The Internet and its Impacts on Education

It is there, sitting on the desk, when looking at it you can see a blank and dormant piece of technology with a mouse, keyboard, hard drive and blank monitor staring back at you. However, it is blank and dormant only until push the button to activate our computers and wake this technology, does the magic of the Internet appear with the double click of a mouse. When entering into the world of the Internet you can connect to anybody and anything you could possibly imagine. Although it is naive to think that the people and places are somehow physically behind the computer monitor, people nonetheless engage the computer screen as a gateway to another place (Jordan: 1999). When the computer based technology opens up, we can, for example, communicate with other people via email, chat to them in chat rooms (for example MSN), apply our thoughts and opinions on our very own web page, access information and research materials, or participate in online video conferencing.

With the introduction of the Internet and its numerous uses, it seems only natural that education on all levels, takes its place along with the rest of the world, and uses the technology for its obvious benefits. Therefore in this essay, I will be exploring the Internet and its impact on education. Firstly, I will briefly discuss the history of the Internet and furthermore explore the positive and negative impacts of the Internet on education. The levels of education I will discuss range from primary school up till university level.

In the early 70s, Bob Taylor, a psycho acoustician, was the director of the computer research program at the American Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ADARPA). He and others, with the help of Leonard Kleinrock, together at the agency began various kinds of research and investigations into ways of connecting computers to other computer networks as a means of developing a transparent communication method (http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/cerf.shtml). The project’s results became known as the “Internet”, and thus the beginnings of the Internet were born. Over its 25 to 30 year or so history, the Internet is constantly functioning as a collaboration among cooperating parties and has made rapid advances from its beginnings, thanks to people like Vint Cerf, Jon Postel, Steve Crocker, and Bill Naylor whom were graduates and worked at UCLA. These men worked together to connect the first Interface Messenger Processor (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.12/creators.html) If it was not for these men like them, the Internet and its capabilities would not exist.

The Internet is owned by not one person in particular; rather it is made up of all the computer networks in the world working together as one, outputting various forms of information. There are many obvious advantages of using the Internet: the fashionable side and the fun of using it, its fast to access and it offers a vast choice of sites to visit which supply information on whichever topic you choose and there are many services providers to choose from as well. It is accessible 24 hours, seven days a week and the cost is relatively cheap for most. According to Elizabeth Hallam Smith, from the National Archives, the addictive medium and its percentage growth of users are expected to grow over the next 5 years as a result of the convergence of the Internet onto mobile phone technology and digital TV (http://www.archivists.org.au/sem/conf2000/hallamsmith.pdf ). With all this Internet technology ability floating around the place, education is surely to be impacted upon by this medium.

The Internet contributes to education as it is such a broad base of knowledge that one can use everyday. Everybody can benefit from the Internet in particular teachers, students and those whom work in the realm of education (Kahin: 1995). With people like, academics and scholars, who contribute and share their knowledge on the Internet in the forms of essays and so forth, can be seen as a positive move for education.

In society today, it appears on the surface that there are no negative impacts on education caused by the Internet phenomenon, however I find this to be untrue and for arguments sake, in this essay, I will be outlining many of the positives impacts and many of the unseen negative impacts that the Internet is having on education.

Firstly, one of the advantages, that was outlined in the beginning of this essay, was the ability for the academics and scholars contributing their knowledge and work on the Internet. With this, it contributes to education significantly as it gives students and teachers the ability to access information from all over the world for their assessments and research. Imagine having this one big world library with endless shelves of books, information and help to research, at the click of a mouse. The impact on education is amazing because, for example, a primary school student is doing homework or researching at school and needed some information, “click” and it’s there on screen in front of them. Having access to the Internet at schools and home can also be seen as a positive encouragement for students to learn especially at schooling age ( http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,54791,00.html )

Educational software products are also available for children to use at primary school, secondary school and higher education, as they provide a great interaction and encouragement for learning. Internet programs such as, Maths Power, teaches primary school up till high school students math via the Internet and the software program (http://www.mathspower.com.au/). Internet programs such as; 3D Scientific, Advanced Computer Tutoring Project and Advanced Education Resources, can help any higher education student and teacher in their field of study (http://www.csu.edu.au/education/software.html )The ability to access these kinds of Internet software programs for children and adults is drifting away from the traditional education method of textbooks learning, written homework and library visits, however, it is seen as a convenience to humans, an encouragement for the students to learn, the way of the future and definitely a positive impact on education.

Other positive impacts of the Internet and education include the ability for students not to physically attend lectures and tutorials at university levels, instead accessing their classes virtually on the Internet. There are lecturers, for example at Griffith University, that prepare daily lecture notes and tutorial exercises available through the university website for their students. In some cases there are subjects like, Communication and Digital Technologies at Griffith University, that are a completely paperless subject and do not use the ‘dead-tree’ education method of teaching (Quote by Adam Muir in lecture)( http://www.griffith.edu.au/) Conducting these types of educational subjects through the use of the Internet is quite different to the old style method of education whereby, a student, has to be present at lectures and tutorials in order to receive a university degree. This also gives the ability for disadvantage people living in rural areas of their country to gain a university degree without the need to travel abroad. (http://www.ed.gov/Technology/Futures/hardin.html ).

