This is the most traditional system of the three technologically speaking. The University of Zambia's distance learning facility relies on existing on campus teaching staff to extend their teaching capabilities to people across the country who do not have the means to travel a great distance but can still learn to a university level through the distance learning.
It sounds like this system is a lot more lenient than others as it is solely down to the lecturers themselves. If they receieve a piece of work but have a lot to focus on with their internal students, then the external distance learning student may not receive their work back for some time. This seems rather unfair to me, making this system to be the weakest of the three in my opinion.
What do you think of distance learning?
Monday, 14 April 2008
Week 7: China's TVRU Programme
Again, I find this concept and particular way of distance learning fascinating. China is a country known for its booming population and overcrowded schools, not to mention the sheer volume of competition for places in higher education systems. I think it says a lot about Chinese Culture that such a programme exists, as China is often at the front of the technological market offering advances in such technologies. The presence of a home learning university schedule will not only help to increase the number of people going into a higher education position but offer a much fairer system of learning. Where once only the best students could go onto university and their services would be put to work for the country, a widespread system of learning for the population shows China's development asd a country and their acceptance of equality for the population.
Week 7: Deakin University
Sorry this is way out of order..... I didnt know what the week 7 tasks were, but here they come now!
http://www.deakin.edu.au/online-offcampus/#skipTo
"Deakin students have choices about the way they study. You can study full-time, or part-time, on or off campus, or combine a mix of study modes.
You can attend lectures on campus and receive face-to-face teaching, or study remotely from home or work.
Deakin uses online technologies to enrich learning experiences and prepares its graduates to be confident and competent using online technologies and in online environments.
Our flexible approach means Deakin makes use of technology in the way we deliver our courses.
Deakin University’s lecture streaming service gives you online access to recorded lectures for many units. In addition to video and audio streaming, academic staff can provide their lectures as podcasts and downloadable MP3s.
From 2004, all units had at least a basic online component with facilities for information, resources and communication. All students commencing undergraduate degrees are now to complete at least one wholly online unit."
this is a fine example of how new media technologies are affecting our lives, to the extent that a whole university is already available online. This is similar to the Open University in its content, but different in the way that it actually has the option for students to go into University and still share in the taught at university experience. I think it is really quite fascninating that the lecture materials are available as MP3's, this really will appeal to the student on the go, as they can slap them onto their ipod and still hit town to blow their student loan while learning the day's lessons! Really quite an amazing feat for a whole university to choose to deliver their lectures in such a way.
http://www.deakin.edu.au/online-offcampus/#skipTo
"Deakin students have choices about the way they study. You can study full-time, or part-time, on or off campus, or combine a mix of study modes.
You can attend lectures on campus and receive face-to-face teaching, or study remotely from home or work.
Deakin uses online technologies to enrich learning experiences and prepares its graduates to be confident and competent using online technologies and in online environments.
Our flexible approach means Deakin makes use of technology in the way we deliver our courses.
Deakin University’s lecture streaming service gives you online access to recorded lectures for many units. In addition to video and audio streaming, academic staff can provide their lectures as podcasts and downloadable MP3s.
From 2004, all units had at least a basic online component with facilities for information, resources and communication. All students commencing undergraduate degrees are now to complete at least one wholly online unit."
this is a fine example of how new media technologies are affecting our lives, to the extent that a whole university is already available online. This is similar to the Open University in its content, but different in the way that it actually has the option for students to go into University and still share in the taught at university experience. I think it is really quite fascninating that the lecture materials are available as MP3's, this really will appeal to the student on the go, as they can slap them onto their ipod and still hit town to blow their student loan while learning the day's lessons! Really quite an amazing feat for a whole university to choose to deliver their lectures in such a way.
Week 8 Task 6: Disagreements
Article 1:
I found this article to be more biased in the way of looking at ethnic and social reasons for the dramatic increase in the way yound people use media, instead of looking at the actual technology itself. The article was very long winded and I didnt think he really did anything new with his study, only retreading ground that has been broken by sociologists many times over already.
Article 2:
As this was a section taken from a book rather than an individual article, it was rather vague. It seemed to act more as a breaker paragraph between two issues to summarise the argument so far rather than offer anything new. I think I could have rectified this by choosing another more precise article.
Article 3:
I found this article to be the most interesting as it was published at the time that the blogging boom really took off. People were studying the internet in depth for the first time, and this is reflected in how long the summary of this article I have made is. I also felt it relevant to include some quotes of the article to reinforce that this article has some factual theory behind it with a proper survey. On the other hand, it could be argued that this article is out of date, as it is now 9 years old.
Article 4:
This article seemed rather abrupt, it mentioned the facts that the watchdog had released to the world but didnt go into depth about them or offer reasons as to why. It was more like "oh this is happening in the world. and thats it."
Article 5:
This article was taken from a newspaper with quite strong connections to the new media craze. It was a good in depth examnination of the story it was telling, and took several sources into the article it was making. However, once again it seemed as if it was beating around the bush with regards to the actual point. It explored several factors as to what was happening behind the scenes with the new media craze but didnt look into the young people side of it.
I found this article to be more biased in the way of looking at ethnic and social reasons for the dramatic increase in the way yound people use media, instead of looking at the actual technology itself. The article was very long winded and I didnt think he really did anything new with his study, only retreading ground that has been broken by sociologists many times over already.
Article 2:
As this was a section taken from a book rather than an individual article, it was rather vague. It seemed to act more as a breaker paragraph between two issues to summarise the argument so far rather than offer anything new. I think I could have rectified this by choosing another more precise article.
Article 3:
I found this article to be the most interesting as it was published at the time that the blogging boom really took off. People were studying the internet in depth for the first time, and this is reflected in how long the summary of this article I have made is. I also felt it relevant to include some quotes of the article to reinforce that this article has some factual theory behind it with a proper survey. On the other hand, it could be argued that this article is out of date, as it is now 9 years old.
Article 4:
This article seemed rather abrupt, it mentioned the facts that the watchdog had released to the world but didnt go into depth about them or offer reasons as to why. It was more like "oh this is happening in the world. and thats it."
Article 5:
This article was taken from a newspaper with quite strong connections to the new media craze. It was a good in depth examnination of the story it was telling, and took several sources into the article it was making. However, once again it seemed as if it was beating around the bush with regards to the actual point. It explored several factors as to what was happening behind the scenes with the new media craze but didnt look into the young people side of it.
Week 8, Task 5: Article 5 Summary
This article is based around the increase of Myspace and the blogging facility it allows users to create. A user has free access to the site, creates a profile and can then create a blog. The site is owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch who spent £332.85 million pounds on the site, as he viewed it as "a revolution in the way young people are accessing news".
The survey performed by the Guardian also found that "one in 10 young people used the internet to read the news, with most preferring to use it as a means of expression and communication". Over half preferred to read a newspaper at least once a week, rising to seven in 10 by the age of 21, and that 96% of those questioned owned a mobile phone, and two-thirds had a games console.
The survey performed by the Guardian also found that "one in 10 young people used the internet to read the news, with most preferring to use it as a means of expression and communication". Over half preferred to read a newspaper at least once a week, rising to seven in 10 by the age of 21, and that 96% of those questioned owned a mobile phone, and two-thirds had a games console.
Week 8 Task 5: Article 4 Summary
Young people who use social networking sites were issued a warning on November 23rd 2007 by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The office found that over half of the people it surveyed had put most of their personal details online. Meanwhile, 71 per cent of 14 to 21-year-olds reported that they wouldn't want potential employers to do a search on them. The ICO is concerned that the majority of people don't realise that the information they provide on social networking sites could be traceable in the future.
Weeki 8, Task 5: Article 3
This article is a summary of a book released by the London School of Economics. It provides detail of the way in which young people use the media, and how it affects them and their families, in comparison to children across Europe.
"Parents are concerned for their children's safety outside the home while young people themselves say there is not enough to do in the area where they live. As a result, young people are much more likely to be watching television or playing computer games than their continental counterparts. British children as young as 6 are two or three times more likely to have a television in their bedroom and British children watch an hour a day more than French or German children."
The article also gives several pieces of statistical information on how many parents would or would not let their children be outside, going on to speak about the development of bedroom culture, where equipping the bedroom with TVs, audio and computer equipment represents an ideal compromise between parents and children who want to go outside. "Two in every three children have TVs in their bedroom, including half of 6-7 year olds. As young people spend more time in their own rooms, media become less central to the family but more important among friends, with whom TV is a shared experience."
The study also finds that TV, video, books, computer games, music and personal computersare responsible for young people's exaggerated use of the media for around five hours each day.
"Once children have reached their early teens many parents consider it impracticable for them to attempt restrictions on media use in the home. This may be one of the reasons why they wish strongly to rely on the good judgement of broadcasters and media regulators. This is particularly important to them in relation to television. The knowledge that children are watching television in places which are relatively difficult to supervise may lie behind parents' endorsement of the broadcasting Watershed."
The Internet has many up and downs for parents looking to allow their children to use it. The most positive aspects were thought to be the internet's wide range of communicational ability, as childre are able to form friendships with children worldwide. The major downside is the cost.
On the other hand, The place of books in young people's lives is in serious decline, as lots of children would rather watch a television or film adaptation of a book. "Those who have access to a PC are twice as likely to use that as a source of information than turn to a book. With the possible exception of young girls, most children turn to television or a computer game for their narrative appeal. Books are most positively viewed when the child is interested in a particular type of content, for example horror. Overall the image of books is poor."
"Parents are concerned for their children's safety outside the home while young people themselves say there is not enough to do in the area where they live. As a result, young people are much more likely to be watching television or playing computer games than their continental counterparts. British children as young as 6 are two or three times more likely to have a television in their bedroom and British children watch an hour a day more than French or German children."
The article also gives several pieces of statistical information on how many parents would or would not let their children be outside, going on to speak about the development of bedroom culture, where equipping the bedroom with TVs, audio and computer equipment represents an ideal compromise between parents and children who want to go outside. "Two in every three children have TVs in their bedroom, including half of 6-7 year olds. As young people spend more time in their own rooms, media become less central to the family but more important among friends, with whom TV is a shared experience."
The study also finds that TV, video, books, computer games, music and personal computersare responsible for young people's exaggerated use of the media for around five hours each day.
"Once children have reached their early teens many parents consider it impracticable for them to attempt restrictions on media use in the home. This may be one of the reasons why they wish strongly to rely on the good judgement of broadcasters and media regulators. This is particularly important to them in relation to television. The knowledge that children are watching television in places which are relatively difficult to supervise may lie behind parents' endorsement of the broadcasting Watershed."
