Lecture
In the lecture for week 7, students were informed about the World Wide Web. One of the things that I found intriguing was the very fact that there was a difference between the World Wide Web and the internet (the internet being a large network of computers and the WWW being almost like a ‘catalogue’ in that network). I really had no idea there was any difference between the two until now. We were also told that it was developed by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989 to assist in sharing research information. The lecture also included the domain name system and what you might expect from certain domain names (.com for commercial, .org for non-profit etc). We were also given some alternatives to Internet Explorer as well as some short-cuts we can use on the keyboard.

Workshop
In the workshop for week 7, students were asked to look at three sites and record information about them that might prove them to be ‘spoof’ sites.
The first site was www.haggishunt.scotsman.com and is a site dedicated to hunting a mythical creature called a ‘haggis’. To try and make the creature seem real, the authors of the site have included a ‘haggisclopedia’ which includes everything from history of the animal to zoology. They have also included cameras in ten ‘haggis hotspots’ and prizes for people who spot a haggis on these cameras. It is obvious that the site is a spoof for the following reasons:
• It is common knowledge that haggis is a traditional Scottish meal (made with a sheep’s stomach, meat and oatmeal) and is not an actual animal.
• The haggii displayed on the site are clearly fakes. They display a platypus head on the body of something similar to a hedgehog or beaver.
• The unprofessional sentences in parts of the site which, if the site were not a spoof, would be expected to be the most professional pages on the site. For example, on the zoology page, under the ‘Natural Enemies’ section, midges are listed. The author then goes on to say that they are ‘the natural enemy of every living thing’. To view the page with this information included, view the screenshot below.


• There are no pictures of people with a caught haggis. As the site is dedicated to hunting haggii, I have to wonder why there are no pictures of a dead haggii as on other hunting sites (http://www.ausafari.com.au/wild_boar_hunting_north_queensland.htm for example).
The second site we were told to analyse is www.molossia.org. It is a site for the Republic of Molossia and includes pages of information on the republic’s history and culture. The site has many clues to suggest that it is a spoof site. Some of these include:
• The ‘Ark Molossia’ page is quite unusual considering the site is of a republic. I just find myself doubting that a republic would have pictures and information on cats and dogs. To see the Molossia Ark page, view the screenshot below.


• There is no world map on the site that identifies where the Republic of Molossia is. For a site to promote a republic, I would expect for it to show me where in the world it is situated.
• The navy for the Republic of Molossia includes an inflatable lifeboat, two inflatable kayaks and a boy who looks no more than 12 years old.
• The author states that the name ‘Molossia’ comes from the Spanish word ‘morro’, meaning a small rock or hill. The author then goes on to say that ‘ssia’ is added ‘because it sounds good’. I find it hard to believe that a republic would admit that they created the name because they liked the way it sounded.
The third website that students were asked to visit was www.martinlutherking.org.

Before Entering the Site
I believe that this site will include achievements that Martin Luther King Jr. made throughout his life. As the site is probably based more or less on him alone, it will probably include where he was bought up and at what schools he studied. I believe his death will also be included and the killers (if known (my knowledge on Martin Luther King is quite limited)) will be named.

After Entering the Site
My first impression of the site is that it is a spoof site. I believe this because there is a link titled ‘Rap lyrics’ while King obviously had nothing to do with rap music. The bit of information on the top left hand side of the page suggests King behaved in an unruly way, not unlike many rap artists today. While I think this site may be offensive to some, it is just in the name of fun. Upon closer inspection, I was very surprised at the information included on this web site. The site suggests that Martin Luther King plagerised his works to the point where less than half of some of his works included sentences that contained five or more words that were his own. The site also suggests that King was a violent man. To view the page with that information included on it, view the screenshot below.


After I have viewed this site, I believe it was made maliciously to persuade people that Martin Luther King Jr. was a bad person.

