Week 10 Web 3.0

Web 3.0 is the next generation to the internet as the internet began it was know as web 1.0 this was the first in the stages in internet technology. Next came web 2.0 which deals with social interaction such as social networking websites like Facebook,MSN messenger, youtube etc etc.



It is thought that Semantic Web will become part of web 3.0 but the strong difference between them is that web 3.0 is in a league of its own and will so advanced that it will have improved significantly that search engines will produce more thorough answers as well as perhaps being able to respond to a whole question asked. With web 3.0 you are looking at more mature and intelligent world wide web.





It has also been suggested that the web because of web 3.0 will become far more immersive and mutli dimensional.





Useful URLS





1-http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2726190.ece





2-http://www.androidtech.com/knowledge-blog/2006/11/web-30-you-aint-seen-nothing-yet.html





3-http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2102852,00.asp

Week 10 semantic web

What is semantic web?



The semantic web is a web which changes web data so it is understood by computers when searching and combining information. It is almost like an equation which can be understood by computers so there is no need for human operation of machines.It is the language of computers on a global scale.





Some URLS which were useful for understanding Semantic web:



http://www.w3schools.com/semweb/default.asp



http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2007/Semantic_Web.asp



http://infomesh.net/2001/swintro/

Week 10 - Problem for education?

Is there a potential problem being stored up for people if 'education' is tailored to fit into their cultural and personal preferences?





If you look at education culturally it is easy to see how it is tailored as each culture is very different and has a different work ethic altogether. However it is important to see whether these cultural values have a positive or negative effect on people's education. If anything people's culture should shape their education to the aspirations and hopes of that culture so that the best achievements ca be made.





I believe personal preferences are ok to an extent for instance if somebody works better in a classroom on their own and one is available then they should be given that option rather than having to put up with a noisy classroom. Or perhaps some people would benefit from one on one tutoring rather than being in mainstream education. As these points boil down to the working environment which may be better for different types of people. This I think can be applied to people with learning disabilities of all kinds you have to accomodate people's needs in education in order for them to achieve.





However I do believe it is important that eduaction is not tailored to meet people's personal preferences to any greater extent unless personal circumstances change which means there will be added pressure so therefore might need extensions for hand ins as it means they may not attend lectures, meetings etc which will only aid them in completing their work better. Then i see the need to tailor fit for personal circumstances.





But if it means tailor fitting so because people dont like the course structure or don't want to complete work because they cannot be bothered then thats where the line must be drawn.





Could you imagine the up roar if eduaction was upto the individual?I believe if this was so eduaction would have no boundaries or any kind of structure and at the end of the day all though everybodys educational career changes through the different stages (Primary, secondary, college and University) and gets harder everybody needs some regimenting so they know where they stand with their education as much as we loath some subjects rather than other, i think it gives everybody a good lesson in life; that you might not like everything you do but the rewards at the end are far better.

Week 10 What difference to all this might the 'digital divide' make?

What difference to all this might the 'digital divide' make?


a) To socioeconomically related access issues within a society? b) To global access issues across countries and regions? (COMBINED ANSWER)



"The term "digital divide" refers to multi-dimensional inequalities in Internet access and use, ranging from the global level, to nation states, to communities, and to individuals. The divide is here for some time to come. "



It is not so much about access that you have to these technolgies but the benefits you gain from this access. It is also important to understand that there is not just one logical divide to do with new media but many ranging from physical access to political access.



It is a social divide as well as a technological one it relates to who uses the internet, for what purposes and under what circumstances these factors play a crucial role into the effects of socioeconomics.

Culturally this digital divide will depend greatly on economic status those who are, as it were digitally rich or poor and therefore will have access to this digital technology ranging from the computer to television. Due to being either cuturally rich or poor this the alters the need or reason for using the technolgy in the first place. In developed countries such as America or the UK technology will be part of people's jobs and lifestyles whilst it is argued that in developing countries such as Africa digital technology is used to consume rather than to produce.

Socially i believe that socioeconomics will differ from group to group of people and depend naturally on their cultural backgorund. For some groups of people they rely heavily on technology to communicate for instance between one another for various different reasons. Where as another group of people wouldind other ways of communicatinng. Similarly students may vary in their research for assignments some may use the internet for articles and journals wreas other will e more traditional means like going to the library and reading books and old newspaper articles too.It also relates to classrrom activity in some schools computers, televisons and calculors may be accesible whereas in another county/region the accessiblity of thiese resources may differ.

