function if I am mailing an invitation to a party to all my relatives. I think it is important to only use the 'cc' function if you are sure that everyone you are emailing doesn't mind their address being made public to all the other recipients.

I would use the 'bcc' function to email a copy of an important email from my Outlook Express account to my Gmail account, so I could check that email whenever I had Internet access. Another use for 'bcc' is when I am mailing something to several people, and don't want to disclose their addresses to everyone receiving the mail (I feel this is a form of netiquette).

The 'reply all' function is useful for replying to a large group mail. If I had family members all around the world and we were communicating to organize a reunion, this would be an easy way to make sure everyone knew how the plans were going.

3. In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by the receiver?

When sending attachments it is important to communicate with the receiver, establish what operating system they are running and if the programs they have installed are compatible with the attachment. You should check if a large file size is a problem (not everyone has fast Internet connection) and if necessary compress the file for a quicker download time.

I feel sending attachments is all about being considerate to the receiver. My own personal rules for sending attachments are :

- Don't send anything without prior consent
- If there is a way the content can be viewed online, do it that way. (e.g. uploading photos to a photo hosting website)

4. What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?

I don't use any filters or rules for my email at present - Gmail has such a great search capacity I've become lazy and just search for whatever I want to find, instead of making rules to separate my emails into different folders.
So far I've found this to be a good way of looking for information I want, but that is only because I can easily remember certain phrases that could be in the email I am looking for.
Filtering my emails offers a much more 'personalised' search. I should overcome my laziness and filter my emails.

I used to use filters quite often in Outlook Express before I changed over to Gmail - They were especially useful to 'ban' certain words for spam filtering.

5. How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?

In Gmail you can 'label' messages, which is basically the same concept as organising them into folders. I've created some filters and through the filters will organise my emails into sections:

Personal
sub section - Friends
sub section - Family
sub section - Important emails (such as password reminders, bank statements etc)

Study
sub section - Internet Studies
sub section - Studies (2006)

Reading
sub section - Online catalogues (that I've signed up for)
sub section - Newsletters

References:

Levine Young, M. (2002). The Complete Reference: Internet 2nd Edition. (pp 126-127) California: McGraw-Hill/Osborne.

Saturday Reflections (Part II)

2007-03-10T11:23:00.000+08:00

This week I concentrated on reading for this unit rather than completing the tasks for Module 2.

The Complete Reference: Internet (2nd edition) by Margaret Levine Young has been a great resource for learning more about the Internet. This week I read chapters 5 to 10 and got a deeper understanding of Email, and Email lists. The chapter on Email lists was particularly interesting as I've never joined an email list before.

The reading for Module 2 was all about communicating over the Internet - I felt like it broadly covered 3 topics

Netiquette
Security
Organisation

Netiquette includes making sure you have written a descriptive subject line, using quoting wisely, basic formatting to make the message readable and checking before sending attachments.

Security is making sure you are aware of the security risks when downloading unknown or forwarded attachments.

Organisation is an important part of using email for quick communication. If you have a sorting system (filtering or folders) in place you will be able to find your information easily and avoid wasting time.

- Mary

Module 1: Domain Name System

2007-03-09T11:45:00.000+08:00

I've decided that the topic from Module 1 that I'll cover in my assignment will be the Domain Name System (DNS).

I feel that the Domain Name System has an important role in making World Wide Web so user-friendly, compared to say, having to remember and type in IP addresses, some of which would be constantly changing.

I've found around 10 sites already relating to this topic in various ways, some are articles explaining exactly what DNS is, while one site offers tools such as looking up contact information for a domain/IP address.

- Mary

Assignment 1 - Resource project

2007-03-08T13:19:00.000+08:00

Today I'm going to search for some resources that are relevant to Module 1.

Some important things to consider are -

Finding a range of perspectives on the topic.

Checking the accuracy and source of the information I find.

Assessing whether this information would be useful to others.

Should be fun!