Readings
The first reading for this week included information on different search engines. This is useful to me as a university student as I don’t have to limit myself to Google. If there is information that I cannot find on Google, I can either better my search by making it more specific to the information I am looking for or change search engines altogether.
The second reading for this week was a timeline from 1945-1995 on the history of the World Wide Web. I find it difficult to understand most of the information on this site and it does seem rather trivial in relation to the World Wide Web in my eyes, but I know it’s not and I expect to understand and appreciate it more as my knowledge on the topic grows.
The third reading for this week included history of the internet. It gives information about the development of computers, how ARPANET was transformed into the internet and finally into the WWW, the history of email (electronic mail), the development of search engines and basic net information (number of people who the internet and what countries they are from etc.)

This week’s lecture firstly included tips on how to improve our blogs in the form of the marking key. It was suggested that students focus more on the aspects of the blog that were worth 5 marks as appose to parts that were worth 1 or 2. Secondly, the program EndNote was formally introduced to students. EndNote is a program that allows people to organise their references correctly and with ease. Different ‘libraries’ can be created for each set of references (generally a new one per assignment) and once a person builds their skills with the program, they can use EndNote with MS Word. Just as in any program in which you are saving data, it is a governing principle that you must back up your work.

In week six’s workshop, students were asked to properly reference information given on Blackboard using EndNote. To do this, we were to create a new library, choose where on the computer to save the document and remember to select APA 5th as the reference style, fist of all. Secondly, to create a new reference, students were then to right click and select ‘new reference’. Once the new window opened, the appropriate reference type was to be selected (journal, book etc) and the fields were to be filled in where possible. Once all of the information was filled in, that window was to be closed and the reference would be automatically saved to the library. The information in the library is also saved when the main window is closed. I personally found this activity to be the hardest so far. It wasn’t so much using EndNote that was difficult, but rather deciding what information would be appropriate for what reference type. For the more complicated information, I have to admit I did Google search titles to see what they were. If it were not for Google, I don’t feel I would have been able to complete the activity correctly. I definitely have to work on recognising reference types for the future. For a screenshot of my EndNote activity completed, view the picture below (click for full image):



The readings for this week included a basic overview of the various benefits of using EndNote. It began with letting the reader know about what EndNote is (a reference storing program) and how to start up a library. It was also known that you can set up a default library to open every time you start EndNote. The readings then went on to inform the reader about how to add a reference to your library and how to change the reference type. When entering reference authors, it was suggested that the user does not use periods after an initial, but rather a single space. Sorting options for references was also shown (by author, year, title etc) as well as how to search for a reference. It was also shown how to select different Output styles (in our case, we use APA 5th). The readings then included information about incorporating MS Word to EndNote to be able to ‘cite while you write’. It is also possible to import information from online databases (ProQuest) directly to your library, which I believe would be extremely handy.

Week five’s lecture was about atom and bit-based information. Atom-based information is something you can hold in your hand (like a book or paper for example). It is good because it is difficult to replicate or change and it’s easy to hide. On the other hand, it is often bulky, costly and difficult to distribute. Bit-based information is digital reproductions of atom-based information and if flexible, cheap and easy to distribute. However, it is easy to edit, steal and fake information.
The lecture was also about learning some principles of organising our bit-based information. This included a list of some of the different types of files that a student may come across and what programs are needed to use them. A handy hint that was given out was that if you use the ‘properties’ tool to create metadata about your document, it will make finding it in the future much easier. For example, if you have written an essay on Makybe Diva, you may put ‘horse racing’ or ‘Thoroughbreds’ in your metadata. It is also a good idea to use the ‘search’ tool when trying to locate files.