Within society i believe there are various issues which can create more of a divide.
Due to socioeconimics I believe that Prensky's notion of 'digital immigrants and natives' can only relate to those who are of higher socioeconomic status and therefore more likely to be found in developed countries. I believe this is so because 'digital immigrants and natives' are found amongst technology either way whether they are young or old as they have the access for whatever reason they choose.

What do you think??

Some useful URLS

1- http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/DownloadableAssets/FINAL_REPORT_CHARTING_DIGI_DIVIDES.pdf





2-http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00036/en/text/sindex.html





3-http://www.digitaldivide.org/dd/digitaldivide.html

Week 10 Wenger and Prensky

1) How might Wenger's notions on practice communities relate to Prensky's on education?



Wenger's notion of COPs deals with education online and Prensky's ideas relates to the new technologies within education so to an extent they both relate to one another.


Wenger's model relates to education as a shared community online this would beneficial i think to the countries which can either not afford to have schools in every village or are too widespread for students to get to.

It would also mean that digital immigrants may become extinct beacuse if education did take on the idea that digital immigrants have to learn the language of the digital natives with the eductaion system introducing the idea of COPs this would have to be done either way.


To collaborate both of the ideas together would introduce a completely radical way to educating people and one that would have its advantages as well as strong disadvantages. For instance to what extent would these technologies be introduced in the classroom?would it just be in the classroom or would the technologies be available in the home?where does the teachers role come in to this?or would this new technology only make them assessors?

Week 9 Technophile

e) Describe the experience of a fictional technophile student in 2020.

I think the experience of being a technophile student in 2020 will be very similar to the world portrayed in the film "I-Robot" where we rely heavily on digital technology not necessarily on world which is dominated by robots. But I do believe that technology can only advance more and more if we look at the mobile phone for instance which our generation has seen from the very beginning it has only improved and developed more by the year. Now in 2009 you have a mobile phone which you can access the internet on, take photographs with and also use as a music player, this we never thought was possible and to alot of us this is not a big deal. But if you look back a few decades the digita world no where near what is today.

I think with anything it will take time but it wouldnt surprise me especially with the economic crisis we are suffering at the moment that a new system of education online will expand especially if it is cheaper and means you can get a degree within the comfort of your own home for half the price that many people will start doing that. In the end i don't think there won't be anything technology can do.

Week 9- Neo luddite

d) Describe the daily frustrations of a fictional neo-luddite at university now in the UK.



" Dear Diary,



Oh dear lord what a day!!I woke up this morning and my alarm hadnt gone off it had ran out of blooming batteries. Got up and got changed and went off to my lecture apparently an email had been sent out this morning and seeing as I don't have a laptop in my room nor do I check my emails account everyday (I still don't know how to access it properly),I was none the wiser so off I went to my lecture to eventually work out after half an hour that it was cancelled as nobody turned up.All you need at nine o'clock in the morning!



Later on I went to a seminar and Francesca said she would of given me a text message if I had a phone and i said text message whats that?The look on her face!It was like someone had slapped her round the face with a wet fish. I just don't see the need if i am honest and i wouldn't have a clue on how to work it if i had a phone anyway. Francesca then suggested i joined Facebook as everybody is on it.Praise the lord our tutor came in just at the right time.Facebook?what is that?



Having just been set work in the seminar which is due in for tomorrow, I went straight to the library as i needed to use the internet. After an hour of really struggling to find the website and sources i was meant to, I then asked the I.T man to help and he basically gave me a tutorial (just what he needed at the end of long day). In the end it took me ages to understand what I was doing with the whole tasks we had been set and now I am in bed at mid night what an annoying day!! "

This is just a small example of what being a neo luddite may be like if they were trying to survive without the new media world.

Week 9- Someone who threatens the notion of Digital Immigration

The three people I know who lie on the boundaries of being Digital natives or Digital Immigrants are:both of my uncles, one who is 48 years old and runs his own business in London and the other uncle is 35 years old and is managing director for the opening for new restaurants, and the last person is my Dad who is 48 years old and is the Head of Racism within mental health of Devonshire county council.

Due to the types of jobs they have it means they are all constantly using digital technology. They all have the use of a mobile phone and/or a Blackberry which are now known as the small computer. If none of them are in the office on their computers then they are constantly on their lap tops or Blakcberrys writing emails, sending txt messages or making phone calls.

In some form or another they use and more importantly need the digital technologies more than I do and know how to use them properly for instance I would only have a Blackberry as it is part of the new craze and just an easier of accessing Facebook all the time however my uncle for insance will use his Blackberry in order to do his job.