- Mary

Saturday Reflections (Part I )

2007-03-03T11:21:00.000+08:00

Every Saturday I'll give my weekly reflections on my study of NET11.

After reading the recommended links 'The Basic Process' and 'The Internet' on HowStuffWorks.com I couldn't help but compare some of the Internet protocols to my part-time work as a waitress at a restaurant. I'll draw a little cartoon to explain.

A waitress acts like our web browser.

So the waitress is the web browser, being the 'middle-man' for the customer, and from the customers point of view, that is all they want, 2 simple steps -

1) order the food (type in the URL)

2) receive the food (view the web page)

However once the waitress or browser has the order/page request, the part of the process that the customer doesn't see happens.

The waitress assigns table number and order to customer (The URL is sent to a name server to turn the basic name into an IP address.)

Once the table number and order are assigned, the order can be put through to the kitchen. (The browser connects to the server at that IP address.)

The kitchen receives the order, and starts cooking the requested food on the order. (The browser follows the HTTP protocol to send a GET request to the server, asking for the specific file.)

The kitchen sends the food out, ready to serve. (The server sends the HTML text for the web page to the browser.)

Waitress checks for table number and delivers food to the table. (The browser reads the HTML tags and shows the page on your screen.)¹

- Mary

Reference List

In the above bulleted list, the Internet information is referenced from -
1 Brain, M. Behind the Scenes: How Web Servers Work, Retrieved March 3, 2007, from the How Stuff Works Websitehttp://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-server2.htm

Module 1: Tasks continued..

2007-03-02T10:44:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I tried unsuccessfully to ping the webct.curtin.edu site from Net Tools.com, so I though I would try again today. Unfortunately it is still timing out.

I read through the first 5 chapters of 'The Complete Reference: Internet (2nd edition)' by M. Levine-Young today. It's really helpful to read about what I'm studying from several different sources as they all have a slightly different way of presenting the information! :)

I also did the self test for this module in my webct account, and did have the 3 correct answers

1) - Managed Care: financial, legal and ethical issues.

2) - capitalization.

3) - 134.7.34.101

Module 1: Traceroute and more

2007-03-01T11:01:00.000+08:00

My task today was to find a traceroute tool online, and find out:

How many 'hops' are there?

What is the average time in milliseconds from the tools site to the curtin server?

Find out the IP number of the hostname curtin.edu.au

First I tried the traceroute tool on Central Ops.net and got the following results.

Hops: 18, from theplanet.com [70.84.211.98] to curtin.edu.au [134.7.179.10 ]

Average Time: 246 ms

Next was the traceroute tool on Network Tools.com.

Hops: 16, from ev1servers.net [66.98.241.1] to curtin.edu.au [134.7.179.10]

Average Time: 248 ms

Then I tried a visual traceroute tool from VisualRoute.

Hops: 14, from defenderhosting.com[205.234.111.129] to curtin.edu.au [134.7.179.10]

Average Time: 243 ms

Finally I used the traceroute tool from Software Technology Park of India.

Hops: 18, from white_dwarf.cbbtier3.att.net [12.0.1.1] to curtin.edu.au [134.7.179.10]

Average Time: 292 ms

I found it interesting to note that all 4 traceroute tests went through aarnet.net.au (Sydney, then Melbourne, Adelaide and finally Perth) I'm guessing this was the case as the quickest way to get to Curtin was indeed through the AARNET (Australian's Research and Education Network) routers.

Next I tried traceroute from my own computer to curtin.edu.au

Hops: 15, from my IP address, to curtin.edu.au [134.7.179.10]

Average Time: 58 ms

What I found surprising was that although I live around 200km from Perth where Curtin is situated, it still took 1 more hop than tracing than from VisualRoute, which is based in the USA. However the average time is significantly faster than for any of the other traceroute tests I performed.

I think using traceroute tools would be a great way to pinpoint where a connection problem exists (be it your ISP, the Internet or the website) if you are unable to access a website.