The Internet has impacted on education in many positives ways and has made education methods advance dramatically since the Internet’s forth comings. The positive impacts stated included; access to information for students and teachers, the Internet being an encouragement for students to learn and research as it is the latest in technology, students not having to physically be at university to obtain a university degree and the ability for disadvantaged students whom live far away to attend a university. All these are given the chance through the power of the Internet. The positive impacts of the Internet on education discussed in this essay are only a few benefits amongst many that can be discussed. However, it must be noted that with these positive impacts the negative impacts behind it are lurking near.

The negative impacts of having such technology that allows one to access information at the click of a mouse can be seen as follows. It is agreed upon that the Internet is such a large space and has the ability to access all kinds of information is enormous. However, take for example, a primary school student doing research for homework, the student is able to access the Internet, which means accessing all materials posted on the Internet. Materials on the Internet are not always reliable, as the medium is open to publishing and can be misleading (http://www.hjournal.org/files/SWAP_OpenAccessSemanticW.pdf). This misleading information can affect any student or teacher, whom might be accessing information for research. Just because it is published on the Internet does not make it accurate. The fact that they can access information that is incorrect can be seen to hinder traditional education methods. Along with access to incorrect information, children, whilst on the Internet can have access to chat rooms, music sites and popular goods sites, such as Ebay.com, which can be seen as a distraction and a deterrent from the normal traditional way of classrooms and textbook learning with a teacher present.

Children can also be exposed to inappropriate content such as pornography and violent materials due to the Internet being an unregulated global medium (http://www.microsoft.com/billgates/shapingtheinternet.aspx ) These negative impacts can be seen to hinder education as the Internet is unable to be censored and regulated like the traditional form of education in classrooms.

Another negative impact on education caused via the Internet is the dependency on the Internet. The growth of the technology has spurred on the need to use the Internet for even simple humane things like going shopping for example. The ability to go and physically shop and purchase your goods is being taken over by the fact that you can now order just about anything online. Just like when the Internet was introduced into education, the need to go to the library at school for information to complete essays and assignments on time has been taken over by availability of information on the Internet. This ready available materials online is slowly becoming the norm for students and their studies.

The Internet has created this dependence for students not only in their studies, but in normal life. This alarming fact can be backed up by Dr Geoff Potter, who is an Education professor at the University of Victoria, Australia. Potter states that “the regular use of the Internet to gather information for school can harm children’s learning process” (http://communications.uvic.ca/releases/tip.php?date=16092002 ) He furthermore states that, “because online information is so accessible it’s easy to depend solely on the net for research, which is problematic”. The Internet has become the norm in our society for everyday things and it is becoming the norm for the way of education methods. If this is to be the case, then what should happen one day in the future if the Internet breaks down or is destroyed completely? What kind of impact will that have on the children and adults that have used the Internet as their sole bases of research and daily living? They would simply not be able to cope and their idea of the Internet being a utopian gateway will be destroyed. Thus, another negative impact the Internet is having on education culture.

The traditional method of education is to attend classes at schools or universities and so forth. You attend classes with fellow peers and have a teacher to teach your subjects and give information to you directly in person. With the introduction of the Internet to education culture, it seems this ‘traditional’ way of leaning is going to be non-existent in the years ahead. This impact on education can be seen as negative because according to people like, Jessie Dingle and Wendy Gooch at the University of North Carolina, America, learning through the Internet “ is not as effective as face-to-face interaction in a classroom” (http://horizon.unc.edu/projects/issues/papers/Dingle.html) Face to Face education, according to Brown and Duguid in Twigg’s essay, stated that “the proponents of Internet technology suffer from "tunnel vision" that prevents them from seeing than learning is a social experience for which distance-education technology is a poor substitute” (http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/c_twigg_1.html). Without the interaction of other peers and a teacher, the development of the student is seen to be hindered. The individual student might not be an independent in a situation where classes are done through the use of the Internet and will also created difficulty in the learning process.

There are many negatives about the Internet and its impacts on education, such as the ones that were stated in this essay previously that many people in society do not see. It is necessary to point these out for people to be informed and keep a reminder for them that the Internet and its impacts on education are not always positive. Therefore, to conclude this essay, it goes without saying that the Internet is a wonderful piece of technology that many people in our world are able to access for education purposes but let us not forget that all that seems wonderful on the outside has negatives on the inside.

Web References…

“Internet History”
Internet Society Website
http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/cerf.shtml

“Twenty-five years ago, they brought the Internet to life”
Katie Hafner
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.12/creators.html

“Lost in Cyberspace: Have Archives a Future?”
Elizabeth Hallam Smith
Public Record Office
The National Archives, UK
19 August 2000
http://www.archivists.org.au/sem/conf2000/hallamsmith.pdf

“Bridging the Tech-Education Gap”
Katie Dean
2002
http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,54791,00.html

Maths Power Website
http://www.mathspower.com.au/

“Education – by Resources – Software”
Charles Stuart University
2006
http://www.csu.edu.au/education/software.html

Griffith University
http://www.griffith.edu.au/

“Digital Technology and its impact on Education”
Joseph Hardin

John Ziebarth

National Center for Supercomputing Applications University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
http://www.ed.gov/Technology/Futures/hardin.html

“Open Access and Semantic Web - SW Applications for Open publishing”
Michele Barbera
Francesca Di Donato
http://www.hjournal.org/files/SWAP_OpenAccessSemanticW.pdf

“Shaping the Internet Age”
Bill Gates
Internet Policy Institute
Chairman and Chief Software Architect, Microsoft Corp
2000
http://www.microsoft.com/billgates/shapingtheinternet.aspx

“Internet Makes Research Easy, But Learning May Suffer”
Dr. Geoff Potter
University of Victoria
2002
http://communications.uvic.ca/releases/tip.php?date=16092002

“Issues Challenging Education - Today's Fad or Tomorrow's Future?

