Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Week Twelve - Social and Ethical Issues

LECTURE:
This weeks lecture is about Social and Ethical Issues. The first few slides displayed the Who, Why, and What. This is all about why it is unsafe to put your details on the internet, who is watching you, and what the reprocussions are if your details are leaked onto the internet.

TUTORIAL:

Reading 1 - EFF's Top 12 Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy

The first thing i noticed when i opened up this website was the detailed and informational paragraphs under each heading. This webiste has been made to help people keep their personal details etc, private via the internet. There were 12 headings/tips on how to do this and they are as follows:
1) Do not reveal personal information inadvertently.
2) Turn on cookie notices in your Web browser, and/or use cookie management software or infomediaries.
3) Keep a "clean" e-mail address
4) Don't reveal personal details to strangers or just-met "friends".
5) Realize you may be monitored at work, avoid sending highly personal e-mail to mailing lists, and keep sensitive files on your home computer
6) Beware sites that offer some sort of reward or prize in exchange for your contact information or other personal details
7) Do not reply to spammers, for any reason.
8) Be conscious of Web security.
9) Be conscious of home computer security.
10) Examine privacy policies and seals.
11) Remember that YOU decide what information about yourself to reveal, when, why, and to whom.
12) Use encryption!

This website appeared genuine and very helpful.

Reading 2 - Ethics in Computing - Social Justice Issues: Electronic Monitoring
This webpage has been made to help people in understabding this issues with electronic monitoring. There was different headings ont his page with had various links underneath them, for viewers to browes the website and learn more about these issues. The website appeared helpfull and looks as though it would teach you a lot. The main topics were types of monitoring, privacy issues, suggested policies and privacy resources, although there were many other different links.

Reading 3 - Brown & Michaels - Overview of Intellectual Property
This webpage writen by Brown and Michael is an overview on intellectual property, hows to protect it, and just a little information about it. There are various think that take you to other sections of the webpage, with further readin links. The website is very detailed and has been made to a professional standard.

Week Eleven - Building Knowledge

LECTURE:


Today's lecture began with a short pop quiz containing questions pertaining to past lectures. The questions were:-


- What is a Boolean search?

- What strategies can you use to give a great presentation?

- What criteria can be used for evaluation of websites?

- What are the advantages of atom based information?

- What was the original purpose of the web?

- What are the 5 top things you have learnt about the use of technology at University?


We then looked at Data, Information and Knowledge and the definitions, characteristics importance and relationships between them. The slides then followed with some point form definitions of data, information and knowledge. We then learnt about the characteristics of each one. They are as follows:


Data- facutual, non-judgemental, non-inferential, translent, has no intrinnsic meaning, has no intrinsic "value".


Information- summative, relational, dimensional, permanent, has meaning, uncertain value(must be realtedto something), exists forever.


Knowledge- Inferential, experiential, judgemental, subjective, very valuable.



TUTORIAL:


The first task required us to find an online dictionary and conclude our own definitions of data, information, and knowledge. Using Dictionary.com, mine are as follows:



Data: individual facts, statistics, or items of information. (dictionary.com, 2008)



Information: knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstance; news: information concerning a crime. (dictionary.com, 2008)



Knowledge: acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation; general erudition. (dictionary.com, 2008)



For the second task we had to draw up our own diagram showing the relationship of data, information and knowledge. Mine is pictured below:



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How can the understanding of the relationship between data, information and knowledge assist your university study?
The relationship between data, information, knowledge assists my university study, as it is a clear indicator of the process that students go through to help with their uni work. They all relate to eachother as you can see in the diagram, and if you do not understand one term, it is hard to understand another. The data is what creates the information that turns into knowledge.

Five organisations that collect information from their clients or the public include:

1) Banks
2) Medical Surgeries
3) Law Firms
4) Sports Organisations
5) Educational Facilities

They collect this information to have proof of identity, inform them of information and products, to keep their records up to date etc...

Reading 1 - Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom
This reading was about Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom. It provided information on these terms, and why it is important that we use these in everyday life. According to Ackoff, the first four relate to the past, whereas the fifth, wisdom, relates to the future. Examples are then given with a descriptive listing of a refrigerator.

Reading 2 - Information Literacy Tutorial
This reading was about these topics:

The Production of Knowledge
The Organization of Knowledge
From Thesis to Search Strategy
Fundamentals of Online Searching
Using Reference Resources
Citing Your Sources
Copyright and Fair Use

It was good for learning about information literacy skills, and there were several quizzes on the website to help students.




Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Week Ten - Information Management

LECTURE:

In this week's lecture we were informed of the different types of information management formats, the atom-based format and the bit-based format. The lecturer also discussed the various advantages and disadvantages through the management of bit-based and atom-based information.


Types of information formatting:Atom Based, Books, Journals, Reports
Pros – we can see it, easy to conceal, easy to protect, hard to modify, difficult to copy
Cons – Bulky, Costly, Difficult to edit, and redistribute


Bit Based, digital reproductions, electronic content
Pros – flexible, cheap, easy to use an edit, easy to mass produce
Cons – Privacy, authenticity, unsolicited broadcast


TUTORIAL:
1) The first task required us to read the Internet Explorer favourites tutorial (http://www.inette.com/aibtinette/favoritesI.html)



2) The second task required us to set up our own favourites list with at least three folders each with at least two favourite websites. The screenshot of my list is below.My 3-folder favourites list is; Makeup, Surfing & Puppies.

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QuickPost


3) The third task required us to read N. Negroponte's report entitled "Being Digital", with particular attention being paid to the beginning of part one ("The DNA of Information")."The DNA of Information".



4) The fourth and final task required us to generate a 150 word response to the question of if we think Negroponte's ideas are still relevant and why.



My Response:


Negroponte's ideas are still relevant to a certain extent. As technology has moved forward a lot in the last 13 years, some of the ideas and thoughts that Negroponte has made do not apply to us today. He comments on how people have to rely on FedEx, bicycles, and sneakers to get their atoms from one place to another, and of course in the world we live in today, this is not true.
These days information is very easy for you to take wherever you wish, and this is from the help of digital technology.




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Summary of reading materials:



Reading 1 - "Grazing the Net", and an episode of Click published on the BBC website.The article is about "raising young people to think, explore and make meaning for themselves." The article broke this down into several areas: a students ability to analyse the unfamiliar and unexpected, issue of reliability and adequacy, the development of queries when searching for information, taking advantage of the many "good" research model available today, structured learning, internet competencies, and total quality management.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Week Nine - Communications

LECTURE:
This weeks lecture was on Communications. We live in a world where technology is a massive part of everyday life and this is because of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
The Role of the ICT is:



  • between individuals and organisations


  • within a business


  • between a business and an external organisation


Communication takes place within the:

  • Chain network


  • Circle network


  • Wheel network

  • All-channel network

The four types of communication are:
"Place" Dependent
All parties have to be in the same “place”


"Place" Independent
Parties can be “anywhere” in cyberspace


Synchronous
All parties have to be engaged in communication at the same time e.g. phone call


Asynchronous
Parties take their turn in their own time. e.g. writing letters

Some examples of ICT use is a podcast, blog or MSN Messenger


TUTORIAL:
The term I entered was 'House Music'. The search results that I retrieved were groups/forums on people talking about what type of music they prefer and how music influences their lives. The messages posted on the topic were about the genre 'house music' and how it has changed over time. Most of the people on this forum were agreeing that they prefer the old house music, and that house music is not changing for the better. One user quotes "To me, the TRUE house sounds were the stuff that came out of Chicago in the mid 80's (Marshall Jefferson, Farley "Jackmaster" Funk, Larry Heard, Mike Dunn, Hot Mix 5, etc.) Even though that era will never return, to me that will always be what house music is. " (Santiago T 1999).



http://groups.google.com.au/group/alt.music.house/browse_thread/thread/66bd26adf057b547/9e9cfe68bf6dc1df?hl=en&lnk=st&q=house+music#9e9cfe68bf6dc1df




What are the benefits of podcasts for university students?
The benefits of podcasting for university students is the educational use it has for students. Podcasts are handy as they deliver recorded lectures, news and information to students. They help students to keep up to date with the information they receive.





Reading 1 - Guide to Using Email
This reading focused on the habits that should be used when sending emails. It was very useful and had great points. The website had a top ten list of tips of what to do when sending an email. They were:
1. Make sure that you use appropriate language. This means no slang or bad language.
2. Get straight to the point, don’t “beat around the bush”
3. Actually ask a question if it is necessary,
4. Always write down on the email who it is intended for and who should reply,
5. Clearly state any due dates or when a reply is needed by,
6. Always write the topic of conversation down first before stating what you want,
7. Always use correct grammar and properly punctuate,
8. Always stick to the topic, never talk about more than one topic, always send more than one email if talking about numerous topics
9. Provide a brief summary about what the email is if you are sending a forwarded email.
10. Always thank the person.