The Internet has many up and downs for parents looking to allow their children to use it. The most positive aspects were thought to be the internet's wide range of communicational ability, as childre are able to form friendships with children worldwide. The major downside is the cost.
On the other hand, The place of books in young people's lives is in serious decline, as lots of children would rather watch a television or film adaptation of a book. "Those who have access to a PC are twice as likely to use that as a source of information than turn to a book. With the possible exception of young girls, most children turn to television or a computer game for their narrative appeal. Books are most positively viewed when the child is interested in a particular type of content, for example horror. Overall the image of books is poor."
Week 8, Task 5: Article 1
Just realised I put the wrong number on the previous article, so the order will be wrong! This is article 1, the previous is article 2.
I found this subsection in Lister and thought it relevant to the task, I know its not exactly an article but I still found it useful.
This section highlights what parents think are the dangers to their children online and why they would restrict their child's time online. The article says that constraints of time, space, access and resources available online can be more restrictive online than just on using a computer. This is because there is the constant threat of paedophilia occurring through children stumbling across a chat room and pretending to be older than they really are. This is a spin on the older notion that it was dangerous for children to play outside, prompting many parents to buy computers for their children in the first place, providing a scapegoat for outside play. It is now reversed that the internet allows children access to most of the vices the world holds, whether that be the threat of paedophilia or accidentally stumbling across pornographic materials.
So parents learn to use new security protocols to make the internet child proof, either through the use of firewalls and filtering systems or the creation of restrictive passwords or adult supervision. Therefore, the children are monitored just as much online as they would be in the physical realm outside the front door.
I found this subsection in Lister and thought it relevant to the task, I know its not exactly an article but I still found it useful.
This section highlights what parents think are the dangers to their children online and why they would restrict their child's time online. The article says that constraints of time, space, access and resources available online can be more restrictive online than just on using a computer. This is because there is the constant threat of paedophilia occurring through children stumbling across a chat room and pretending to be older than they really are. This is a spin on the older notion that it was dangerous for children to play outside, prompting many parents to buy computers for their children in the first place, providing a scapegoat for outside play. It is now reversed that the internet allows children access to most of the vices the world holds, whether that be the threat of paedophilia or accidentally stumbling across pornographic materials.
So parents learn to use new security protocols to make the internet child proof, either through the use of firewalls and filtering systems or the creation of restrictive passwords or adult supervision. Therefore, the children are monitored just as much online as they would be in the physical realm outside the front door.
Week 8, Task 5: Article 2 Summary
This article investigates young people's perceptions of their own identities and how the media is used to shape their "self". The interlinking ideas of media and identity are explored through an in-depth look at ethnic minority media representation, and how this affects the audience.
An examination of creative and visual methods within social research introduces the methodology used in the study. Young people aged 13 to 14, of varying social and ethnic backgrounds from schools in Dorset, Hampshire and London created collages using media materials to show 'how I see myself' and 'how I think other people see me'. The researcher also used open questions in one on one interviews. 111 identity collages were produced to form upon which the findings of the researcher's theory are based.
The analysis revealed that young people view their identities as complex and diverse, whilst understanding that there are factors that contribute to the formation of their identity which are changed constantly.
I think the study shows how important role models are to impressionable young minds, and how individuals carry their identities. The researcher also suggests that the media functions as a to help young people form their present identities, and have an influence on their future self.
An examination of creative and visual methods within social research introduces the methodology used in the study. Young people aged 13 to 14, of varying social and ethnic backgrounds from schools in Dorset, Hampshire and London created collages using media materials to show 'how I see myself' and 'how I think other people see me'. The researcher also used open questions in one on one interviews. 111 identity collages were produced to form upon which the findings of the researcher's theory are based.
The analysis revealed that young people view their identities as complex and diverse, whilst understanding that there are factors that contribute to the formation of their identity which are changed constantly.
I think the study shows how important role models are to impressionable young minds, and how individuals carry their identities. The researcher also suggests that the media functions as a to help young people form their present identities, and have an influence on their future self.
Week 8, Task 4: Academic Articles
Article 1:
Lister, M. et al. (2003) New Media: A Critical Introduction, Section Titled The Domestic Shaping of New Media, Subheading The Networked Home, page 239, Routledge, New York.
Article 2:
Artlab (2007) Young People, Identity and the Media by Fatimah Awan, available at http://www.artlab.org.uk/fatimah-awan-phd.htm
Article 3:
London School Of Economics (1999) Young People, New Media by Moira Bovill, available at http://www.psych.lse.ac.uk/young_people/press.html
Article 4:
Big Mouth Media (2007) Young people warned over social networking, Unknown author, available at http://www.bigmouthmedia.com/live/articles/young-people-warned-over-social-networking.asp/4254/
Article 5:
The Guardian (2005) Young blog their way to a publishing revolution, Owen Gibson, available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2005/oct/07/media.pressandpublishing
Lister, M. et al. (2003) New Media: A Critical Introduction, Section Titled The Domestic Shaping of New Media, Subheading The Networked Home, page 239, Routledge, New York.
Article 2:
Artlab (2007) Young People, Identity and the Media by Fatimah Awan, available at http://www.artlab.org.uk/fatimah-awan-phd.htm
Article 3:
London School Of Economics (1999) Young People, New Media by Moira Bovill, available at http://www.psych.lse.ac.uk/young_people/press.html
Article 4:
Big Mouth Media (2007) Young people warned over social networking, Unknown author, available at http://www.bigmouthmedia.com/live/articles/young-people-warned-over-social-networking.asp/4254/
Article 5:
The Guardian (2005) Young blog their way to a publishing revolution, Owen Gibson, available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2005/oct/07/media.pressandpublishing
The technophile student...
begins his/her day in bed, as most students do. S/he rolls over to discover their holographic alarm clock come MP3 Player dock says it is 12.35 in the afternoon. This is not good, as student has a large assignment to send in today and shouldnt have spent so long out last night. So dragging his/herself out of bed, student hobbles over to the laptop on his/her desk and touches the screen to turn it on. Several hours later, after getting increasingly bored with said assignment student decides to see what games are available on the internet using his/her new touch screen laptop. Another two hours of touch screen tetris later, student finishes the essay and emails it off to the campus's main online office.
A week later, when student is wondering why they havent received feedback on their assignment from Mother Brain at the university, s/he checks their email outbox. Student forgot to attach the assignment to the email and is now failing the course.
ANother week later student receives another email saying that because the assignment was late s/he has received a 50% mark deduction and the essay is still a fail.
A week later, when student is wondering why they havent received feedback on their assignment from Mother Brain at the university, s/he checks their email outbox. Student forgot to attach the assignment to the email and is now failing the course.
ANother week later student receives another email saying that because the assignment was late s/he has received a 50% mark deduction and the essay is still a fail.
The Daily frustrations of a neo-luddite....
Begin when they wake up and fight to turn the alarm clock off. They turn the light on, they get ready for work, and they step outside, where they must navigate the streets to work after the train system made them late, due to the lack of clarity on the screens for which platform the train would arrive at. At work, their boss informs them that the whole system of categorising stock will be upgraded to an electronic system, so over the next few weeks everyone will be required to attend a mandatory basic computing course to prepare them for the changeover.
Over the next few weeks the luddite becomes increasingly frustrated with this idiot box they call a computer as it contatins more commands than Paris Hilton's handbag does accessories. (Not that the luddite knows who this is as s/he is way too practical and hardworking to find time for Heat magazine.) After taking two weeks to try and find his/her way around the desktop of a pc and only just able to print something from Microsoft Word, the luddite makes it his/her priority to print off his/her letter of resignation, choosing to leave this job to work on a farm, where the work is far more physical and traditional than this computing lark.
Over the next few weeks the luddite becomes increasingly frustrated with this idiot box they call a computer as it contatins more commands than Paris Hilton's handbag does accessories. (Not that the luddite knows who this is as s/he is way too practical and hardworking to find time for Heat magazine.) After taking two weeks to try and find his/her way around the desktop of a pc and only just able to print something from Microsoft Word, the luddite makes it his/her priority to print off his/her letter of resignation, choosing to leave this job to work on a farm, where the work is far more physical and traditional than this computing lark.
The person who most threatens the notion of native/immigrant in digital culture would be...
My Dad i think. Like my grandad, he wasnt brought up with computers etc but they did come to exist within his lifetime. He is 41 and manages several depots for M&G Vehicle Hire, so he needs to constantly keep updated with what vehicle is where, who has rented it, if it needs any repairs etc through a complicated computer system. He is constantly asked to rectify problems within the system as he has a firmer understanding of it than most, the same going for computers in general.
I would brand myself a digital native, yet my father who I would have first thought of as a digital immigrant knows more about computers than I do. He is the one I look to when my laptop deicdes to crash, needs formatting or I need a new programme installing and I dont understand how to do it or how to operate it. Our first home PC was bought around 9 years ago, and he set it up from scratch and kept it in optimum running condition, whilst me and my sister used it for games and the internet, and later our schoolwork, he worked to make it run at optimum efficiency.
Aside from PC's my Dad also likes to have the latest in Home Entertainment. He has a 36" high definition plasma TV mounted on the wall, a surround system placed around the living room where the system decides it would be best and a DVD player capable of upscaling standard definition into high definition. Some of this still seems foreign to me, all I know is that it makes the actors and actresses faces much more detailed so we can see all of their faults, I wouldnt know what resolution it is running in and how we could remove the ghosting effect from the edge of the screen, as a lot of this is jargon to me. Everyone specialises in something and I would say my dad specialises in technology more than I do, who would call himself a digital native.
Therefore I think he most challenges the concept by being more well versed in the world of technology than a 19 year old young man.
I would brand myself a digital native, yet my father who I would have first thought of as a digital immigrant knows more about computers than I do. He is the one I look to when my laptop deicdes to crash, needs formatting or I need a new programme installing and I dont understand how to do it or how to operate it. Our first home PC was bought around 9 years ago, and he set it up from scratch and kept it in optimum running condition, whilst me and my sister used it for games and the internet, and later our schoolwork, he worked to make it run at optimum efficiency.
Aside from PC's my Dad also likes to have the latest in Home Entertainment. He has a 36" high definition plasma TV mounted on the wall, a surround system placed around the living room where the system decides it would be best and a DVD player capable of upscaling standard definition into high definition. Some of this still seems foreign to me, all I know is that it makes the actors and actresses faces much more detailed so we can see all of their faults, I wouldnt know what resolution it is running in and how we could remove the ghosting effect from the edge of the screen, as a lot of this is jargon to me. Everyone specialises in something and I would say my dad specialises in technology more than I do, who would call himself a digital native.