Jesse Dingle

Wendy Gooch

University of North Carolina, America
http://horizon.unc.edu/projects/issues/papers/Dingle.html

“Distance Education: An Oxymoron?”
Carol Twigg
Executive director of the Center for Academic Transformation
http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/c_twigg_1.html


Book References….

Kahin, Brian and James Keller. Public Access to the Internet. Cambridge: MIT, 1995

Jordan, Tim, Cyberpower: the culture and politics of cyberspace and the Internet, Routledge: 1999, Page 2

Other References….

Quote by Adam Muir in lecture regarding “Dead-Tree Method of education learning”

Random Blog

Random Blog...

For my final essay I have decided to write about the Internet and the Impact its having on Education...I really do not think that I am going to be able to get my essay posted on my blog in time for the deadline...which is tomorrow Friday 5pm...Because I have been working so much it leaves little time for this essay..I do not think a week is enough time to do an essay properly...anyway see how it goes...I have to work all weekend so its going to be fun today and tomorrow trying to get it done..If all else fails I might have to post it on Monday...

Random Blog

Random Blog....

So it is Tuesday and I still have not choosen a question for my essay.. I've just had to work for the past 5 days/nights and I am buggered. Now I'm starting to worry I will not have this essay done in time...I wonder how everyone else in this subject is doing??....

Course Overview

Course Overview...

Overall I think that this course, Communication and Digital Technology was pretty interesting. There were moments there though that were difficult to understand and comprehend. No offense to guest presenter, Pro Steven Stockwell, but some of the concepts that he discussed in relation to his Virtual Philosophy lecture, was difficult to wrap my head around. However, from what I did get out of his lecture was very interesting. Something I must read from him is "The Military-Entertainment Complex: A New Facet of Information Warfare". I'll get around to it one day..

I think Adam has done a wonderful job during this course and it was great that he organised for guest lecturers like Prof Steven and Jason Nelson to come in and speak on their topics. Also Adam showing movies like, Animatrix, Warriors of the Net etc to give the students a better understanding of the lecture topic of the day. This way of presenting new topics really works and should be continued.

The tutorial excercises for this subject were very useful and very different from the old 'dead tree' way of learning in other subjects at university. There is no lugging around books and heavy bags for this class, this I see as another positive to the course. The tutorial excercises were very relevant and very interesting to do. I never knew that 3D Chat worlds exsisted, now I'm addicted to Habbo.com.. Thanks Adam..haha.. I really have learnt a lot from these tute exercises and postings about the lecture on my Blog. It is really good to see that all my other fellow classmates as well feel the same about this course. There isn't really isn't anything bad to say about this course except, Good Job Adam and nice blogs!

http://amuir.edublogs.org/

http://www.users.on.net/~amuir/blog/

http://amuir.edublogs.org/2006/07/29/static/#more-8

Lecture 10 Summary

Lecture 10 Summary...

We had a look at the film, Alphaville....

A mysterious "Outland" agent, Lemmy Caution(Constantine), arrives in Alphaville, ametropolis controlled by Professor Von Braun(Howard Vernon) and a massive computer systemcalled Alpha-60. Dominated by Alpha-60'sperfect logic, the citizens of Alphavillehave lost their ability to think, to communicate, and to love. Aided by VonBraun's daughter Natascha (Anna Karina),Lemmy Caution struggles to destroy the machine and rescue the girl. http://members.aol.com/Clypark/alpha.html

Interesting film with Utopia and Distopian themes in the film.. All the characters were dressed nearly the same and had the same routine life...

Tutorial 6 Photos

Tutorial 6 Photos....

Summer.... Our summers are very hot and I too if I was on a little boat cooling down ask for another drink...

High Tech... Satelites send and receive signals to space..Pretty amazing and pretty high tech stuff

Celebrity.... Who's one of the Hottest Celebs at the moment.. Angelina Jolie Pitt..

Games... Video Games are one of the most entertaining things a kid wants these days...

Media... This monkey is always in the news and media...

Sucessful... They have reached a ripe old age and survived what life throws at them. I think that is pretty successful in itself..

Friends... They just love each other as much as they both love themself.. what friends...

Tutorial 9

Tutorial 9...

Tutorial 9's excerise was quite fun to do. I like doing Power Point because you can be so creative and it makes so much more for a presentation of assessment at univeristy. I have been using Power Point since High School and still use today at Uni...

This excerise used Microsoft Powerpoint and we created a small presentation about ourself. We created 4 slides called:

· My Presentation
· My Hobbies
· My Favourite Food
· My Aspirations

We added photos and special effect settings tailored to our liking. Quite funny to do and then we sit back and watch our presentation after we had set the timings..Powerpoint wasn't very complicated at all and the instructions were well written..

Lecture 9 Summary

Lecture 9 Summary...

*Will technology create a perfect future society?
* Will technology create a inhospitable future society?
* What can understanding the relationships between culture/technology/media tell us about our visions of the future?

We watched Johnny Mnemonic again in this lecture. The film is based on William Gibson writing about Utopian societies. Very interesting film.

www.spe.sony.com/Pictures/SonyMovies/06jonmnu.html

The main theme of this lecture that stuck out in my mind was the discussion on Utopia and Distopia and what they are..