But because of their age they are known as Digital Immigrants!Does anybody else think that Prensky's idea is a bit far fetched especially when it came down to classification due to age?As i think my uncles could be seen as Digital Natives

Week 9 The youngest digital immigrant

b) The youngest digital immigrant you know.

The youngest digital immigrant I know is my step mum, she at one stage had a job with Devonshire county council to do with the public footpaths and nature trails therefore her job was of a more out doors nature. She would only use the computer to pass n any mesages she needed to.

Now that she has had my little sister and is full tiem house wife she rarely needs the technology that so many of us do nowadays nor does she wish to use it. Hermobile phone is for emergencies and rarely uses it, her computer account is rarely used either and she does not watch the television.

However she does listen to the radio and will use the ladnline phone to keep in touch with relatives anything else is seen as unecessary and a drain on the brain.

Week 9 The oldest digital native

I believe the oldest digital native I know is my Grandad he works for the BBC as the football results person and has done for over 20 years. His job means he is always using the new technologies he has the internet and uses it for emails and such things as Ebay, he has Sky and all the digi boxes you need as well as one of the most upto date televisions. He has a car with all the gadgets and uses a mobile phone to call and to text. I see him as a digital native because he is so upto date with the new media.

However due to his age i know this won't be the case so the oldest digital native i know is probably a cousin of mine who does advertising and uses all kinds of new media to get his work done as well as using a laptop at home or work and the use of hi tech mobile phone.

Week 9 Should education stretch a person?

3) Should education 'stretch a person do you think? (What do you mean by 'stretch'?)

What I consider to be stretching is making someone realise their full potential and how they can succeed in doing so be it through hard work and perserverance or weekly tutorials or wrtiting essays over and over again. If it means in the end you can be the best you can be then everybody has a whole lot to gain by putting the effort in.

I think its important to stretch students for the above reasons however its important that there is not too much pressure to succeed all the time and that just to keep a good steady level of work with a reward at the end is the ebst way to ensure students carry on- light at the end of the tunnel.

It is important to understand that everybody's notion of stretching is different and that there will be differences amongst cultures and age groups. Not only so but standards vary amongst schools too if you look at the public and state schools, public (private) schools have the resources, the well paid teachers and the allocated time of prep (to do homework). Taking these things into account the idea of stretching a student will be done with the daily routine which is exactly the same for each student. Whereas in state schools I believe it depends upon the individual as to how far a personw ill stretch themselves.

Week 8 Abstract 4 and 5

Abstract 4

The text discusses two clear lines of argument, the first being how teachers as 'digital immigrants' struggle with the new media in schools, this very similar to Prensly's articles, discussed in previous blogs. The article also suggests how teachers are struggling to find and educations system which is tailored well enough to meet this new generations needs.

The second line of argument is how the 'digital natives' as young people as well as students are far more committed to their online accounts such as Facebook rather than their manual school work.


Abstract 5

This article deals with the issues surrounding young people and how they use new media and the difference of their digital world to do with education. It also highlights the generation gap and how education may be effected because of this.

Week 8 Abstract 3

Abstract 3

This article suggests that with the new media bring new effects it also illustrates how each different media manages to do this and what the effects are. It takes great care in showing the effects it has on young children and how in turn they adapt to the new types of media. This article also deals with the notion that new media has a greater impact on society than first thought.

Week 9 Abstract 1 and 2

Abstract 1

This article discusses the nature of Digital Natives and Education leaders (Digital Immigrants)within the eduaction systems in terms of learning and teaching.The author provides the grounding for a debate in terms of how teaching should be adaptable to these digital natives in order to provide education which is applicable to them in terms of new technologies. There is a strong sense that there is an art to student engagement and collaboration rather than resisting the new horizon. And although there is a clear distinction bewteen the students (natives) and the educators (immigrants) it is important for both to remember it is the 21st century and with it comes these new technologies in the classroom but at the same time that the tradition to education should not not be lost but revamped as it were.

Abstract 2

This article has two clear lines of argument the first being that education needs to change in order to accomodate, for Digital Natives which comes to the second part of the argument; digital natives do exist.


Although the line of argument is clear the theoretical evidence is not and therefore appears there is no real strong evidence to support the above claims just an amount of opinion. Because of this the suggestion is to investigate and to conduct more research in to the subject before making any drastic changes.