Therefore I think he most challenges the concept by being more well versed in the world of technology than a 19 year old young man.
Saturday, 12 April 2008
The youngest digital immigrant I know...
would be my mum. She is 39, and grew up without computers and various instances of new technology because in her generation, it wasnt always about having a computer or a video player as these were new expensive technologies that werent practically compulsory to own, like they are now. She has learned to use a computer very efficiently and works on one at her occupation regularly, utilising the internet and various programmes to collect and type up data. She has her own ebay account and regularly sends emails when she can kick my sister off the computer. Im not entirely sure if she would still use the computer if she didnt have to, as whilst she has her own mobile phone and Nintendo DS as new technologies, she doesnt seem to feel the urge to frequent the computer as often as my sister and I do.
The oldest digital native I know....
would be my Grandad. He is 65, and will be retiring later this month. I would call him the oldest digital native I know because he has grown up with various kinds of technology and has been in the army, as well as various emergency services, and therefore has to be kept up to date with the latest technology in order to do his job effectively. He has his own mobile phone, a DVD collection and a home PC which he is learning to use rather effectively, from emails to his own Ebay account!
Week 9, Task 6: Web 3.0
Web 2.0 is the "current generation" of internet technology that we are using. With it, we can perform all of the tasks we associate with the internet: working, shopping, communicating, researching, but there is a limit to it, and to how much a computer understands. Web 3.0 is the next patch, or upgrade that is predicted to happen to the internet. It will stem from things such as the semantic web, where a computer can read items designed for humans, and reaches towards the first artificial intelligence is expected. It will give us a much wider understanding of the internet through direct communications with other machines, rather than the pages they hold within them.
Week 9, Task 5: The semantic web
The Semantic Web is a sort of upgrade of the internet, as the semantics of information and services on the web is outlined and defined. This makes it possible for the internet to understand the requests of people and machines who use web based content.
Semantics is the study of meaning within conversation by analysing how the speakers talk to each other and what their speech means. Usually we have to take into account a speaker's expression and their tone of voice in order to understand the full meaning of what it is that they are trying to convey. Obviously this is difficult with written texts, so the semantic web was designed with the purpose of a machine being able to read a text designed for a human. The creator of the programme, Tim Berners-Lee, said that "I have a dream for the Web [in which computers] become capable of analyzing all the data on the Web – the content, links, and transactions between people and computers. A ‘Semantic Web’, which should make this possible, has yet to emerge, but when it does, the day-to-day mechanisms of trade, bureaucracy and our daily lives will be handled by machines talking to machines. The 'intelligent agents' people have touted for ages will finally materialize."
But within this, a crisis emerges. If we create a computer that is able to read human texts, what ramifications for humanity could this have? It is like every science fiction technophobe's worst nightmare.
Semantics is the study of meaning within conversation by analysing how the speakers talk to each other and what their speech means. Usually we have to take into account a speaker's expression and their tone of voice in order to understand the full meaning of what it is that they are trying to convey. Obviously this is difficult with written texts, so the semantic web was designed with the purpose of a machine being able to read a text designed for a human. The creator of the programme, Tim Berners-Lee, said that "I have a dream for the Web [in which computers] become capable of analyzing all the data on the Web – the content, links, and transactions between people and computers. A ‘Semantic Web’, which should make this possible, has yet to emerge, but when it does, the day-to-day mechanisms of trade, bureaucracy and our daily lives will be handled by machines talking to machines. The 'intelligent agents' people have touted for ages will finally materialize."
But within this, a crisis emerges. If we create a computer that is able to read human texts, what ramifications for humanity could this have? It is like every science fiction technophobe's worst nightmare.
Week 9, Task 4: Tailor made education?
I think that tailor made education is definitely a bad thing, and extremely impractical. Besides educators having to create individual lesson plans for every student as opposed to a single class plan, if a student is having a problem with their work, the teacher has to familiarise themselves with what it is the student is studying in order to be able to offer practical, helpful advice. I don't really see how an individual tailor made system of education will help students to better themselves. The system we have in place at university seems so much more efficient to me, as we have a set work plan to do with specific guidelines to follow, but we have enough free time to read as much into the topic as we like individually. The process of individual research is much more practical when working from a set topic than deciding your own topic and stringing the teacher along. It is different when we are set an essay as we choose which way to approach the topic, not the topic we do in the first place.
I think as well that individual education would make humans very indifferent to one another and would hinder socialisation greatly. Children have enough trouble at school learning to fit in and make friends without having to worry about making their own choices of work to do. When a task has been set by a teacher it is very similar to a community of practice, as the members of the class are working to the same goal set by the teacher. If we had individual learning then there would scarcely be a community of practice to seek help from.
What is your opinion on Individual tailor made education?
I think as well that individual education would make humans very indifferent to one another and would hinder socialisation greatly. Children have enough trouble at school learning to fit in and make friends without having to worry about making their own choices of work to do. When a task has been set by a teacher it is very similar to a community of practice, as the members of the class are working to the same goal set by the teacher. If we had individual learning then there would scarcely be a community of practice to seek help from.
What is your opinion on Individual tailor made education?
Week 9, Task 3: Should Education Stretch a person?
To stretch a person, I think it should be tasking and both mentally and physically draining. I am a firm believer that education should do this, as if it is not stretching you to learn something new and explore your limits, how are you really learning anything? Education should be an expansive experience, broadening your horizons, your scope on life and at the same time allow you to form an opinion of your own on topics.
This unit has been quite educational in the way that new media works. At first I didnt see its relevance to the rest of the course, apart from the fact that it is about new media technology, but through the keeping of this blog I have been stretched to answer questions and complete tasks in a new way, allowing me to see its purpose more clearly and understanding its inclusion to this course.
This unit has been quite educational in the way that new media works. At first I didnt see its relevance to the rest of the course, apart from the fact that it is about new media technology, but through the keeping of this blog I have been stretched to answer questions and complete tasks in a new way, allowing me to see its purpose more clearly and understanding its inclusion to this course.
Week 9, Task 2: The Digital Divide
I don't think the existence of Wenger or Prensky's theories will affect the digital divide. If people do not have access to the technology needed in order to access the internet etc, then it is impossible to know how much of a difference this will make to the digital divide, if any at all. In third world countries for example, there are a lot less computers and facilities that will allow users access to the internet in the first place, let alone teach them how to use it effectively. These countries simply do not have the economy or government funds to set up a better educational system that is available to all of the population when compared to the majority of the western world.
The same problem exists across the world. Whilst the internet is globally available, you still need to be in an area that receives internet coverage and have a pc and network connection in order to use it. The introduction of wireless technology would allow access a little easier but it still requires a signal nearby to be used for the service. So overall I think before we look at how much these issues affect the digital divide we should look at how much of the world is actually able to access these technologies.
The same problem exists across the world. Whilst the internet is globally available, you still need to be in an area that receives internet coverage and have a pc and network connection in order to use it. The introduction of wireless technology would allow access a little easier but it still requires a signal nearby to be used for the service. So overall I think before we look at how much these issues affect the digital divide we should look at how much of the world is actually able to access these technologies.
Week 9, Task 1: Wenger and Prensky
I think these two theories go hand in hand rather well. Wenger talks about Communities of Practice existing as a helpful community allowing users to reach a common goal through shared values, meaning that they will work together to reach a goal. Prensky's digital immigrant/native debate links in well with this theory as he argues that there is a specific divide between the two. Digital natives are well versed with technology and understand how to use it, whereas digital immigrants are new to technology and are learning to use it.
Therefore I think it makes sense to say that a community of practice could exist here, as new users to the computing world would be looking for a way to better their skills at the technology they are using. On the internet this could take the form of a blog, posts in a forum or emailing a fellow user to seek their advice. There are so many options for a new user to take in any form of new technology that its use is easier than ever. The two theories link in so well because of their reliance on people as the basis for study. By this I mean that they compliment each other well, as Wenger understands the importance of interaction between people to better themselves and Prensky understands that when someone is new to an activity they seek ways to better themselves at it, possibly forming a Community Of Practice.
Therefore I think it makes sense to say that a community of practice could exist here, as new users to the computing world would be looking for a way to better their skills at the technology they are using. On the internet this could take the form of a blog, posts in a forum or emailing a fellow user to seek their advice. There are so many options for a new user to take in any form of new technology that its use is easier than ever. The two theories link in so well because of their reliance on people as the basis for study. By this I mean that they compliment each other well, as Wenger understands the importance of interaction between people to better themselves and Prensky understands that when someone is new to an activity they seek ways to better themselves at it, possibly forming a Community Of Practice.
Wednesday, 2 April 2008
Week 8, Task 3: Criticisms of Websites in Task 2
Website 1:
This was the first website I found and it seems to me that this was the first study to actually examine the digital immigration phenomena. It can be argued that this site is out of date as it was created in October 2001, almost seven years ago, and it would be interesting to note how much the author's thought on these theories has changed. However its usability is rather good as it is constructed like an article and broken down into reasonably sized paragraphs, so that the user is not quickly bored by the reading. I found it quite easy to get into and the author doesnt use too much jargon so as to alienate the audience. As for practising what it preaches this could be examined in further detail by reading any follow up articles by the same author, if they exist.
Website 2:
This website was last edited on July 11th, 2003. It gives an outline of Prensky's argument and goes on to examine if it is really valid or not. Again, this website could be out of date as it is almost five years old now, and harder to read than the original. I found it rather boring compared to the original article as it just seemed to rehash Prensky's ideas and not really introduce anything new to the debate.
Website 3:
This was my favourite website of the five. It took a concept that was pretty straight forward and dumbed it down a little more through the use of diagrams, which i just found to be kinda funny... It was posted on 21st October 2006 and explores the digital native/immigrant debate in further detail than the previous site. The author has also created a diagram to explain what he has said and is much more in depth than the other websites i came across.
Website 4:
This site was created in June 2003. It gives a summary of Prensky's argument and offers a counter argument exploring the idea that to call past ways of doing things, eg writing something down on paper rather than typing it up on a computer, is silly and outdated. The author's counterargument states that it is stupid to think in such a way, as computers break and lose their data as much as a piece of paper can be torn or burnt. Nothing is indestructible.
Website 5:
This site is the most modern, having being published on December 5th 2007. I found the most interesting point raised in this article, was that after the author has followed the digital native/immigrant debate since its birth he has objectively observed it and raised a few critical points of his own, my favourite of which was this.