Utopia, from my understanding of the lecture, comes from Greek mythology meaning a place that is perfect, or seems to be, and people and technology go hand in hand together. A lot of literary works are available on Utopia/Distopia. For example, Sir Thomas More's Utopia, 1516. Where Utopian writing is mixed with fors and against technology theories..

Although utopia is seen as a place where everything is perfect, natural and modified to the comfort of humans through use of technology, and if this imagine is to become to norm..it gives off to me a creepy feeling, almost that it is harmful.. In order for me to comprehend these terms a bit more I had to have a look around on the Internet.. and the following is what I came up with..

"UTOPIA: An imaginary place or government in which political and social perfection has been reached in the material world as opposed to some spiritual afterlife as discussed in the Christian Bible or the Elysian fields of The Odyssey. The citizens of such utopias are typically universally clean, virtuous, healthy, and happy, or at least those who are criminals are always captured and appropriately punished. A Utopian society is one that has cured all social ills."

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_U.html

An example Distopia can be shown through this quote from Lecture, "When the power goes off, you may wake to discover that your technology paradise is really hell"....

Erik Davis...technosis..he discusses technology as crossed with magic. Technology is a mystical thing which displays a Distopian theme. Distopia is the opposite feelings about a Utopian society, meaning its not what it looks like. Perfect on the outside and terrible within.

Neal Stevenson - Snow Crash (Cyberpunk fiction)

Quote: "Peace is disrupted by people who seek to exercise their own human agency and free will.."

Virtual community...

VC of the future looks like a perfect model with all the perfect technology..there is also a more prosaic, more human side to this vision in which we may realise a better life here on earth.

Cyberspace can also be a space in which connection and community are fostered, thereby enriching our lives as a social beings.

Howard Rheingold, author of the VC is one who believes cyberspace offers the hope of a restored sense of community. "Is this so?", I thought. We all have different views on community and the world and over time those views will change. Those will believe in what Rheingold has stated about the 'Restored" community and those will have other beliefs and not so much of a hope of cyberspace..

After discussing Utopia and Distopia we then watched a video called Animatrix http://www.intothematrix.com/ The film is made in virtual / cartoon graphics. It portrays the world being turned into a high tech world where robots did menial task which humans did not want to do.. These androids received no respect from there masters until one uprose and killed his masters, it was ordered that the Andriods all be killed. They were banished from humanity and were resurrected into their own half of the world, know as Zero 1, where they created Artificial Intelligence like never seen..

The second part of the film shows that the humans have nearly destroyed their own planet with the explosions of nuclear. Because of these explosions, it did not affect the robots and their plight to take over the world. The humans retaliated by cutting off the robots main supply of energy the sun. They covered the sky with a thick cover and war began..The robots dispensed great misery on the human race and captured thousands of human for testing. These testing created a Renascence with the combination of human/robots. All humans were placed into cocoons and placed into a virtual world.

Very interesting and wicked graphics..much better than the Matrix movie itself..Overall the lecture was one of the most interesting I've been to..

Tutorial 8

Tutorial 8...

Microsoft program Word is a common program used by many people around the world for all sorts of purposes. The main purpose that I use Word is to type up essays and assignment related purposes for university. In Today's tutorial task we were asked to compose a letter using Microsoft Word and explore the variety of functions that the program has to offer a person who uses it.

Part 1... Part 1 of the exercise involved Opening, Typing and Saving your work. We typed up a letter and modified it to our own personel situation.. I based mine around applying for a job as a Japanese teacher at Merrimac State High School. I stated that I had completed a Bachelor of Arts in Japanese degree and a Masters of Education.. which is not true but will be in the future.. but for the excercise's sake i did.. This part of the tutorial was fairly easy and normal to do and there was no problems with unerstanding Adama's directions..

Part 2... Part 2 of the exercise involved Bolding, Italics, Underline and Bullets. These functions we used were just to emphasize our letter and point out our good points about ourself for the job. no problems with this part of the exercise..

Part 3... Part 3 of the excerise used Headers, Footers and Double Spacing. Once again these functions enhance the letters appareance making it more professional.

Advanced Part 1: This sections was fairly easy to understand and following the instructions. I had never known about Track Changes before and it was interesting to note that this function of word exsist.

Adavanced Part 2: Mail Merge..hmm..not my favourite part of this excerise..I have always had difficulty working out this function of Word..and yet my inability to understand and work it out prevails..i tried but couldn't work it out..Q4 of this section was the beginning of the end in this section..haha

Lecture 8 Summary

Lecture 8 Summary...

What I have learnt from my fellow classmates blogs is that the Lecture 8 began with an introduction to the film "Existenz" made in 1999 by David Cronenberg. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120907/ I research a little about this film and discovered the film is about a game designer who creates a virtual-reality game that tapes into the players' minds. Will have to hire it out one day and view it. The idea that someone can tap into another person's brain through the use of a computer game is pretty creepy and out there..and sounds like a definate invasion of privacy..

The main theme of Lecture 8 was Democracy. Democracy has exsisted from early history and even up till today. Australia and America's societies are a classic example of democracy. Democracy indicates a form of government where all the state's decisions are exercised directly or indirectly by a majority of its citizens through a fair elective process. When these factors are met a government can be classified as such.