My next task -

Ping the webct site and compare the time with the time taken to ping from the net tools site. Is it less or more than you expected?

Well I pinged the webct.curtin.edu.au site from my computer and got the following results -

5 pings, all 1049586 ms.

I tried pinging the webct.curtin.edu.au site from Net Tools.com, but all I got was 10 timeouts...

- Mary

References

Hexillion Technologies. (2004). Free online network utilities. Retrieved March 1, 2007, from http://centralops.net/asp/co/Traceroute.vbs.asp

Software Technology Parks of India, U.P. (n.d.). NOC tools. Retrieved March 1, 2007, from http://lucknow.stpi.in/tools/trace.pl

The Keyword Factory LLC. (2007). Network-Tools.com. Retrieved March 1, 2007, from http://network-tools.com/

Visualware Inc. (2007). VisualRoute. Retrieved March 1, 2007, from http://visualroute.visualware.com/

Module 1: FTP

2007-02-28T13:21:00.000+08:00

I downloaded the FTP program WS_FTP from Ipswitch on a 30-day trial.

This task was super-easy for me as back when I was 12 and 13yrs old I always used to use a (much older) version of WS_FTP. I found the readme.txt file on recall.curtin.edu.au and also found the answer to the question.

I've also been attempting to keep on top of all that is going on in the discussion boards for NET11 - so far I've read everything posted. I haven't said much myself though, as online I've tended to be a 'reader' rather than a 'commenter'. When I do have something useful to add or can be of any help to anyone however, I will post. :)

Also, I found a lovely template for this blog thanks to Blogger Templates.org and I am using this template through the Creative Commons Licence.

- Mary

Module 1: Telnet and more..

2007-02-27T12:53:00.000+08:00

Today my Internet WAS working fine (yay!) it really does makes such a difference being able to start studying at around 8.30am in the morning.

As I am studying both NET11 and NED11 this study period, my first priority today was to download and find some type of weekly planner and write down my goals for the week study-wise, and then block the different reading and tasks for each unit onto the plan. I found a fairly simple but very usable planning sheet at Time Thoughts. I'll use that until I buy myself a very essential item - a diary!

I completed all the reading for Module 1, and I thought the links through to the HowStuffWorks articles were fantastic - I got totally submerged in the subject and read up on several of the recommended reading links provided in the articles.

After all that reading, it was time for the first task in Module 1 - Using Telnet.

Step 1 - Logging into the Deakin library database computer.

Step 2 - Decide on what I want to do.

Step 3 - Searching by Author name.

Step 4 - Print to email.

Everything I learnt today was highly enjoyable! :) time for some NED11 studies now.

- Mary

References

Deakin University (2007). Deakin University library database. Retrieved February 27, 2007, from http://library.deakin.edu.au/

First day of study.

2007-02-26T14:07:00.000+08:00

Today was my first day for NET11, which I'm studying online through Curtin University of Technology.

Unfortunately studies today got off to a rather bad start, because after waking at 6am (nice and early to get a good start on the study period!) my wireless router and broadband connection decided today was a great day to go offline. I managed to log on to WebCT throughout the morning, only to have the connection fail again. Finally after lunch my Internet connection became stable.

In the meantime, I did manage to write up a mini-schedule for my studies. I find it great to have what I need to do all written out in front of me. I'll do up a weekly plan to keep my studies on track. One of the first things I will do is familiarise myself with Curtin's policies and guidelines.

I also did the online orientation, introduced myself on the discussion board with name, age etc. I don't usually divulge such information as my full name or age online, but since the board is only accessed by our tutors and fellow students I didn't really mind giving out that information.

I'm really impressed with the online library system at Curtin, it was really easy to use and I've already borrowed my first book.

NET11 seems like it will be lots of fun to study, I couldn't wait to start my learning log, and I would love to code or find a template that is nicer than the default (and overly popular) blogger standard templates. Hopefully I'll find time to make one.

- Mary