This was the first website I found and it seems to me that this was the first study to actually examine the digital immigration phenomena. It can be argued that this site is out of date as it was created in October 2001, almost seven years ago, and it would be interesting to note how much the author's thought on these theories has changed. However its usability is rather good as it is constructed like an article and broken down into reasonably sized paragraphs, so that the user is not quickly bored by the reading. I found it quite easy to get into and the author doesnt use too much jargon so as to alienate the audience. As for practising what it preaches this could be examined in further detail by reading any follow up articles by the same author, if they exist.
Website 2:
This website was last edited on July 11th, 2003. It gives an outline of Prensky's argument and goes on to examine if it is really valid or not. Again, this website could be out of date as it is almost five years old now, and harder to read than the original. I found it rather boring compared to the original article as it just seemed to rehash Prensky's ideas and not really introduce anything new to the debate.
Website 3:
This was my favourite website of the five. It took a concept that was pretty straight forward and dumbed it down a little more through the use of diagrams, which i just found to be kinda funny... It was posted on 21st October 2006 and explores the digital native/immigrant debate in further detail than the previous site. The author has also created a diagram to explain what he has said and is much more in depth than the other websites i came across.
Website 4:
This site was created in June 2003. It gives a summary of Prensky's argument and offers a counter argument exploring the idea that to call past ways of doing things, eg writing something down on paper rather than typing it up on a computer, is silly and outdated. The author's counterargument states that it is stupid to think in such a way, as computers break and lose their data as much as a piece of paper can be torn or burnt. Nothing is indestructible.
Website 5:
This site is the most modern, having being published on December 5th 2007. I found the most interesting point raised in this article, was that after the author has followed the digital native/immigrant debate since its birth he has objectively observed it and raised a few critical points of his own, my favourite of which was this.
"Digital immigrants compute with an accent: they talk funny.
Digital immigrants are being defined by what they lack with cultural difference seen as an obstacle they must overcome if they are going to fully assimilate into the modern age.
Digital immigrants are seen as imposing old world standards on the inhabitants of a new world and of getting in the way of their sons and daughter's opportunities to achieve."
I found this point rather interesting and rather valid to today's world. Where we are becoming a "politically correct" society, is it really fair to label people according to their familiarity with today's technology? Or is this a new kind of discrimination, which could be dubbed digital ageism?
Week 8, Task 2: Digital Immigrants vs Digital Natives: Websites.
Website 1:
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
From On the Horizon (NCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001)
© 2001 Marc Prensky
Website 2:
http://www.wisc.edu/depd/html/TSarticles/Digital%20Natives.htm
A PUBLICATION OF
THE MICHIGAN VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY
Unless otherwise noted, all material within the Technology Source may be distributed freely for educational purposes. If you do redistribute any of this material, it must retain this copyright notice and you must use appropriate citation including the URL. Also, we would appreciate your sending James L. Morrison a note as to how you are using it. HTML and design by Noel Fiser, ©2005 Michigan Virtual University. Information last modified July 11, 2003 10:13 AM.
Website 3:
http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2006/10/21/beyond-the-digital-native-immigrant-dichotomy/
Website 4:
http://technologysource.org/article/digital_natives_digital_immigrants/
Website 5:
http://www.henryjenkins.org/2007/12/reconsidering_digital_immigran.html
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
From On the Horizon (NCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001)
© 2001 Marc Prensky
Website 2:
http://www.wisc.edu/depd/html/TSarticles/Digital%20Natives.htm
THE MICHIGAN VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY
Website 3:
http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2006/10/21/beyond-the-digital-native-immigrant-dichotomy/
Website 4:
http://technologysource.org/article/digital_natives_digital_immigrants/
Website 5:
http://www.henryjenkins.org/2007/12/reconsidering_digital_immigran.html
Saturday, 29 March 2008
Week 8, Task 1: Digital Immigration
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=digital+immigrant
According to the urban dictionary, digital immigration can be defined two ways. The first, which I think isnt the appropriate definition for this work, says that a digital immigrant is "Somebody who has popped up on an Internet site because of clicking on a link (sometimes accidentally). They don't have the slightest idea where they are at, but read the site information out of curiosity, and occasionally buy items if they are listed for sale."
The other definition, the one correct to this work, says a digital immigrant is "Someone who grew up before the digital age and is fairly new to the internet. Basically anyone over the age of 28."
Marc Prensky studied the digital immigrant phenomena back in 2001, and he had this to say. "The importance of the distinction is this: As Digital Immigrants learn – like all immigrants, some better than others – to adapt to their environment, they always retain, to some degree, their "accent," that is, their foot in the past. The “digital immigrant accent” can be seen in such things as turning to the Internet for information second rather than first, or in reading the manual for a program rather than assuming that the program itself will teach us to use it. Today’s older folk were "socialized" differently from their kids, and are now in the process of learning a new language. And a language learned later in life, scientists tell us, goes into a different part of the brain."
So there is a clear distinction between digital natives, the generation we find ourselves in, and digital immigrants, who may be our parents, grandparents, friends, cousins, long lost sister's dog's mum. What Prensky is trying to say is that digital immigrants will always remember life without technology and how different the electronic counterpart of a book or a daily task is so different and will take some time to adapt to.
Quotes taken from "Digital Natives Digital Immigrants" ©2001 Marc Prensky found at http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
According to the urban dictionary, digital immigration can be defined two ways. The first, which I think isnt the appropriate definition for this work, says that a digital immigrant is "Somebody who has popped up on an Internet site because of clicking on a link (sometimes accidentally). They don't have the slightest idea where they are at, but read the site information out of curiosity, and occasionally buy items if they are listed for sale."
The other definition, the one correct to this work, says a digital immigrant is "Someone who grew up before the digital age and is fairly new to the internet. Basically anyone over the age of 28."
Marc Prensky studied the digital immigrant phenomena back in 2001, and he had this to say. "The importance of the distinction is this: As Digital Immigrants learn – like all immigrants, some better than others – to adapt to their environment, they always retain, to some degree, their "accent," that is, their foot in the past. The “digital immigrant accent” can be seen in such things as turning to the Internet for information second rather than first, or in reading the manual for a program rather than assuming that the program itself will teach us to use it. Today’s older folk were "socialized" differently from their kids, and are now in the process of learning a new language. And a language learned later in life, scientists tell us, goes into a different part of the brain."
So there is a clear distinction between digital natives, the generation we find ourselves in, and digital immigrants, who may be our parents, grandparents, friends, cousins, long lost sister's dog's mum. What Prensky is trying to say is that digital immigrants will always remember life without technology and how different the electronic counterpart of a book or a daily task is so different and will take some time to adapt to.
Quotes taken from "Digital Natives Digital Immigrants" ©2001 Marc Prensky found at http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Friday, 28 March 2008
Week 6, Task 2: Joint Ventures
JUST REALISED IVE DONE THESE TWO TASKS THE WRONG WAY ROUND SO THIS SHOULD BE TASK 2 NOT 3!!!
For this task I looked at the forums on www.tombraiderchronicles.com.
This forum is set out the same as any other forum, but I consider it as a community of practice as all the members within are constantly trying to better their skills at the tomb raider game series. There are several rooms, one for each game and through these rooms there are sub topics which any member can contribute to. The possibility of responses and private messages to members can all help each other out too, as if someone has a problem related to a game, finds something new in a game or has news about an upcoming game they can post it with sources for the other members to discuss.
I believe this is a joint venture because it is easy to get a response from another member and also see how the members are working towards a shared goal. In several of the rooms there are topics asking for help with certain games or external projects that are related to the games. The existence of a programme allowing users to create their own tomb raider levels is a big draw for fans of the games and users of this forum who frequently seek help with the programme.
For this task I looked at the forums on www.tombraiderchronicles.com.
This forum is set out the same as any other forum, but I consider it as a community of practice as all the members within are constantly trying to better their skills at the tomb raider game series. There are several rooms, one for each game and through these rooms there are sub topics which any member can contribute to. The possibility of responses and private messages to members can all help each other out too, as if someone has a problem related to a game, finds something new in a game or has news about an upcoming game they can post it with sources for the other members to discuss.
I believe this is a joint venture because it is easy to get a response from another member and also see how the members are working towards a shared goal. In several of the rooms there are topics asking for help with certain games or external projects that are related to the games. The existence of a programme allowing users to create their own tomb raider levels is a big draw for fans of the games and users of this forum who frequently seek help with the programme.
Week 6, Task 3: Organisational Units
I think Wenger differentiates between a community of practice and an organisational unit by their practicality. I would take a community of practice to be formal in appearance but with many informal characteristics, particularly visible when we look at the members of a CofP. Members within a CofP are human individuals who exhibit their own personalities and deal with the situations they are placed in differently. They are united by one thing: which is the activity they are coming together to do. I think that a CofP is highly human in its nature, as it relies on groups of people working together.
On the other hand, I take an organisational unit to mean a company or a megacorporation. It appears faceless and less humane, yet still has a human work force. For example, brands such as Pepsi use celebrities to advertise their product to make it appear more human. The Pepsi-Cola company have a workforce that deals with the creation and advertising of the product as well as its public relations, and whilst several communities of practice probably do exist within the company, when they are united they create this organisational unit that is the faceless company. A drink cant sell itself after all!
Week 6 Task 1: Communities of Practice
My community of practice that I have chosen to examine is my job. I work at Walkabout in Lincoln, which is an Australian themed bar. Using Sue's example and Wenger's model I have created my own below:
Community of Practice
Bar Staff at Walkabout Lincoln
Context
Shared Member Goals - Profit Making, serving drinks, top sales person
Interest in Common Theme - Customer Service
Employment - Paid to be there, its for a reason
Social gathering (members likely to know each other)
¨ Membership of group - Any age/ethnicity/gender/nationality
¨ Presents united front to outsiders - all working towards the goal of keeping the pub running.
Power (as always in any communities some are more equal than others)
¨ Experts - Staff who have worked there longer
¨ High position in external society - Customers depend on us to get their drinks
¨ Hierarchy of Management
¨ Full Time/ Part Time Staff
Newcomers (difficult one this – they could be new because they are inexperienced or new because they have not been in the external society before)
¨ Beginners - New members of staff
¨ Returners - this seems to be very popular with Walkabout, staff return very frequently, myself included!