Steven Stockwell was guest lecturer and addressed issues such as Gaps in Mass Media which involves Media Democracy. An interesting quote from lecture;

"The increasing concentration, centralisation and commercialisation of the mass media appears to have foreclosed avenues for democratic participation in currently existing representative democracy. "

Is Media and democracy going hand in hand? It would seem so...With theorists such as Habermas arguing, "political debate flourished to produce an independent sphere of influence from which the emerging bourgeoisie could criticise the state and civil society". Habermas also argues that commercialisation of the press in the nineteenth century saw the transformation of the public sphere, and its newspapers in particular, from the journalism of private persons to 'the consumer services of the mass media' which privileged the private interests of owners and advertisers.

The lecture also mentions famous theorists:

• Marshall McLuhan
• Mark Posters
• Hans Magnus Enzensberger
• Walter Benjamin
• Helen Irving
• Stuart Hall
• John Fiske
• John Hartley

Other topics that were covered Free Speech and Censorship and Citizen-Hacker: Doing Global Democracy.

With the Internet being used by everyday 'normal' people and government type people there seems to be a difference in how the parties use it. The internet gives the normal people the right to say what they want, when they want and how they want to and its something that the government, i suppose, sees as a threat to their power, a.k.a -cyber democracy. I could be wrong though..I'm only winging this..but that is my opinion.. Normal people can research a lot about the government and come to gather their own opinions..

Censorship and Freedom on Speech on the Internet, Australia:

http://www.efa.org.au/Issues/Censor/

Tutorial 7

Tutorial 7...

I find that Excel can be a very simple and straight forward program to use for basic spread sheeting and recording of information etc. However, when it comes to the more advanced things like Macros..get me out of there..I remember doing an assignment for Information Systems subject and the assessment involved a lot of Macros and boy did I struggle. I mainly struggled because the tutor did not help and did not give clear instructions at all. He presummed that we all knew what we were doing...But I must say on this occasion I seemed to do alright.... Adam's instructions were very clear and straight forward which has made doing this tutorial exercise pleasant and uncomplicated.. Macros probably aren't a complicated part of excel if they are explained right...

Lecture 7 Summary

Lecture 7 Summary....

Lecture 7 involved learning about computer games and the way they work. Two of the key questions that were addressed in this lecture include:

1. How have people approached the academic study of video games?


2. What kinds of questions can we ask about video games?

There are so many different types of computer games these days it is seriously not funny. I first remember when we got our first computer games device.. It was a Sega and it had Sonic the Hedge Hog on it as the game.. arrrr doesn't time fly with Sonic and my personel favourite 'Alex The Kid' game. I feel so old now...My brother and I were amazed and so greatful that our parents bought us something so expensive in its time. These days its a regular thing for children born in late 90s and early 2000 to have these life-like video games and controllers at home. The games today have all the high tech graphics and even a high tech computer / game box. The most popular of these today is the X-Box..

Funny enough though these days X-Box etc and their games are not only for the amusement of children, Adults are more into computers games these days than children. Games especially built for adults and have adult themes have taken the gaming world by storm. You can get games like Playboy Mansion (enough said for that game and there is no way i'd let my kid look at that) and also all the blood and guts games like Doom, Quake and my fav Command& Conquer Red Alert.

Appart from all the blood an guts and nudity on adult video games, computer games and software are being used in an effort to connect to children and their education. As we move away from the old 'dead tree' method of learning out of books, educational programs are being used in schools and at home to teach children basics like maths, english, geography. An example of Educational software games include;

http://www.edalive.com/

http://www.qmsoftware.com.au/SpellingGames.htm

http://www.mathspractice.com.au/

If your not home playing video games on your own X-Box or Play Station etc you can be playing video games in a video arcade or even on your own mobile phone. Computers are everywhere these days and if you have a computer i'm sure there is a computer games lurking near by..Solitare haha...

Tutorial 6

Tutorial 6...

Tutorial 6 was based on the second section of Photoshop. I really want to use photoshop for this excerise, however the computer lab we were in for our tute did not have Photoshop program downloaded onto the computers..so it was a bummer and I have had to make do with using poxy Microsoft Paint program instead...I would have had fun with some of the people in the pictures. Like removing Nicole and Paris's heads and putting them on donkeys or something like that for the friendship section, cause they always make an asses out of themself being friends... Just silly stuff like that I wanted to do...I tried to download a free 30-day Trial of Photoshop but it didn't work on my computer at home and then when i tried to download it at Uni I got to 99% of the download completed and then....Bang!!!..You have used up all your student download and you cannot use the internet anymore and you are Negative -$11.57....Great hey....How am I suppose to do the excerise when I don't have the program..I was getting all stressed and then..yeah Poxy Microsoft Paint we were able to use...

So in the end I have used Microsoft paint for this tute excericse. I found the program was fun to use for this exercise, but I also found it very limiting in what you can do to alter photos, as you can see.

So the following were the categories we had to use:

• friends
• high-tech
• news
• summer
• games
• Successful
• celebrity

Lecture 6

Lecture 6....

Well if you read my previous blog entries you can pretty much guess why I did not attend this lecture... Not good I know but I really was expecting to be that crook.. Fine one minute and then... yeah, you get the picture..... So I thought I had better summarize what I have gotten out of the lecture notes yesterday to catch up...

So the first question of the lecture was:

"What are some current applications that will impact our lives?"

When you think of "Current Applications", the follow are what come to mind:

• Instant Messaging; MSN, ICQ, Yahoo Messenger
• Voice over IP / Voice Chat; Skype

Chatting technology like Instant Messenger and Voice over IP / Voice Chat work alongside with the Internet are of great convenience to any user and cheaper than using the old telephone. With the uprise in these applications phone companies are not going to be very happy...