Week 8 Five academic articles

Question 4



In the Harvard manner, name five different academic articles dealing with the notion of young people's facility with the new world of converged media






1- Prensky, M (2006) “Listen to the Natives”, Educational Leadership, Volume 63 (4) pp. 8 - 13, http://centre4.core-ed.net/viewfile.php/users/38/1965011121/ICT_PD_Online/ListentotheNatives.pdf (15/03/09)






2- Bennett, S et al, (2008) “The ‘Digital Natives’ Debate: A Critical Review of the Evidence”, British Journal of Educational Technology, Volume 39 (5), pp. 775- 786, http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=4&hid=104&sid=6b6331a7-2826-4c17-8ac1-8334df754ba3%40sessionmgr102 (15/03/09)





3- Livingstone, S. Bovill, M (2000) “Young people, New Media.” http://www.mediacultureonline.de/fileadmin/bibliothek/livingstone_young_people/livingstone_young_people.pdf (14/03/09)







4-Adlington and Hansford (2009) "Digital Spaces and young people's online authoring: Challenges for teachers" Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, Vol 32 (1) http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=7&sid=9a75c748-f7f3-478a-a904-003ac02809d3%40SRCSM2&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=afh&AN=36428102 (13/03/09)

5- Trotter, A (2008) "Much of New-Media Learning Said to Occur Informally" Education Week, Vol 28 (14) http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/message?vid=2&hid=101&sid=86b673d0-80ab-40e7-8d33-332bccb96e65%40sessionmgr102 (13/03/09)

Week 8 Disagreements with website 5

This article does not take into account Prensky's idea of Digital Natives and Immigrants properly and offers one biased point of view and leaves it at that. I believe it is perhaps over steps the mark on a critical level and does not look at this theory on a global level, or take into account the advance in technology and the availability of it.

Week 8 Disagreements with website 4

I found it quite difficult to be critical of this text as I believe alot of what it is saying makes alot of sense.
However i think the term Digital Pioneer is quite a strong phrase to use and odes not really equate to the argument that is put forward- perhaps Digital Nurturer?

There is a strong argument for not wanting to be classed as either a Digital Native or Immigrant however I feels this boils down to more than just standing up for your generation yet i cant put my finger on it.

Week 8 Disagreements with website 3

There are two points which I find disagree with the text the first being repeated from another previous article and that is the idea that it is important NOT to lose the tradition of education.

The second point being that it is impossible not to teach the students the new technology as this would surely turn them into Immigrants? Therefore teachers should not be restricting their learning but aiding them whether they agree or not.

Week 8 Disagreements with website 2

This article deals with the supportive evidence for the theory of Digital Natives and Immigrants . However I do believe the evidence behind the theory is perhaps too broad and although the supportive evidence is understandable I think it may be clutching at straws to try and prove a point. The investigation conducted at this moment in time may not apply or produce the same results if reinvestigated because technology has changed so therefore so might the children born since the year 2001. Because of this do you think the idea of Natives and Immigrants is still applicable to today?

One strong personal disagreement is against the idea that brains are formed already knowing to carry on with digital nativism. I find this a desperate claim to make as I think it highly unlikely that this is so as I think digital nativism depends largely on the living environment, class and to an extent culture. Do you think brain training is a good idea?look at Nintendo and Wii new technological adavnces.

Week 8 Disagreements with website 1

As a whole the text seems to categorize too much and looks at the theory in a very black and white world.Rather than actually making allowances for those who may fit the other criteria surrounding the theory.

It also becomes clear that in order to keep up with the 21st century and the students before they get 'bored' is to become a Digital Native and move forward with technology as the old ways of educating students is not going to engage them enough. However although I believe this is true to a certain extent if you were to completely scrap the idea of tradition in teaching I think there would be a different generation of students. Students who would have no respect for the educational system at all or the idea that a little bit of hard work goes a long way. I feel that if we went a long completely with this theory yes we may have a technological advanced generation of students but I too believe we would have a generation which would rely soully on this technology and would in fact become lazy at it were if the tradition of of education was lost. What do you think?

Week 8 Website 5 Criticism

Website 5



The second most upto date article which was also written in 2008. The section of the article I managed to locate is taken from The Chronicle Review so is written in the style of a magazine/newspaper article.

The article includes includes two points of view in terms of digital natives and whether they agree or not with the theory.

The article brings to light the idea that class plays a huge factor as to whether or not the Digital Natives and Immigrants theory can really be applied and to what extent.Do you think class affects this theory?

I do not believe that this section I have read is the whole text so i cannot decide whether it does practice what it preaches-what do you think??

Week 8 Website 4 Criticism

Website 4



This is one of most current sources written as it was done so in 2008.

The text takes into consideration digital natives and digital immigrants but the counter argument boils down to the segregation of the generations.