Experts
¨ Longtime members - more experienced staff who know the tills and bar etc
¨ Leadership figure - supervisor who allocates tasks
¨ Best salesperson - League table
Exclusions (until becoming expert)
¨ Full integration denied - no real authority in tasks
¨ Possible lack of hours compared to more experienced staff
¨ Not asked to “mentor” beginners
¨ Problems with customers - down to being "new"
Week 5, Task 2: External Blogs
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/arts/author/danny_leigh/index.html
Danny Leigh is a film columnist for The Guardian and regularly posts his thoughts on the state of the movie business today. I am very interested in this topic myself and like to consider myself well versed in film and the way the industry works. So for me it was very interesting to read someones blog who has links within the industry and whose opinion can actually matter.
The comments for the blog are sometimes more interesting than the article itself. Take for example, one blog examining Zack Snyder's film 300. Leigh takes an objective look at the film and the critical and public response to it, as well as the supposed racism, misogynistic and homophobic tendencies the film portrays, and examines why the film could create such a reaction. The blog itself looks at the film from an academic perspective, examining the themes present on screen and the things going on in the world at that time. Whilst I do not agree personally with what has been said about the film, since it is a film adaptation of a graphic novel that is depicting a historical event, it is easy to see how something seemingly harmless can be blown out of proportion.
Comments range from responses to Leigh's article and his own responses to the comments to the old "its only a film!" response. Users are free to give their own opinions on Leigh's work whilst debating the points he raises within the article. I have read several of his blogs and they all offer a similar debate on various subjects within the movie business. Another blog examined the resurgence of 80s action heroes in our time and what it means in the wider world outside of the films' scope. Die Hard for example has always had a valid place in society as it has dealt with the constant threat of terrorism and the various ways it can appear.
The first film released in 1988 dealt with an elaborately planned hostage situation, the second, released in 1990 and the time of the IRA, an airport under attack from a terrorist group, and the third, released in 1995, revenge for the villain of the first film through his brother and a bomb placed in a school in New York. Possibly related to occurrences in the world at the time of each release, the films placed an everyday man who became an iconic action hero at the center of all the trouble. Returning in Die Hard 4.0 in 2007, John McClane returned to foil a group of terrorists planning to shut down the United States electronically, again reflecting the times fear of cyber terrorism and the halt of life as we know it.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/film/2006/11/ill_be_back.html
"For Die Hard, appearing in 1988 as Reagan exited the White House, the appeal was just as evident - with the piratical optimism of the preceding years having become mired in the grubby squelch of Iran-Contra and the drabber, hungover age of Bush I underway, John McClane's buccaneering was already an exercise in nostalgia."
One comment responded that: "The Die Hard sequel is more obvious, though didn’t a lot of Ameircans go and rent Die Hard following 9/11 as a fantasy to make themselves feel better in light of the events of that day? I always found it interesting that the Japanese boss can’t deal with the terrorists and has to die, leaving the American to save the day – kind of prefigured Michael Crichton’s Japanese-hegemony paranoia drivel in Rising Sun!"
So people do believe that a film can be related to real life, whether overtly or covertly. On this blog, such an issue can be discussed more openly, whilst giving the author the chance to respond in a professional but opinionated matter. I found this blog extremely interesting to read, as whilst it does stick to the conventions of the blogging genre, it explores its content much more deeply as it is on a subject many are deeply interested in and willing to defend their opinions on.
Danny Leigh is a film columnist for The Guardian and regularly posts his thoughts on the state of the movie business today. I am very interested in this topic myself and like to consider myself well versed in film and the way the industry works. So for me it was very interesting to read someones blog who has links within the industry and whose opinion can actually matter.
The comments for the blog are sometimes more interesting than the article itself. Take for example, one blog examining Zack Snyder's film 300. Leigh takes an objective look at the film and the critical and public response to it, as well as the supposed racism, misogynistic and homophobic tendencies the film portrays, and examines why the film could create such a reaction. The blog itself looks at the film from an academic perspective, examining the themes present on screen and the things going on in the world at that time. Whilst I do not agree personally with what has been said about the film, since it is a film adaptation of a graphic novel that is depicting a historical event, it is easy to see how something seemingly harmless can be blown out of proportion.
Comments range from responses to Leigh's article and his own responses to the comments to the old "its only a film!" response. Users are free to give their own opinions on Leigh's work whilst debating the points he raises within the article. I have read several of his blogs and they all offer a similar debate on various subjects within the movie business. Another blog examined the resurgence of 80s action heroes in our time and what it means in the wider world outside of the films' scope. Die Hard for example has always had a valid place in society as it has dealt with the constant threat of terrorism and the various ways it can appear.
The first film released in 1988 dealt with an elaborately planned hostage situation, the second, released in 1990 and the time of the IRA, an airport under attack from a terrorist group, and the third, released in 1995, revenge for the villain of the first film through his brother and a bomb placed in a school in New York. Possibly related to occurrences in the world at the time of each release, the films placed an everyday man who became an iconic action hero at the center of all the trouble. Returning in Die Hard 4.0 in 2007, John McClane returned to foil a group of terrorists planning to shut down the United States electronically, again reflecting the times fear of cyber terrorism and the halt of life as we know it.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/film/2006/11/ill_be_back.html
"For Die Hard, appearing in 1988 as Reagan exited the White House, the appeal was just as evident - with the piratical optimism of the preceding years having become mired in the grubby squelch of Iran-Contra and the drabber, hungover age of Bush I underway, John McClane's buccaneering was already an exercise in nostalgia."
One comment responded that: "The Die Hard sequel is more obvious, though didn’t a lot of Ameircans go and rent Die Hard following 9/11 as a fantasy to make themselves feel better in light of the events of that day? I always found it interesting that the Japanese boss can’t deal with the terrorists and has to die, leaving the American to save the day – kind of prefigured Michael Crichton’s Japanese-hegemony paranoia drivel in Rising Sun!"
So people do believe that a film can be related to real life, whether overtly or covertly. On this blog, such an issue can be discussed more openly, whilst giving the author the chance to respond in a professional but opinionated matter. I found this blog extremely interesting to read, as whilst it does stick to the conventions of the blogging genre, it explores its content much more deeply as it is on a subject many are deeply interested in and willing to defend their opinions on.
Week 5, Task 1: Blogs as a new media Genre
http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/askbruce/articles/browse/blogging_1.shtml , http://robotwisdom.com/weblogs/ - Information found on the development of blogging.
The first person to use the term "weblog" on a blog was Robot Wisdom Weblog in December 1997. In the ten years since then we have seen a tremendous eruption of people keeping blogs. Now anyone can have one about anything and edit it at any time. Robot Wisdom Weblog says that "William Gibson foresaw professional weblogging in 1996:
The first person to use the term "weblog" on a blog was Robot Wisdom Weblog in December 1997. In the ten years since then we have seen a tremendous eruption of people keeping blogs. Now anyone can have one about anything and edit it at any time. Robot Wisdom Weblog says that "William Gibson foresaw professional weblogging in 1996:
'Pretty soon I think there'll be people who make a living pre-surfing it for you. There's a real need for that."This is a very valid statement, as blogs are often questioned as to whether or not they are just a form of online plagiarism. Users find information that interests them, log it into their blog, post their thoughts on it and allow talk backs from other users on the same subject. It is interesting to look at a blog objectively and wonder if this is true. We can see that it does take information from several sources to form a blog, but surely while a user acknowledges that this is not their own words, and proceeds to post individual thoughts on a subject, it cannot really be classified as plagiarism. Or can it?
Wednesday, 26 March 2008
Week 4, Task 2: Music Sharing Online
The way music is consumed has expanded incredibly since the introduction of downloadable content on the internet. With programmes such as Itunes, Napster and Limewire freely available it is easy to access the music we want when we want it. For a fee, we can download the music on these programmes, as licensing and distribution laws do not condone piracy and want us to contribute to the artist as we would when buying a cd. However, there are many illegitimate ways of downloading music without paying through various other programmes. Limewire is not entirely legitimate as it allows users to browse other users music libraries and take what they want on a peer to peer network.
Week 4, Task 1: Social Networking Sites
Social Networking sites Ive found include:
www.facebook.com
www.myspace.com
www.tagged.com
www.wayn.com
www.bebo.com
www.faceparty.com
www.flickr.com
www.ilike.com
www.friendsreunited.com
www.reunion.com
www.student.com
www.travbuddy.com
Windows Live Spaces
and many more....
www.facebook.com
www.myspace.com
www.tagged.com
www.wayn.com
www.bebo.com
www.faceparty.com
www.flickr.com
www.ilike.com
www.friendsreunited.com
www.reunion.com
www.student.com
www.travbuddy.com
Windows Live Spaces
and many more....
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
Week 3, Task 2: Newsdirectory - Gamespot
Gamespot is an online magazine devoted to the world of gaming. With sections of the website dealing with a different platform and endless pages within these sections each presented as an article whether it be a review, preview, feature or simply a news article, there is plenty of chance for the users of the site to comment on any item they see fit, whether they agree or disagree with the subject at hand.
In the forums section of the website it is similarly split into sections and subsections within each "room." For the purposes of this assignment I looked into the Xbox 360 forum, and several categories within it. Firstly I looked at a thread titled "Achievement Hackers brought down today". On an Xbox 360 console playing games unlocks achievements which generates a gamerscore for your profile. Recently there have been many users utilising hacking technology in order to alter their gamerscores, making them higher without actually playing any games. This was an interesting thread to observe, as it has grown to 6 pages of responses. As each page holds approximately 18 posts, length depending, it is clear to me that this issue is very important to Xbox 360 gamers in this online community. Users often "flame" the people who have cheated to enlarge their gamerscore, calling them cheaters and various other insults. One user, named DZBricktop, said "I think achievements on games that i really, really enjoy, are great. But overall points mean nothing. But for games like Just Cause, Hitman Bloodmoney, CoD2, Crackdown, etc., i love the achievements. Because on games like those that i had fun playing, i enjoy going through the game more than once and unlocking some cool achievements." Another user, named volcomstoner180 said "man those cheaters got what they deserved. that sucks for them they cant ever get the same achievements again even if they do it legit."
The users are constantly debating over whether or not is fair of microsoft to enforce such a harsh punishment, with some saying that cheaters deserve it and others arguing that its pointless because a gamerscore doesnt actually mean a thing. As these forums are moderated like many other places, users cannot be aggressive in the way they exert their opinions. So a whole lot of slang is used, such as noob to describe someone new to the xbox, or w@k to say something isnt very good, its whack.
I dont think they would discuss such issues in the same way offline, because there is a lot more consideration of others in a spoken conversation, and a speaker couldnt get away with being so confrontational without some sort of backlash in a spoken conversation. Online someone can post a retaliation to your post, but you can choose to ignore it completely.