• Nanotechnology

This quote from "The Next Big Thing Is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change The Future Of Your Business" (by Jack Uldrich and Deb Newberry Read our review) sums it up nicely: "This is not to say that nanotechnology is a far-off, fuzzy, futuristic technology. It is not. It has already established a beachhead in the economy. The clothing industry is starting to feel the effects of nanotech. Eddie Bauer, for example, is currently using embedded nanoparticles to create stain-repellent khakis. This seemingly simple innovation will impact not only khaki-wearers, but dry cleaners, who will find their business declining; detergent makers, who will find less of their product moving off the shelf; and stain-removal makers, who will experience a sharp decrease in customers. This modest, fairly low-tech application of nanotechnology is just the small tip of a vast iceberg--an iceberg that threatens to sink even the "unsinkable" companies." http://www.nanotech-now.com/current-uses.htm

The second part of the lecture address the following types of software / applications etc:

Free Software:

While many people would still consider this term to mean any "free of cost", or "free as in free beer" software, in the truly *free* software world this terms represents software that comes with the freedoms to use, copy, study, modify and redistribute both modified and unmodified copies of software programs. We usually say "free as in freedom" to emphasize what it is all about.

www.libervis.com/modules/wiwimod/index.php

Open Source:

Open source software is similar in idea to "free software" but slightly less rigid than the free software movement. Users of open source software are (generally) able to view the source code, alter and re-distribute open source software. There is however less of an emphasis in the open source movement o­n the right of information and source code to be free and in some cases companies are able to develop proprietary products based o­n open source

www.o­nes.floss.meraka.org.za/postnukeII/modules.php

Creative Commons:

A non-profit organisation founded on the notion that some authors may not want to exercise all of the intellectual property rights the law affords them. Creative Commons has developed a set of free public licences to enable authors to share their work with others

http://creativecommons.org/

Random Blog

Random Blog...

Well you can completely disregard my last blog entry because the only modivation i got yesterday was from my stomach wanting to say hello to the toliet...Not a pretty picture and i bet your glad i didn't show up to the lecture and tute... I really want to go to yesterday's tute because photo shop sounds so fun to do. My fellow classmates look like they had some fun according to their blog entries yesterday .... i'll try to catch up today so i don't fall behind....

Random Blog

hi there...

So after a weekend long of partying and grog..Monday I'm feeling a little worse for wear..but I must get going and get modivated for this week of lectures and deciding on an essay topic....its going to be tough today...

Random Blog

Random Blog....

Ok.... so I thought I would do a random blog thingy, cause apparently after reading the assessment criteria we need a minimum of 14 blogs and I have only done 13...As a BA Japanese student doing a Journalism / IT subject it is going pretty well, I think.... Well see...Especially when I get my first mark back from my first assessment piece...I've started to think about the essay and how I'm going to start doing it..As soon as I get a few questions available, I'm just going to randomly pick one and try my best at it. I'm not really up with the tech lingo but I will definately try my best to present something read and understandable. This was the first question...

Essay/Discussion Question: The idea of the internet as cyberspace has been a part of our contemporary culture for some time, particularly in the popular medium of film. But is the concept of cyberspace still relevant to our contemporary society? Discuss with reference to your own experience of contemporary media.

Hard question to breakdown...might pass....will have to wait and see........arrrgh...!!

Lecture 5 Summary

Lecture 5....

Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to Today's lecture as I had another migraine. I think it's from looking at the lecture screen and staring at the computer screen for far too long during the past week. Adam I think your are right, I'll need to go and get my eyes checked and probably get glasses. So because I wasn't at the lecture, it leaves me in a bit of a pickle you see...How am I suppose to write a Lecture Summary when I have not been to the lecture and there is no notes posted...hmmm...well this left me with one option..to read my fellow classmates blog entries on the lecture...from the sounds of it, it was a very interesting lecture.

This lecture was taken by guest lecturer Mr Jason Nelson whom discussed "Net.Art and Digital Creativity." I had a bit of a search for him on the internet and discovered these interesting website about himself and what he does for a living. http://secrettechnology.com/ Wow..is what I have to say. The range of art work online is amazing. The digital presences that he has created are amazing and I highly recommend anyone to visit his site.

According to my fellow classmates blog entries, Jason discussed the internet being used as a tool for many things, including; marketing products and online stores (Ebay.com), gambling online, porn distribution, woes of internet secrurity, 'gimmicks' of the internet and so forth. The internet seems to have taken over even the most simpliest of things in life. For example buying Pizza, you can order your pizza online and have it sent to you, instead of ringing up on the telephone and physically going and picking up your pizza. Wish I was at this lecture....

Tutorial Task 3

Tutorial Task 3....

The purpse of this tute was to reaserch about 'search engines'. We were given a list of questions which we had to discover the answers to and also to input our own ideas about the answers to the questions....

Q1: What is a search engine?

"A search engine or search service is a document retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system, such as on the World Wide Web, inside a corporate or proprietary network, or in a personal computer" (Wikipedia.com)

Q2:How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?

The search engine allows one to ask for content meeting specific criteria (typically those containing a given word or phrase) and retrieves a list of items that match those criteria. This list is often sorted with respect to some measure of relevance of the results.

Q3: Who, or what, makes one page (that you might get in your search results) more useful than another one, so that it is put at the top of your search results?

The results are listed on the page of your search results in form of relevance of search.

Q4: What are some of your favourite search engines? why do you like one more than others?