Although written from one point of view, the author suggests a new terminology to bridge the clear divide; 'digital pioneers'. This term relates to those who may be put into the digital immigrants category dependent on age rather than allowing for their technological know how.

The article as a whole is making allowances for those people who grew up when technology did.

These digital pioneers are the teachers with the best of both worlds new and old.

Week 8 Website 3 Criticism

Website 3



This article was written in 2003 and although it is not as dated as some articles it is still six years old so some of the content is not relevant to today.



The author discusses Prensky's theory from one point of view and relates it personally to life experience. The author takes into account and agrees to a large extent with Prensky's ideas.



However the counter argument suggests that the idea of 'legacy' is an important one that should be continued in eductaion due to personal experience.

This applicable to everyday life as the education system is not completely digatised.



The text also correlates with previous articles ideas that both class and culture affect the "Digital Natives and Immigrants" theory.

In relation to practicing what is preached the author sticks to the argument of "I am in favor of creating better tools for teachers, and then helping teachers become better users of the tools."

week 8 Website 2 Criticism

Website 2



This article was too written in 2001 and questions the science behind Digital immigrants and natives. Because it was written in 2001 the experiments which were conducted then may not be the same if they were completed now. It is more than likely that there have been more experiments since which provide more thorough answers.

However there are two ideas which appear to be usable and upto date, the first is the idea of social theory which is discussed in relation to culture.

This applicable today as it talks about cause anf affect in depth which is understandble and believable now.

The second idea is the notion of brain training and how the repetition of various activities can mean an individuals brain can be trained to do something it never could before, the article then makes reference to video games which are still as popular now as they were then.

Week 8 Website 1 Criticism

Website 1



The article was written in 2001 and is written by a theorist, it is eight years old, and even then there was this notion of Digital Natives and Immigrants. Having read the article in depth a lot of the argument makes sense and is applicable to this day and age in 2009.



This consequently makes it usable, as it deals with the history and expands the argument so that it is clear to understand the idea of natives and immigrants, and their differences and shows this precisely through examples mainly dealing with education system and students versus teachers.



In the case of practicing what its preaches the argument suggests a sense of moving forward with the 21st century rather than looking back.

Week 8 5 Websites and URLS

2) Identify five different websites/five-pages-on-different sites dealing with digital immigration and its counterpart. Give their urls.



Website 1: Digital natives, Digital immigrants:http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf



Website 2: Digital natives and digital immigrants do they really think differently?: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part2.pdf



Website 3: Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants:Some Thoughts from the Generation Gap :http://www.wisc.edu/depd/html/TSarticles/Digital%20Natives.htm



Website 4: Digital natives, digital immigrants and digital pioneers : http://kathyschrock.net/blog/2008/10/digital-natives-digital-immigrants-and.html



Website 5: Congenitally digital? :http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=14&hid=117&sid=fed2420e-e1a8-4ed6-a6a0-79cab3efd44e%40sessionmgr102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=afh&AN=36512044#db=afh&AN=36512044

Week 8 what is Digital Immigration?

Question 1) Find out about 'Digital Immigration'.What Is it? Who cares about it? What sort of general attitudes have been based upon it?

In terms of what 'digital immigration' is it is a term which was first introduced by educational gaming "entrepreneur Marc Prensky in 2001 in his two-part investigation of how students have "radically changed" as the result of pervasive digital technologies. " They are known as Digital natives, native speakers of the modern world and technologies such as the computer,internet and many more. Digital natives can best be described as students or the children of the millennium.



Prensky states that "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." (Blogscholar)

The term digital immigrants relates to the generation who are not as upto date with the new world of technology,as well as the fact that these technologies do not come naturally to them unlike the digital natives. For the immigrants it boils down to educating themselves about these technologies and adapting to them rather than them being natural.

Those who care about this theory i believe are the academics who write about it and debate to what extent this theory can be applied and the teachers of which a great deal of theory applies as they are considered to be digital immigrants. However i do feel this is an open subject to nayone who has an opinion on it who can query or agree on what the theory suggests. I also think this topic of discussion is of concern to education boards and schools as the theory relates greatly to the way in which students are taught.

Week 8 Questions

HERE WE GO!wk 8 complete the black questions and prep for wk 9. The post the red questions in wk9
1) Find out about 'Digital Immigration'.What Is it? Who cares about it? What sort of general attitudes have been based upon it?

2) Identify five different websites/five-pages-on-different sites dealing with digital immigration and its counterpart. Give their urls.