In the forums section of the website it is similarly split into sections and subsections within each "room." For the purposes of this assignment I looked into the Xbox 360 forum, and several categories within it. Firstly I looked at a thread titled "Achievement Hackers brought down today". On an Xbox 360 console playing games unlocks achievements which generates a gamerscore for your profile. Recently there have been many users utilising hacking technology in order to alter their gamerscores, making them higher without actually playing any games. This was an interesting thread to observe, as it has grown to 6 pages of responses. As each page holds approximately 18 posts, length depending, it is clear to me that this issue is very important to Xbox 360 gamers in this online community. Users often "flame" the people who have cheated to enlarge their gamerscore, calling them cheaters and various other insults. One user, named DZBricktop, said "I think achievements on games that i really, really enjoy, are great. But overall points mean nothing. But for games like Just Cause, Hitman Bloodmoney, CoD2, Crackdown, etc., i love the achievements. Because on games like those that i had fun playing, i enjoy going through the game more than once and unlocking some cool achievements." Another user, named volcomstoner180 said "man those cheaters got what they deserved. that sucks for them they cant ever get the same achievements again even if they do it legit."
The users are constantly debating over whether or not is fair of microsoft to enforce such a harsh punishment, with some saying that cheaters deserve it and others arguing that its pointless because a gamerscore doesnt actually mean a thing. As these forums are moderated like many other places, users cannot be aggressive in the way they exert their opinions. So a whole lot of slang is used, such as noob to describe someone new to the xbox, or w@k to say something isnt very good, its whack.
I dont think they would discuss such issues in the same way offline, because there is a lot more consideration of others in a spoken conversation, and a speaker couldnt get away with being so confrontational without some sort of backlash in a spoken conversation. Online someone can post a retaliation to your post, but you can choose to ignore it completely.
Friday, 29 February 2008
Website Analysis Part 5:
Furthermore, signore, each part of the forum and its topic listings had a personalised comment from the creator below them. A room titled Rant, rant, rant particularly caught my eye as rather humorous. The comment below it said to bitch about all things Hollywood, a very human statement to make. Overall I find this site to be extremely user friendly and rather inviting and friendly towards users. It is simply set out, the layout is easy to follow and the information held within it is easily categorised so as to make it as easy as possible on people searching for a specific thing.
I would say this is quite easily one of my favourite websites, and besides facebook this would probably be the one I frequent the most. The Joblo's team writing style and vast archive of news stories are a big draw to me, and the fact that the website does not burden itself with masses of terminology, but at the same time keep a sense of advanced knowledge, is great to read. It is individualised within each article and the writers have a great sense of their audience. Within the forum this is the same, members of the community are all here because of their love for film, and this is reflected wholly in the way the site is written.
I would say this is quite easily one of my favourite websites, and besides facebook this would probably be the one I frequent the most. The Joblo's team writing style and vast archive of news stories are a big draw to me, and the fact that the website does not burden itself with masses of terminology, but at the same time keep a sense of advanced knowledge, is great to read. It is individualised within each article and the writers have a great sense of their audience. Within the forum this is the same, members of the community are all here because of their love for film, and this is reflected wholly in the way the site is written.
Website Analysis Part 4: New media Culture Issues (cont.)
A community of practice defines itself along three dimensions:
• What it is about—its joint enterprise as understood and continually renegotiated by its members
• How it functions—the relationships of mutual engagement that bind members together into a social entity
• What capability it has produced—the shared repertoire of communal resources (routines, sensibilities, artifacts, vocabulary, styles, etc.) that members have developed over time.
(taken from reading section, source unknown)
The Joblo website is a fine example of a community of practice. Each article around the site has a comment section below it, titled The Schmoes Strike Back! allowing the members of this online community to have their say and allow some debate around the points covered in the article. When accessing myjoblo.com, users are required to register via an image verification process. I had to pick the image which was Homer Simpson. This required me to have an already pre-existing knowledge of what such a cultural icon looked like, the first step for me to "prov" myself to this community of practice, proving that I have the knowledge to join their group. To join, I had to create a username, which I chose to be GiveEmHellboy! after my own favourite film. A password and email were given, and then I had to enter some details about myself, such as my favourite film of all time and my favourite film quote of all time to give myself an identity on the site.
It was also required that I gave a reason for wanting to join the community. I chose to say that I wished to join for academic purposes and research. Other information I had to give included where I live, my occupation and my interests. While these were optional, I felt almost inclined to fill them in, as it would give a broader insight into my own personality and interests. After activating my account through an email hyperlink, I was free to roam the forums and look into the various member only aspects of the site.
The forum on this site is structured similarly to the main site. A list of members lets me know who is online right now so if needed to, i can contact fellow members and friends for information on a certain subject or their thoughts on a subject related to the topic of film. It also stated the number of users active and the record high of member active at one time. Very user friendly, the forum is split into categories and further subheadings of the areas where different topics are discussed. Each main "room" was titled I am Jack's... which is a reference to the movie Fight Club, where a character is reading a series of articles related to functions of the human body written in the first person, such as I am jack's spleen. This is again a reference to a film it is assumed all members of the community have seen and remember. The level of dedication to films this site shows is proof enough of its existence as a community of practice. I also received a welcome as the site's newest member, giving me a sense of importance among the other members.
Website Analysis Part 3: New media Culture Issues
On a cultural level, this website is rather interesting. As a movie news website it is immediately categorised under journalism and film, and the coverage that is its output is susceptible to a number of standard rules and legislations. Firstly, the content of an article cannot be seen as slanderous of an actor/actress/director because that would make the website liable for a court case. It cannot be defamatory of a film or person as that would also allow the subject to sue the website for damages. So we must look at how the articles are written to find its full appeal to the user.
"In the chat room, MUD or bulletin board we will often take on a nickname or handle that allows us to participate in the carnival-like masquerade of online identity play." ( Lister et al, New Media Cultures: An Introduction, page 166, section titled Networks and Identity).
Here the nickname is Joblo. On the contact us page, we can see that Joblo is really Berge Garabedian. His interests are listed alongside his position as founder of the site and we get an impression of the kind of person he is from the sort of films he likes. This is only a skin deep image based on first appearances and some hopefully reliable information. But it is within his writing style that we get a feel for what he is really like. In a review of Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, for example, he gives us the outline of the film from his own personal point of view and describes, as any movie critic would, what he likes and dislikes about the film. But, different to many critics, he gives us a sense of his own personal individual account, instead of a shared consensus that the film must instantly be a masterpiece due to the director's track record. We can read that this is an everyday man writing about his passion for a living, and not having to adhere to any codes of practice because of his profession.
"Burton is one of my favorite directors of all-time, and Depp is one of my favorite actors of all-time, and many of their previous collaborations are among my favorite films of all-time, but even all those positive preambles couldn’t get me to wanna stay put in my seat as a young homeless boy started crooning about how much he loved this girl he just saw in a window or when Depp took two minutes to sing “Hello” to his cutting blades. Even Helena Bonham Carter, looking her most Marla Singer-ish, wasn’t able to get me to pop a fanboy woodie for this flick." (http://www.joblo.com/reviews.php?mode=joblo_movies&id=1523) From this quote we can see that his appreciation for the work of the actors and director had no effect on how much he liked the film. His personality comes through in the way he speaks, and how he describes events that have occurred within the film's narrative. "As for the songs themselves? Meh. And yes, even though I’m not a fan of singing dialogue moments, I can appreciate a catchy tune if I hear one, but there weren’t many that caught my ear during this picture. Maybe you have to be a fan of the play itself or see it a few times? I don’t know." He questions himself as he knows he is just a normal man running a website which a lot of people have taken interest in, and not some brown nosing newspaper critic who over appreciates every little detail. Thus his writing style appears much more human and individualised, creating a more captivating article because of its human appeal and depth.
"In the chat room, MUD or bulletin board we will often take on a nickname or handle that allows us to participate in the carnival-like masquerade of online identity play." ( Lister et al, New Media Cultures: An Introduction, page 166, section titled Networks and Identity).
Here the nickname is Joblo. On the contact us page, we can see that Joblo is really Berge Garabedian. His interests are listed alongside his position as founder of the site and we get an impression of the kind of person he is from the sort of films he likes. This is only a skin deep image based on first appearances and some hopefully reliable information. But it is within his writing style that we get a feel for what he is really like. In a review of Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, for example, he gives us the outline of the film from his own personal point of view and describes, as any movie critic would, what he likes and dislikes about the film. But, different to many critics, he gives us a sense of his own personal individual account, instead of a shared consensus that the film must instantly be a masterpiece due to the director's track record. We can read that this is an everyday man writing about his passion for a living, and not having to adhere to any codes of practice because of his profession.
"Burton is one of my favorite directors of all-time, and Depp is one of my favorite actors of all-time, and many of their previous collaborations are among my favorite films of all-time, but even all those positive preambles couldn’t get me to wanna stay put in my seat as a young homeless boy started crooning about how much he loved this girl he just saw in a window or when Depp took two minutes to sing “Hello” to his cutting blades. Even Helena Bonham Carter, looking her most Marla Singer-ish, wasn’t able to get me to pop a fanboy woodie for this flick." (http://www.joblo.com/reviews.php?mode=joblo_movies&id=1523) From this quote we can see that his appreciation for the work of the actors and director had no effect on how much he liked the film. His personality comes through in the way he speaks, and how he describes events that have occurred within the film's narrative. "As for the songs themselves? Meh. And yes, even though I’m not a fan of singing dialogue moments, I can appreciate a catchy tune if I hear one, but there weren’t many that caught my ear during this picture. Maybe you have to be a fan of the play itself or see it a few times? I don’t know." He questions himself as he knows he is just a normal man running a website which a lot of people have taken interest in, and not some brown nosing newspaper critic who over appreciates every little detail. Thus his writing style appears much more human and individualised, creating a more captivating article because of its human appeal and depth.
Website Analysis Part 2: Summary (cont.)
The home page is built as a sort of hub for the various articles present. On the right hand side of the center, there are various advertisements for new films, fellow websites or movie memorabilia below a search engine with choices for this site or the entire web. Below this is a recipe for Movie Nachos, a food often represented as going hand in hand with a visit to the cinema.
On the left hand side of the center, we have the list of articles to choose from. They are colour coded depending on what type of article they are, the standard news items being black, the feature stories being blue, reviews and other similar features in red, and the just for fun features such as movie polls are green. This is much easier for the user to sift through the items listed if they know what they are looking for. Each article has been given a heading, usually about four words long to summarise the content of the article so the user doesnt have to click on each one to see what they are about. The use of such short phrases captivates the reader into curiosity, making them wonder what each one could be about, so they click on them to read the full story and gain a better understanding of its content.