My favourite search engines are; Google, Ask Jeeves, Uijiko, AltaVista. Google just seems to have more results than the other search engines.

Q5: Can you find some current news stories about search engines? (for example, Google has been in the technology news a bit lately).

An article about Google launching the Google Custom Search Engine. It is a new way to bring tailored search to websites and blogs. In just minutes, anyone can use the Google search platform to create a search engine focused on any content they like – from Hollywood heartthrobs, to favorite sports team, to personal hobbies, and more.

http://www.google.com/press/annc/custom_search.html

Tutorial 5

Tutorial 5.......

The purpose of this tutorial exercise is to find a range of pictures which descibes the following categories :

• friends
• high tech
• news
• summer
• unconventional
• university life

I needed to make sure that they were not modified in Photoshop as we will be using the photos in the coming tutorial exercises. Also I need to post a summary about those pictures I have chosen as to why they represent the categories....Here goes........

Friends: Friends always get back together no matter what they are going through in their lives.

High Tech: Any train that can travel of speeds up to 360km per hour has got my vote for the High Tech category. Look at that piece of machinery..beautiful and smooth too to ride..

Summer: This picture represents me in the season of summer..Laid back, enoying the warm weather with a beer in one hand, letting my worries drift away with the tide..

Unconventional: hmmm..I think this picture speaks for itself. What's the point of having a loo u can't use?

University Life: Study, study and more study. That pile of work looks a lot like mine.

Tutorial Task 2

Tutorial Task 2.....

Ok..So I have linked up to some of the blogs of my fellow classmates (Binny, Karla, Sim, Trent and Sam)..after having a bit of a little look-see at all their blogs it is interesting to note that my fellow classmates are like me. We all use the Internet as part of our daily lives..Shoock Horror! hmmm..not really...We are all using email for things like keeping in contact with family and friends around the world, researching information for these blogs and other purposes and if u you have not already guessed we are all using the internet for writing these blogs.. We all come from different backgrounds in life and you could very well say that the internet connects us all.

Tutorial 4

Tutorial 4.........

This was the first time that I have ever heard about 3D Chat programs like, Active Worlds, IMVU, Habbo and so forth which Adam introduced us to in the tutorial. These 3D Chat programs are quite different to those of MSN Messenger, ICQ etc to which I am accustomed to.

My Question is that why did I not know about these 3D Chat programs? They they are simply amazing and like nothing I have experienced before when it comes to chatting on the internet. i signed into Habbo.com.au and was able to design my body and clothes etc and go into all the different sections of Habbo World and chat to various different people in different settings. Quite amusing and fun...

However, I did note that there are some differences between the two styles of programs. Chat programs like MSN Messenger tend to be on a more personel level as you can choose who to add to your list and to whom you want to talk with or not. Whilst with the 3D Chat Worlds anybody can talk to anyone and you might not know anyone from a bar of soap in there, so there is a low level of personel connection in 3D Chats. I'd prefer MSN Messenger as a serious way of chatting because of personel reasons but I'd still have a go at 3D Chat Worlds because of the interaction and different style of chatting..

Lecture 3 Summary

Lecture 3....

This Lecture was based around media and the various forms of medium which surrounds it. The lecture started out with the meaning of media and its relation to communication. interesting points that were notes in the lecture notes included:

1. 
   
   The basic idea to understand is that the kind of communication you can use is determined a lot by the medium of commuication you are dealing with.


2. 
   
   That the 'news media' or 'mass media' is only one type of media. Through new commuication technologies we now have new forms of media such as the internet.

These points were interesting to me, hence the reason to re-state them. Along with the information on Media and its definition, the emergence of New Media, the Internet and Cyber Cultural Studies were other topics that was covered in the lecture. With the internet beginning in the early 1990s, its amazing to see the growth, seriousness and dependance on the internet in today's society. Another intersting point;

1. 
   
   Critical cyberculture studies unfolds and explores the stories we tell about social, cultural and economic interactions online. For example, we use the terms and metaphors such as 'surf the net' to make it more approachable for those who know nothing about it.

Interesting once again this lecture....

Lecture 4 Summary

Lecture 4...
http://www.movieweb.com/movies/film/60/1760/summary.php

Assoc Proff Steve Stockwell came in to do a lecture today instead of Adam. Proffessor Steve is Adam's Phd Supervior and quite an interesting fellow. He discussed in the lecture about virtual philosophy and extended into discussing cyber space, cyber punk studies, virtual reality and so forth. He also got us to watch "Johnny Mnemonic" made in 80s, as a representation of the internet in the year 2001. It was to show us the different representations of techonology in different periods of time. Eg 1985 Johnny Mnemonic movie represents 21st century and also to show that the last few years, the rise of spaces that allow individuals to contribute their own things (you Tube, Ebay).

The following is a few interesting points that i picked up in the lecture:

***Understanding "Mnumonic" - Musical notes example (Every Dood Boy Deserves Fruit - represents each of the musical notes) utilize mnumonics to remember things (example: exams codes etc) Clasic numonic device - in bedroom leave ideas around the bedroom to help memorize) Device for extending the capabilites of our minds, just like computers.

***Ability not to be bound by past an present but our way to narrate it our way.

***The movie the Matix an example of playing around with ideas of technology/virtual reality. working out of the ideas of imagination. Interesting take on virtual.