3) In your blog criticise each website (without giving details that would send a reader directly there) in terms of up-to-dateness, usability and practicing what it preaches.

4) In the Harvard manner, name five different academic articles dealing with the notion of young people's facility with the new world of converged media

5) Each student write your own abstract for each article. (5 abstracts each)

6) In your blog, write a paragraph (or two) about your disagreements with each article -don't give away the proper name and title yet!

Week 7 China and distance learning part 2

The CRTVU offers roughly about 150 different courses ranging from mathematics to Chinese literature and laguage presented to the students at an undergraduate level.'The development of television universities is suitable for China as it is an effective way of training more people at lower cost in a shorter period of time.' I think this can apply to chinese culture as they are always advancing in everything and the majority is media and technology. To keep up they need the workers and with being so densely populated it is no surprise that to them this is on eof the best routes to ensure they have the workers/graduates they need.

Questions that have arisen since reading the text are as follows:

For each student would they know whether they are completing the work successfully or not?
Would each child bee the same an dbenefit from this?
Whta kind of affect does this way of educating have on the students socially?

Week 7 China and distance learning part 1

In the1960s the capital of China Beijing, between 1960 - 1966 over 8,000 students had graduated and 50,000 students had completed single courses in the Television Universities (TVU).

However as the Socialist Modernization Project came into China in 1976 it meant that 3.5 million teachers were trained up- "Such a huge task of training so many qualified people cannot be fulfilled by relying solely on conventional colleges and universities within a limited time-scale." With this in mind the council introduced higher education to the CRTVU - 'the Central Radio and Television University'.

The CRTVU has five levels here you can see how:

"The CRTVU: (a) makes long-term plans for the development of the TVU system and yearly plans for admission; (b) guides teaching administration of PTVUs and co-ordinates academic work shared by more than one PTVU; (c) makes teaching plans to be carried out nationally and produces programmes to be broadcast nationwide; (d) develops and publishes printed teaching materials, and produces and distributes audio- and videocassettes for courses offered nationally; (e) prepares unified entrance and end-of-semester examination papers and marking standards; (f) organizes training for teachers, administrative staff and technicians of the national TVU system; and (g) conduct distance education research and exchanges experiences with similar institutes at home and abroad.

The PTVUs: (a) guide teaching administration of their branch schools, system work stations and television classes directly attached to them; (b) organize the implementation of the teaching plans made by the CRTVU, and make teaching plans for courses offered provincially; (c) produce and transmit teaching programmes for regional use; (d) develop and publish printed teaching materials, and produce and distribute audio- and videocassettes for courses offered provincially; (e) organize entrance and end-of-semester examinations and the marking of examination papers; (f) admit students and issue diplomas/certificates; (g) train teachers, administrative staff and technicians of regional TVUs; and (h) conduct distance-education research and exchange experiences with each other.

Branch schools: (a) guide teaching administration of work stations and television classes directly attached to them; (b) implement teaching plans made by the CRTVU and PTVU; (c) organize the subscription and distribution of teaching materials; (d) conduct examinations and tests; (e) admit and register students, and keep their study records; (f) employ tutors and train them; and (g) oversee tutorials, laboratory work and field studies. Work stations: (a) organize television classes and guide their management; (b) organize tutorials, laboratory work and field studies; and (c) distribute teaching materials.

Television classes: (a) administer teaching and learning classes; (b) draw up time-tables for every term; (c) organize viewing and listening of teaching programmes, tutoring, laboratory work and field studies; (d) encourage students to take part in physical training and recreational activities outside class; and (e) maintain contact with work units from which the students come.
China's radio and television universities at five levels share their responsibilities on the basis of balancing centralization and decentralization with the CRTVU as their centre. Along with the development of the TVU system, the number of its staff has been increasing."

Week 7 African eductaion

Open Eduactional Resources in Africa

Having read the whole interview Catherine Nuigi had alot of interesting things to say as far as Africa's Open Educational Resources are concerened;"OER Africa seeks to improve teaching and learning within Africa’s institutions of higher education." this is completed successfully by " providing spaces for interaction on the OER Africa website at www.oerafrica.org, we support each other via face-to-face meetings and interactions via Skype or other cost-effective communication tools with other individuals and project leaders involved in OER working on the Continent". This last point is similar to the notion of COPs as they share the same guidelines and when looking at the website as a whole there are indeed COPs available for example ACEMaths for students studying maths.