Below the list of main articles we have three more little boxes allowing us to "jump" straight to headlines involving "movie hotties", a list of articles to do with actresses, upcoming movies, or dvd reviews of films currently available. Below these in the center of the page are another group of hyperlinks, taking us to the "small print" parts of the site and giving us the copyright information.
Right, now the summary of the main page is over, I will go on to talk about how these articles and features of the website relate to new media cultures.
On the left hand side of the center, we have the list of articles to choose from. They are colour coded depending on what type of article they are, the standard news items being black, the feature stories being blue, reviews and other similar features in red, and the just for fun features such as movie polls are green. This is much easier for the user to sift through the items listed if they know what they are looking for. Each article has been given a heading, usually about four words long to summarise the content of the article so the user doesnt have to click on each one to see what they are about. The use of such short phrases captivates the reader into curiosity, making them wonder what each one could be about, so they click on them to read the full story and gain a better understanding of its content.
Below the list of main articles we have three more little boxes allowing us to "jump" straight to headlines involving "movie hotties", a list of articles to do with actresses, upcoming movies, or dvd reviews of films currently available. Below these in the center of the page are another group of hyperlinks, taking us to the "small print" parts of the site and giving us the copyright information.
Right, now the summary of the main page is over, I will go on to talk about how these articles and features of the website relate to new media cultures.
Thursday, 28 February 2008
Website Analysis Part 1:
BY WEEK SIX: Either a) Briefly analyse your all-time favourite website or b) Briefly analyse a site you like that you have come across recently. How is your chosen site structured. What is it about on a cultural level? What is the appeal for you as a user? Refer to some of the concepts we have discussed so far in the unit and link to pages you discuss as examples in your blog.
For my analysis I will be studying:
www.joblo.com
Joblo.com is a website dedicated to the film industry. I use it practically everyday to look at the latest news surrounding upcoming films, actors and actresses, directors and the release of trailers and promotional artworks for films. It is freely available worldwide and is updated daily to keep up with what is happening in the film world all the time. A team of writers work to keep the site running, and each of them deal with a different aspect of it, similar to how a newspaper would work.
The main page of Joblo has a very simple, user friendly layout. Across the very top of the page are a number of links that lead the user on to a number of supported sites or related sites that concur with the main page. Below that are a number of navigational links that take you away from the home page to the various locations within the site dealing with different items within the movie journalism business. There are 12 in total which each serve a certain purpose: Reviews, Trailers, Wallpapers, Scripts, Movie Talk, Release Dates, Screensavers, Upcoming Movies, Shopping, Cool Columns, Interviews, and finally: Arrow In The Head, a partnered brother site which is laid out in exactly the same way but tends to deal more with horror movies, both mainstream big budget and arthouse or indie flicks.
Currently the website sports a promotional banner alongside the main hub of the page to promote a new Will Ferrell comedy called Semi-Pro. This often changes, and from memory I can also recall promotions for Cloverfield and Diary Of The Dead. As this promotion is helpful for the studios who distribute these movies, it is constantly being updated, and the number of visitors to the page see the banner first as the webpage loads, giving them reason to read it before the actual article they wish to read appears. As with all webpages there is also a contact us link at the top of the page for any questions, queries or comments you may wish to pass on to the various writers and editors of the page alongside the chance to register for a site newsletter or to create an account on the site. There is also a scrolling banner with various items of praise for the site from more established news sites and magazines such as Entertainment Weekly. A cartooned image of the site creator adorns the heading as a logo for the page and a daily movie quote is shown at the top right of the page, which takes you to an audio file of the selected quote.
For my analysis I will be studying:
www.joblo.com
Joblo.com is a website dedicated to the film industry. I use it practically everyday to look at the latest news surrounding upcoming films, actors and actresses, directors and the release of trailers and promotional artworks for films. It is freely available worldwide and is updated daily to keep up with what is happening in the film world all the time. A team of writers work to keep the site running, and each of them deal with a different aspect of it, similar to how a newspaper would work.
The main page of Joblo has a very simple, user friendly layout. Across the very top of the page are a number of links that lead the user on to a number of supported sites or related sites that concur with the main page. Below that are a number of navigational links that take you away from the home page to the various locations within the site dealing with different items within the movie journalism business. There are 12 in total which each serve a certain purpose: Reviews, Trailers, Wallpapers, Scripts, Movie Talk, Release Dates, Screensavers, Upcoming Movies, Shopping, Cool Columns, Interviews, and finally: Arrow In The Head, a partnered brother site which is laid out in exactly the same way but tends to deal more with horror movies, both mainstream big budget and arthouse or indie flicks.
Currently the website sports a promotional banner alongside the main hub of the page to promote a new Will Ferrell comedy called Semi-Pro. This often changes, and from memory I can also recall promotions for Cloverfield and Diary Of The Dead. As this promotion is helpful for the studios who distribute these movies, it is constantly being updated, and the number of visitors to the page see the banner first as the webpage loads, giving them reason to read it before the actual article they wish to read appears. As with all webpages there is also a contact us link at the top of the page for any questions, queries or comments you may wish to pass on to the various writers and editors of the page alongside the chance to register for a site newsletter or to create an account on the site. There is also a scrolling banner with various items of praise for the site from more established news sites and magazines such as Entertainment Weekly. A cartooned image of the site creator adorns the heading as a logo for the page and a daily movie quote is shown at the top right of the page, which takes you to an audio file of the selected quote.
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
Week 3, Task 1: Relationships and identity online.
Is withholding one’s identity ethically wrong? Should we always use our full name?
The use of our full name online is practical for those who wish to find you, but not always. There is a great chance that someone in the world has the same name as you anyway, so even if you are "found" there is a chance it may not even be you. Withholding your identity could prove to the wider world that you are uncomfortable in yourself, or think that people want you to be something else. Whilst it may be beneficial to pretend you are someone else for some reason, there is always a way through the vastness of the internet to find out who you really are. A computer has its own address or mark to say where in the world it is and what it has been used for.
It is true that a big part of the internet's appeal is that you can express yourself among like minds, but if we are not showing our true self in the first place, how can this happen? Ideas given by yourself across the internet when you are not showing who you are could easily be plagiarised if there is no author to credit it to. Online self expression doesnt follow the restrictions that may be placed upon us in normal conversation so it is much easier to get our point across. However, by modifying our online self as it appears, we could be fundamentally changing our real selves. On the internet, you are never alone, you could be someone else entirely if you wanted to be, and create a whole new life and back story for yourself.
Depending on where you are and what you are talking about you can change your personality accordingly. If in a chat room for people whose favourite band is for example Aerosmith, you could become a 40something man who saw them in their prime back in the 70s and own everything theyve ever made. When really youre a 20 year old student with two of their albums and a tshirt. It is so easy to change yourself online to fit a mould you think you should be in.
Week 2, Task 2: Blogging
As a form of communication, i find a blog to be very one sided. I feel that it is basically one persons view on a subject being put out there for people to scrutinise, but it is not the same as proper communication or conversation. After all if someones view posted via a comment didnt go with your argument you can basically delete their comment, erasing their view. On the other hand, a blog allows a person who may normally be shy to have their view listened to and spread across the internet.
I think a blog is similar to a journal or newspaper. A set of ideas are presented and the chance to respond is available, but a very selective process decides whether or not your response will be published. Newspapers choose which letters to print, if any, and will not post any that are radically different to ideas they have presented already.
I do not find blogging as much of a personal experience as it is portrayed to be. This could be because I have to do it for an assignment instead of creating it on my own, but I find the whole idea to be quite strange. Whilst this blog is available to the world, how many people are actually going to want to read all the thoughts of an individual who has just discovered the internet? A blog is an interesting way to portray ideas but is it really that reliable? It is hard to know exactly who your audience is when there is no way of telling who has actually been looking at the page, outside of a visitors counter. Also, what do we count as appropriate to be posted? There is a content policy for a blog, which says that the following are forbidden: pornography and obscenity, hateful content, violent content, copyright, private and confidential information, impersonation, unlawful use of services and spam, malicious codes and viruses. (http://www.blogger.com/content.g)
Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Week 2, Task 1: Web Forums and Blogs
Navigation
A web forum is normally organised into specific subjects under various headings. This makes it easier for users to navigate through the pages in order to find a topic helpful to them. Some also utilise search engines for even quicker progression through pages and pages of material.
Expression
Interaction
As there is no actual depiction of emotion, we have to read the tone of voice a post in a forum is giving across. The use of emoticons, little images depicting characters in various emotions sometimes helps to put a point across in its intended manner, but where these are not available, we have to rely entirely upon reading the tone of voice a statement is printed in. This is largely dependent on how we choose to read it. There is also no worry present in a forum as everyone will get their say and be heard equally.
Time
I do not fully understand what this particular aspect of the task means. I would guess that it is asking what we think of having a week to perform all the tasks we're given? if so, I would say it is a fairly tight deadline, and rather time consuming for people not used to keeping a blog or constantly updating it, myself included. As a result of this I would say I have found this task harder than others, as it is finding the time to post on the blog and keep it going that is the hardest part.
Authority and identity
Again, on a forum there is not really any specific people in charge. There may be moderators present to ensure no users get abusive or break any rules of the forum, but no specific person in charge. A call and response structure of conversation occurs, as a user posts what it is they wish to know and depend on the kindness of other to respond to it in a truthful manner. Some users may assert forms of authority over a forum by saying something like they are a doctor so they understand what you are feeling whilst going through this illness, automatically formulating a way for us to interact with them, but we have to entirely trust this person not to be lying to us.
Speech / writing
The forum has features we would associate with both speech and writing. In its very nature it is speech, as it relies upon a conversational structure to keep going, but it is in a written form of either non standard or standard language. Users may depict an accent or an unfamiliarity with a language by substandard grammar and also depict a regional dialect through use of certain words, but if other users do not understand they can always ask what is meant for clarity, again likening a forum to speech.
Week 2: Reading Part 3
p.27 What do you understand by ‘non-linear, non-sequential reading and writing?’ Does it capture the experience of the Web?
The above quote is a fair representation of how most web pages appear. When we are presented with them, we see a single page, primarily a "home page" which acts as a central hub of navigation towards the rest of the site, using links dotted around the page or organised together around the page. There is no specific order for us to read these links, we can follow the route as planned by the order the links appear, or we can turn from the beaten track and read them in our own way. There is no specific way to read a web page as there are so many trains of thought you can catch away from the home page.
p.33 If new media allows more people to be involved in cultural production (compared to mass media) what are these new voices saying in public? In a DIY and click-to-send setting, what kind of things are people sharing with others that comes from their private/domestic world and might otherwise not be distributed?