In week five’s workshop, students were to learn how to effectively use their ‘favourites’ tool in Internet Explorer. For a student to be using this tool to his or her full advantage, they should know how to bookmark a page and then organise that page into appropriate folders. To prove that we knew how to do this, we were to make three folders with at least two pages saved in them. For a screenshot of my completed exercise, view the picture below (click for full image):


For this week’s workshop, students were also required to read ‘Being Digital’ by Nicholas Negroponte. This archive was all about new technologies (bit-based information) and how they are influencing old ones (atom-based information). An example of this is ‘Video on Demand’ instead of regular movie renting. Bit-based information seems to be welcomed by people with open arms because it is far more convenient than atom-based. It can be moved around much easier. A situation this could be relevant in would be if you had bought back atom-based information from an overseas holiday, there is a good chance it may be held in customs. When you are using bit-based information, on the other hand, you would not need to clear it the way you would the atom-based and you would be able to use and enjoy it much sooner. Bit-based information also has a better chance of lasting longer in that a certain text may go out of print on paper, but you would still probably be able to access it through bit-based documents. Civilisation, almost without realising it, has moved from an industrial age (in which atoms were very popular and bit-based virtually non-existent) to a post industrial age and then onto an information age (where bit-based information is everywhere). We have now started to move into a post information age. Everything is ‘made to order’ according to who we are and what our habits might be. This is all in the name of convenience because this way, we don’t have to remember if our boss’ prefer red or white wine.

For week five’s reading, students were required to read Information Management and Electronic Environments by Dr Jim Mullaney. This text firstly informed the reader of the program EndNote and how useful it can be to students when they are referencing. Bookmarks and folders labeled appropriately will also be a very useful thing. A general idea of what was okay to do and what was not okay to do as far as referencing goes was also stated. Copying and pasting for notes is more than acceptable (and keeping the web addressed you obtained the information from is handy as well), whereas trying to say that the work is entirely your own is very offensive.

This week’s lecture was basically about the different types of communication used on the internet/computer. The examples included in the lecture are email, instant messenger, forums, blogs, wikiwebs and social networking. While these six were included in the lecture, there are probably more types out there. Students were informed about what types of communication there are and why exactly a particular form of communication falls under a certain type. For example, a chat room is place dependant and synchronous because you must be in the same place on the internet at the same time to be able to chat to people. A bulletin board, however, is place dependant but asynchronous because while you must be in the same place on the internet, you don’t have to be there at the same time as somebody else to communicate with them. Examples of alternative emails and instant messengers were given. Also included in week four’s lecture was ‘netiquette’ which was basically giving students a general idea about how to behave when using email and such. For instance, BCC generally means ‘blind copy’ and it will not show emails entered into that field when sent.

For week four’s workshop, students were firstly asked to organise their ECU emails a little as well as get to know how to use it. To do this, four folders were to be created (one for each unit, e.g. UPC0004). Then, we were to send an email to somebody sitting next to us. Because I did this activity at home, I sent an email to myself. That email was to be sent to the UPC0004 folder. To see a screenshot of this activity complete, view the screenshot below (click for full image):


The second part of our workshop required students to search a topic under the ‘Groups’ section of Google. I chose to search Arabian horses. I found that the majority of the messages posted were simply sales or owners of Arabian horses posting behavior problems. There was the odd question about the history of the horse breed and such, but no topic in particular struck me as terribly interesting. There was, however, a message posted about an elderly woman who had become sick and wanted to sell her 50 Arabian horses to loving homes. I was interested enough in this post to read the entire thing. To view the screenshot, see below (click for full image).


Students were also to visit a podcast website (http://podcasts.yahoo.com for example) and search something. I chose to search for my favourite show Metalocalypse. I was really happy with the search results returned. Some of the things that I was able to see were promos, episodes and some audio including their songs. To view a screenshot, see below (click for full image):


I believe podcasts could be particularly beneficial to students in that lectures and such could be recorded and posted if students were to miss out on a day. This would assure they would have the best opportunities to learn.

The first reading for week four was information on the different things you should remember when sending emails to people in your workplace. It included information for both senders and recipients. The second reading included knowledge on internet relay chats. This was helpful in that it included many of the dos and don’ts. For example, you should avoid typing in all capitals because people regard it as shouting. The third reading was on SPAM. It was filled with information on what is bad about SPAM, why it is such a big problem and a possible way to stop it.