It also became clear that this form of technology serves as a techno-determinism providing the people of Africa with the education that they reall need. It is also created by a standard which relates to the people of Africa rather than on a global level which would nto relate to them historically, socially and politically; "the meta data for all of this knowledge generated for and by Africa is then sent to global repositories. In this way, OER Africa seeks to showcase the Continent as an active producer of knowledge and not merely a passive consumer of the global knowledge economy."

As a whole i believe this idea and way of learning is revolutionary for this particular country with schools and learning materials minimal compared to England or America for instance this is a sure way for all African citizens being able to get the education they deserve.

However i do wonder whether they have more guidance than the technology gives them and i also wonder how they know whether they are on the right track with their work and making progress??what do youthink

Week 6 Topic 2 Wegner

6.2) Sometimes it is difficult to think about community in different ways. For this task, I want you to think carefully about "joint enterprise". It is easy to belong to a community on the web, but for us to consider the community a community of practice there needs to be a joint enterprise - something that members are actively engaged in with progression and a goal in mind. Usually this means that the members have a vested interest in getting better at something together.

I think the best practice in real life compared to online, to support this statement is the idea of belonging to a team be it dance, rugby, football or hockey. There is a sense of community amongst the team mates who work and play together maybe two or three times a week. They practice together and work out areas for improvement for individuals and as a team. The goal may not be necessarily to win every game or comeptition but to be better every week or to do better than the previous year. This i think provides the best example of community of practice as in this case practice makes perfect.

Week 6 Topic 1 Wegner

6.1) Think of a CofP to which you belong (or have belonged) explain in your seminar forum how your example fits into Wenger's model

Wenger's model describes 'A community of practice is something more than a club of friends or a network of connections between people. It has an identity defined by a shared domain of interest.' Thinking of a CofP which can best support the statements from Wegner and one that applies to myself is being part of a fan club. This example shows that the connection between people is of the same nature as it is about the fandom you share for the celebrity, for example and the wanting to know the ins and the outs all about them. Our shared interest therefore is the fanclub as we all have the same goal of wanting to know and appreciate the celebrity in mind. To become a communtiy of practice i am not sure what does everybody else think?

Week 5 Topic: BRIEF Website analysis

The website i have chosen to briefly analyse is http://www.mtv.co.uk/

A) How is your chsoen website structured?

Having looked at the website and navigated myself around it, the website itself follows a 'sequenced' structure. This therefore means that information is organised in a logical sequential manner. Because of this organisation it is easy to follow the bigger the sequence the more linear links there are.
The homepage to this website is full of the latest information, gossip, mtv shows and music there are various headings which once clicked on provide links to other related pages. There is alrge search engine on the homepage also which then provide you with the results relating best to your search. As well as the moving montage which comes up with the latest news which might be of interest to those visting the site that can also take them to the related pages when clicked on.

B) What is it about on a cultural level?

On a cultural level mtv.co .uk is the English version of mtv.com (the american site) and shares alot of the same content but the American version is more ahead due to the production scheme for example the televison shows are a few episodes ahead as they brought out first of all in America.
The ideology and the cultural level behind the website is that it has everything you need to be upto speed/date with the latest news and gossip in the entertainment world. So all the latest music, the behind scenes footage etc etc.

C) What is the appeal for you as a user?

For me as a user it allows me to catch up and watch television shows that i am interested in for free and on a trusted and completely legal website.
At first hand it is an infromation overload and brings you upto speed within a very short few mintues with everything happening in the entertainment world.It also provides a sense of 'interactivity' as you can chose where to navigate to on the website and whether you get involved in the forums and discussions which happen online.

Week 5 Topic 2 :Bruns reading C

p. 5 As a trend, do you think produsage will last? Do you think commercial forces will find ways of exploiting it, or perhaps the ways people are involved will end up being short-term? Conflicts in the communities? Flagging energy/interest? Successful sites get bought out? Just a trend? Or the future of the Net?

As a trend i think prudusage like wise to the computer technology developing and the participants in their interaction it will be a trend which can only get bigger. Commercial forces will live upto their name and try their hardest to push this notion on to people so they feel they are getting something for nothing. Immersive interactivity according to Lister is the encouragement of particpants getting involved with the internet and online gaming and feeling that sense of control because of this.

Week 5 Topic 2 : Bruns reading- Question B

Page 4 When collaborative sites have moderation functions to prevent a ‘free for all’, does this defeat the purpose?