From the creation of pages such as MYspace, YOUtube, and FACEbook, we have seen a profound increase in individual journalism. Anyone can log onto any of these sites, create their own page and upload their own material as they see fit. Youtube especially allows us to upload any video consisting of any material made from any topic, as long as it follows the websites guidelines, for it to be freely distributed to anyone who wishes to access it. Simple things like a video of a family event or a pet's antics to video blogs of critique of a government and other such items can be uploaded and seen by everyone across the world with a computer.
p. 42 (and preceding discussion of interactivity) Is there such a thing as ‘ideal interactivity’? What form might it take? You can also refer to Meikle’s four types in the week 2 lecture.
I do not think there is such a thing as ideal interactivity in any form. There are certain rules around interactions, like the syntax of conversation. Speakers wait their turn, do not generally interrupt and so on. But in normal, non virtual conversation these rules aren't perfectly adhered to, so why should online conversation be any different? Users dont have a way of knowing if the person they are talking to will be typing at the same time, it is just a case of keeping up with the conversation at hand.
Week 2: Reading Part 2
p.12 Is there a clean break between analogue and digital media (cf. Bolter and Grusin’s concept of ‘remediation’)? Can you identify any commonalities? For example, is email based on the language of ‘letters’ and ‘the postal service’ because we have tried to fashion its communication functions in terms we are already familiar with?
The similarities between email and letters are quite easily visible. Users type an email just as they would write a letter, they can stamp it as high priority similar to a letter and they can keep an electronic address book of their contacts just as they would a written down paper copy.
The same can be said of television. Normal analog television requires the viewer to buy a paper TV guide in order to know what is on and when, whereas freeview and digital television like Sky or Virgin simply require the push of a button for a service that does exactly the same thing as a TV Guide would.p. 17 Digitality and code. Imagine you couldn’t compose your assignments on computer. How would a hand-written editing and composition process be different?
Again, a handwritten essay is very similar to a typed one in that they share the same characteristics of a written piece of work. Where they differ is in the delivery. A handwritten essay bears a much more personalised appearance than a computer typed counterpart, due to the use of fonts over handwriting. A font has been purposefully created to look a certain way, whereas a person's handwriting is individual to them. Psychologists argue that handwriting gives us an important look into a person's mind, and can help us identify their characteristics without ever meeting them. This is a fascinating argument, and where editing a piece of work on a computer is much less efficient and time consuming, a handwritten essay falls as it looks messy if parts are crossed out. A typed essay looks more professional because of its lack of human characteristics, making the creator more of a number than a personality.p. 21 What do you make of Lunenfield’s concept of ‘immersive interactivity’? What could we apply it to?
Lunenfield's idea of immersive interactivity is an interesting way to look at a created world. We could use this to look at games because a gaming world is created specifically to appeal to its user. The mention of games such as doom and Tomb Raider are a fine example as each of these games exists in what could questionably be a parallel dimension to our own, to be scientifically fictitious! Doom is a first person shooter where your character is called upon to fight off a series of creatures brought straight from hell, set on Mars in a highly technological facility. This is reflected throughout the appearance of the game as almost sterile, until the enemies appear. Similarly in Tomb Raider, the player has control of Lara Croft, a character created entirely for the purpose of the game developer. Her world consists of ancient tombs and caves rife with areas for exploration and long lost artifacts to gather. The fact that these environments are believable within their contexts and our own real world immerses us wholly within the experience and gives us a sense of escapism.
Week 2: Reading
All readings taken from Lister, M et al. (2003) New Media Cultures: An Introduction, Routledge, London.
p. 2 With Windows Vista coming out, and so on, what is ‘upgrade culture’ all about? Is some new media change just consumerism thought up by big business?
p. 3+ According to Lister et al., some commentators stress the ‘newness’ of new media, but others (such as Kevin Robins) can be seen to be saying that nothing fundamental has changed, because new media technology is another product of capitalism, and therefore will fit into and serve a pre-existing capitalist society and culture, rather than transform it in any fundamental sense. Any thoughts? Can we critique this position?
I disagree with Robins's statement. Fundamentally technology has changed. Where once it was purely something immobile and only available to those whose wage packets exceeded four zeros, its ability to be mass produced and so widely available, thus cheapening it, has also made it immensely mobile and useful to people with a busy lifestyle. Look at the creation of the mobile internet available on mobile phones, and the creation of laptops small enough to fit into an envelope. Previously, although available to the whole world, the internet could only be accessed through the gateway that is a PC. Now, it can be accessed anywhere a signal reaches, which is basically worldwide, creating a more efficient technology better for using at any time, any place.
p.11 Are new media a source of ‘progress’ in the sense that they enhance things we do in spheres of social activity – business, education, shopping, democracy etc? Could we say that such a proposition involves an ‘ideology of progress’?
I think this can be true to an extent. Certain circles rely on enhancements of virtual life to make real life more fun and interesting, and we tend to get on with people even better when we share the same interests. The boom of Ebay as a business and a reliable shopping centre online is a fine example of this, as it is purely an internet company, yet businesses have grown up around for people who do not have the time to set up their own Ebay account and sell their belongings. Companies charge the selling fees which are very small and a commission of the final selling price as part of their work. I think that such a business exists prove how much influence technology can have over the wider world.
Week 1, Task 3: Technological Determinism
Technological determinism points towards technology being the force which shapes society.
"There are examples where technological change may be seen as literally outside of society: a primitive people might come into contact with a more advanced people and be affected by their more advanced technology. And there are times when technology may be seen as only metaphorically outside society: although literally they are members of society, scientists and technologists work independent of society, making discoveries and creating new devices which when introduced into that society have profound effects.
I think technological determinism is a valid concept, but only with regards to the use of technology for certain things. After all, humans are the ones creating the technology in the first place, and whilst technological improvements do make our lives a lot easier, the question of it being the leader of change in society is highly debatable.
Take for example, machines used to assist the elderly. Electronic hoists allow them to get in and out of bed or the bath with no trouble at all. This sort of technology offers a very helpful function, but does it really lead change in society? All is seems to do is aid someone in their everyday life. On the other hand, we have items like computers and ipods. Not many households are without a computer these days, and this sort of technology has definitely changed society. The creation of the internet allows us to perform mundane everyday tasks in a much easier way from the comfort of our own home. In this way, the internet has brought society and the world at large much closer together, allowing society to be lead by technology. But overall I do not think it is the technology we use that inspires our society to change and be led by it.
"There are examples where technological change may be seen as literally outside of society: a primitive people might come into contact with a more advanced people and be affected by their more advanced technology. And there are times when technology may be seen as only metaphorically outside society: although literally they are members of society, scientists and technologists work independent of society, making discoveries and creating new devices which when introduced into that society have profound effects.
Some who would argue that technology is autonomous usually see it as the cause of one problem or another. Yet, different people see technology as causing different problems. Since World War II scientists have seen technology as a moral dilemma where their work can have profound effects on the human race and on the planet. Sociologists see the problem as the increasing complexity and rate of change which technology is bring about in society; technological changes, they argue, outpace the ability of individuals and societies to adapt. To others, technology is seen as a dominating force over society, posing a threat to human freedom."
Source: http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/trinity/determin.htmlI think technological determinism is a valid concept, but only with regards to the use of technology for certain things. After all, humans are the ones creating the technology in the first place, and whilst technological improvements do make our lives a lot easier, the question of it being the leader of change in society is highly debatable.
Take for example, machines used to assist the elderly. Electronic hoists allow them to get in and out of bed or the bath with no trouble at all. This sort of technology offers a very helpful function, but does it really lead change in society? All is seems to do is aid someone in their everyday life. On the other hand, we have items like computers and ipods. Not many households are without a computer these days, and this sort of technology has definitely changed society. The creation of the internet allows us to perform mundane everyday tasks in a much easier way from the comfort of our own home. In this way, the internet has brought society and the world at large much closer together, allowing society to be lead by technology. But overall I do not think it is the technology we use that inspires our society to change and be led by it.
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Week 1, Task 2: Joseph Goebbels - Radio as the eighth great power.
I found this text very interesting. Renowned for his constant stream of Nazi propaganda throughout their whole regime, Goebbels point of view on the use of radio in Nazi Germany was very interesting. At the beginning of his speech he refers to Napoleon's acknowledgment of the press as the seventh great power, as he fully understands the power of the press over society. Whoever controls the press controls everything that society views or hears, whether they believe what they are being told or not, boiling down to the passive/active audience theories. Goebbel sees radio as something that should be used in a political way because of its ability to captivate and enthrall the masses, making it a target rife for political messages broadcasting. However, because of his renown for propaganda it is difficult to understand whether he really sees Radio as a positive thing for the German public or for the government to further their messages.
Goebbel goes on to argue that the motives of the government were not random. Each of their broadcasts and speeches were prepared for a purpose, to ensure their procession into being the government of the country. Clearly in retrospect, the German public must have felt the power of the radio and have been greatly swayed by it, as from our view in the future, we can see that the Nazi party ascended to power, and it was not just from a lucky election. They knew what they were doing. "It would not have been possible for us to take power or to use it in the ways we have without the radio and the airplane. It is no exaggeration to say that the German revolution, at least in the form it took, would have been impossible without the airplane and the radio." He knows that what was new technology at the time was vital to their success, as people always show a great interest in new technology, whether it be condemning or praising it. Radio was a great way to reach a mass audience at a time with a single broadcast, whilst the airplane allowed them to travel around Germany giving personal appearances and speeches just like this one.
I think Radio today is very different to how Goebbels perceives it. For us today, it is mainly a source of entertainment or information. Political party broadcasts are still present on Radio, but are not as widely listened to as they would have been. As we also have such a large choice of radio stations, the variety and diversity present for us is vast enough that we can switch over and ignore political broadcasts if we so wish.
As for theories on the internet and its growth, I couldn't find much information that was actually useful. As with any new technology, people were skeptical at first, but now it is so widely used in society that we do not have many problems with it. The main example of a moral panic I could think of is the danger of paedophiles online. Children are thought to be at an incredibly high risk of paedophiles in chat rooms, and through "grooming" of a child they slowly gain enough trust to meet them. This is a fine example of a moral panic, as while yes, it does unfortunately happen, it is nowhere near as frequent as the media make it seem.
Did anyone manage to find any high profile studies of the internet?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)