Reading 2 - The Problem with SPAM
Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE) also known as email spam, is a form of adverting which has no incremental cost to sender, imposes real and measurable costs on the recipients and has the potential to destroy the value of electronic email. It is stressed that while there are numerous problems associated with the UBE, any one of them has the potential to impact the value of electronic mail to the point of destruction.
The is no natural limit on the amount of UBE that can be transmitted. UBE has the potential in costing people unlimited amounts of time to deal with, and that UBE has the potential to drown out legitimate communications, thus making electronics mail useless for it's original purpose.















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QuickPost Quickpost this image to Myspace, Digg, Facebook, and others!

Week Eight - Presentation Strategies

LECTURE:



This weeks lecture was on Powerpoint Presentations and tips on how to present the best Powerpoint Presentation you can. I watched a video about what NOT to do in Powerpoint and some of these tips included:



* Do not write everything word for word


* Do not use excessive bulletpoints


* Check for Spelling Mistakes


* Do not use bad colour schemes


* Dont overdo the use of data (graphs, tables etc)


* Choose the right font to suit what you are presenting


* Talk Clearly


* Do not talk fast


* Do not overdo the Powerpoint animations


* Use Eye Contact


TUTORIAL:

How to make a low impact presentation

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Thursday, April 10, 2008

Week Seven - Using Endnote

LECTURE:
This weeks lecture was about Endnote and the referencing system.
Endnote is a database that can be used as a Reference Manager and Biography Maker.
It can be used as a stand-alone program or integrated into Microsoft Word.
You can access Endnote from http://research.ecu.edu.au/grs/resources/endnote.php

Why reference?
To distinguish your ideas from those of others and acknowledge your sources. Also, to enable the reader to follow up if he/she is interested in the source you have used.

Citing or quoting references is when you refer in your text to material written or produced by others.

A Reference List (Bibliography) is an alphabetical list of the books and other references which you have used in your work located at the end of your essay or dissertation.

TUTORIAL:
In this weeks tutorial we had to complete exercises using Endnote. I used five references and entered them into the Endnote system. Below you will see the activities I undertook.










Thursday, April 3, 2008

Week Six - Evaluation and Authentication

LECTURE:
This weeks lecture was on Evaluation and Authentication. I learnt information about the IQ Context on the WWW - Open Protocols and Open Architecture. The WWW has no control of who publishes things on it, why the publishers publish and what is actually published. The Internet was developed from the ARPANET. Not all sites are created equal, therefore does free sites = bad? To determine whether a site is good quality or not considers on the content, visual feel, navigation, ease-of-use.

TUTORIAL:

Reading 1 - Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources
This website is about strategies for evaluating the information on webpages. It provides guidelines such as Content & Evaluation, Source & Date, Structure.. etc to help people determine whether a website is authentic or not.

On the website http://www.taftcollege.edu/newTC/Academic/INCO48/sec6-4.htm, it is also similar to the previous reading and has the same if not more points and guidelines on how to tell if a website is genuine or not. It lists points such as 'The Ten C's" which is:

Content
Credibility
Critical Thinking
Copyright
Citation
Continuity
Censorship
Connectivity
Comparability
Context

The 'Ten C's' help us to determine the authenticity of a webpage. Without these guidelines it would be difficult to determine whether the website is real or fake.

Exercise - "Reliving the Sixties: a Web Site Evaluation Assignment"
Website Evaluation 1 - http://www.hippy.com/php/sitetopics.php?topic=1

This site is meant to be giving information and reviews on events that happened in the sixites. There seems to be a lot of advertising of Calendars and 'Hippy Chat'. The articles and facts arent documented and there are no references. The page seems to come across that it was designed by an amatuer. The colours clash and dont look professional. There are too many different fonts on the page, At the bottom of the page it reads "Published by Hip Inc" which indicates that the site was not produced by professionals, as 'Hip Inc' is just a made up name. There is no links to any authors on the site, which proves that the information was obviously just copied and pasted from other sources.







Website Evaluation 2 - http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture27.html
This site is a journal article. It is titled 'Lecture 27', so therefore this website is authentic. It has an Author and Publisher, therefore this indicates that the information given is real and not copied from another author. Its Author is Stanley K. Schultz, Professor of History and William P. Tishler, Producer. There are no advertisements or links to other sites on this page. The font is clear to read and the colours do not clash. The dialogue is of professional standard and everything is referenced including pictures. It is published by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, this indicates that this is a journal from a University in Wisconsin, which shows that this site is authentic.