***Virtual Rationality....the notion is that we can only know what we can prove to know. Reference to data that the world is in a particular situation. exapnding of tv, radio, movie etc as we live in a world of speculation, these things have developed their own notions of virtual rationality. Examples of people with their own views of virtual rationality include: Guy Debord (Society of Spectacle), Unberto Eco (Hyper-reality) and William Gibson (Cyberspace as Consensual Hallucination) to name a few.

***Philosophers are starting to worries as people are devloping reading skills, internet skills etc that there input in ideas may take over. Steve also mentioned Socrates and Plato were two such people to question and to want their own view of the world. Influenced people for years.

The lecture was a slight be difficult for me to comprehend but interesting non the less.

Tutorial 3

Tutorial 3....

I think I had better explain this exercise before you say "What the?". We were given a list of Questions to answer during the Tute and we have to use a search engine to do so. The rule of the game is to not use Google and to learn about researching / search engines on the internet. So the questions are:

Websites used included: Ask Jeeves.com, Search.com, Altavista.com, Ujiko.com, dogpile.com

1. What is the weight of the world's biggest pumpkin (include the year of this record, is there a more recent record)? In October 2002, a pumpkin was reported from Manchester, New Hampshire with a weight of 1337 pounds.http://waynesword.palomar.edu/pljan96.htm

2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Grant Hackett? If you want to contact Grant, please write to the Miami Swimming Club, their address is:Miami Swimming ClubPO BOX 2461BURLEIGH QLD 4220http://granthackettonline.free.fr/?page_id=107

3. What is the length of a giraffe's tongue? It can be as long as 22 inches in length.http://www.bellsouthmspioneers.org/ZooGiraffes.htm

4. How would you define "ontology"? In your own words, what does it mean? Ontology is the most fundamental branch of metaphysics. It has one basic question, what actually exists?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology

5. What was David Lynch's first film? 'The granmother", 1970 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lynch

6. When was the original "Hacker's Manifesto" written, and by whom? January 8, 1986 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_Manifesto

7. What is the capital of Bhutan, and what language do the citizens speak? Thimpu, Dzongkha http://www.canadiancontent.net/profiles/Bhutan.html

8. What is the cheapest form of travel from Bergen, Norway to Ornskoldsvik, Sweden?

9. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1972? ABBA, "RING, RING" http://phenomenon.abba-world.net/aust/disc2.htm

10. What punk band was Stephen Stockwell (head of the school of arts) in? Black Assassins.http://www.brisbanewritersfestival.com.au/2005/content/standard.asp?name=StockwellS

Lecture 2 Summary

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2263230473227872064

Lecture 2..........

The second Lecture of Communication and Digital Technology was pretty interesting stuff as I had never known all that much about the internet and computers before... Adam discussed the history that surrounds the Internet and computers as part of the first half of the lecture. One person, in history, that was seen to be the starting creator of computers was Charles Babbage with his 19th century invention called "Difference Engine", which I suppose was the starting creation of computer-like machines in society. He did create the first digital computer which was used for calculation..which I find interesting because computers these days aren't specifically used for that sort of thing anymore.. Other significant people in computing history that Adam discussed included; Ada Byron - daughter of Lord Byron, a metaphysician and creator of the first computer program. A woman..who would have thought..I know i would have thought it to be a man... Alan Turing - developed the computer further.... Also a fact that I learnt in the lecture was that IBM was the first company that commerically produced computers..I thought it was Microsoft. My perception of this is probably because Microsoft is so out there and in your face that one would presume it to be so..But not the case which I learnt. Adam also discussed the types of computers that were invented such as: Apple and Xerox Parc. I found it quite interesting to here about IBM and Microsoft's beginnings. It was quite amusing the know that when the creators of computer (ie: Bill Gates etc) were younger they use to swap computer parts and ideas about ways to improve on their computer models they were building. If only they knew then about what laid a head in the future..Do you think they still would have swapped ideas and computer parts..hmmm maybe not....The Internet was the second part of the lecture. Not knowing much about the 'behind the scenes' of the internet, Adam cleared this up with a viewing of the movie "Warriors of the Net", which is the link at the top of this blog. It was an amusing but informative movie about how messages/communication can go from one computer to the next etc via the Internet. Highly recommended for anyone who isn't up-to-date with the computer/internet world. Also one interesting point that i'll never forget Adam saying is that, "It is important to understand that the internet is not the same thing as the web"..overall it was an interesting lecture..

Tutorial 2

Tutorial 2......

New Communication and Digital Technologies are becoming a necessity to everyday life. For example, in order to complete this blog, as part of my assessment, I need a computer and the Internet. With the availbility of these technologies (mobile phones, internet and email, telephones) being readily available, the influence to use them is simply unavoidable. They make life so much easier and to communicate with friends, family, businesses and so forth. It's as simple as pushing a few buttons or a few clicks to keep in touch. A lot of my friends and family have very busy lives and so catching up with them in person can be very difficult, especially if they live in another state or in a different country. Classic example, My Brother, he's currently working the Princess Cruise line, travelling around the world, so seeing him in person is a touch bit difficult. Therefore, Email and Satelite Phone on the ship, comes in handy to communicate with him.

When it comes to "meeting new people on the internet" for example..I'm not really a fan..I think its more of a personal choice not to socialize on the internet and a safety concern. I think there are a lot of 'fakers' and 'perverts' out there, which is why i don't think its a completely honest way of 'making friends'. I do though, however, keep in contact via Email, Chat on MSN to my friends which i have known all my life, and have a MySpace (which i can add / not add people), so I can't say i avoid this communication techonology all together and I can't say it has a negative effect...