The easy critiscm is that the moderation does prevent a 'free for all' as the website is not completely taken over by participants and their thoughts, opinions and beliefs as the companies have to use rules and regulations to restrict content to save any kind of offence and to keep websites on the right path. The idea of MYpsace and Bebo is that you have your own account which you can customise in various ways through pictures etc but the whole control is not down to one person. This can be seen with Fcaebook as the account page cannot me modified by the participant as the companies colours are blue and white and it is the same for everybody. However the popularity is not lost because of lack of control as participants have other ways of functioning the crucial point is to carry on maintaining these webistes to keep the popularity going.

Week 5 Topic 2 : Bruns reading- Question A

a) What do you understand by the words ‘produser’, ‘produsage’, and ‘intercreativity’? Are they useful in understanding collaborative creation of content online?

The term 'produser' means and allows everybody to be users as well as producers of the internet this then ties in with the idea of 'produsage' which is the term used to describe 'collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing content in the pursuit of further improvement'.

For instance if we were to apply theses concepts to reality it would relate to such websites as wikipedia and the interactive game The Sims both these examples give the user the chance to change and more importantly improve the website and the knowledge and strength of it which is 'produced' by them.

Compared to other mediums such as the television, radio and tlelphones of their different varities these two terms relate to the power the internet users have on the internet.

The term ‘intercreativity’ talks about the ‘mode of collaborative, productive engagement with content’, this idea shows the expansion of produsage environments and the producers having more freedom to create/build on sites that are already produced. This idea gives connects very much so with ‘immersive interactivity’ because of the developemnts of technology, immersive interactivity can for example create games where the player is more involved with the computer and creating an environment of which they are comfrotable with.
These collaborative creations allow the audience to be much more involved with the internet and what can and cannot happen. On the other hand as Bruns argues in the text, the amount of power described by these terms isn’t actually given to the audience; there are still restrictions in the control of the internet.

These terms are very useful in understanding collaborative online creations.

Week 4 Topic 3:A to D (Music sharing online)

a) How do filesharing, online downloading and the ‘networking’ of new material change the way music is consumed?



At one point in time there was no internet and no way of paying or getting msuic without going to the local record store. Nowadays as music technology has developed (from vinyl to tape, tape to CD ,CD to mp3) so has the consumerism of music. Music stores have come out and gone into fashion and so has the mp3 player craze. There is still an element of tradition with CDS and mp3 download vouchers available at any supermarket ot highstreet store such as HMV.



b) How and why could any band ‘make it’ through social networking/content sharing sites?



Social networking websites allow you not only to have personal account but one that can be dedicated to businesses and up and coming bands for example. This then allows to free advertising, emails for promotion, uploads of pictures and videos,joining social networking 'groups' and the chance to hear feedback and gaps in the markets.



Social networking allows the popularity of bands for instance to be heard this can be seen through the amount of friends made in the social networking page and how many people sign up upto the various 'groups'.

It would be a mistake for bands trying to 'make it' not to join such popluar sites



c) Has/will this change popular music?



I think this will change popular music in terms of individual and rare types of bands will be heard and struggling artists wont have to chnage and become mainstream just to try and have a career.



d) Will we still need media companies in future if people can produce and distribute cultural products directly?



I think there will always be a place for media companies as they bring with them a higher status of knowing what will be a succesful product and if so how to get it promoted and distributed as a succesful product without nay problems that smaller companies might occur.

Week 4 Topic 1: C

C) p. 181 To what extent are ‘dangerous materials’ prominent on the Internet (or ‘junk and jerks’ as Kollock put it)? What do their existence mean in terms of the ‘freedoms’ the Net allows? Is freedom always positive?

Freedom is not always positive and i believe that the internet can be a dangerous place for young children especially. Children are not fully aware of the ins and outs of internet so for instance when using a search engine like google they may type in what they are looking for but the results may come up with something completely different and not at all suitable for young children.

Pornography,peodaphilia, public displays of unsuitable content and hacking into accounts are a few of the headings for 'dangerous materials' and ones which are easily acceptable to the naive younger generations.

Evidence of this 'dangerous material' is a news story which came from the teenage social networking website of the name Bebo, here on this social networking website memorial pages were uploaded of young adults involved in a suicide pact:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1576338/Police-fear-internet-cult-inspires-teen-suicides.html following this link and reading more into the story it too proves that cults/ fads areeasily made never mind the dangerous outcomes and also the worrying proof that parents are unaware of the internets dangers.

It is clear that the internet has brought with it various negative aspects and some which are unavoidable however there is plenty we can all do to ensure the positive nature of the internet is not lost, by reporting anything slightly suspicious or harmful in content.

Week 4 Topic1: A and B

A) p. 174 What do you think of the notion that online community can be empowering/disempowering?

I believe that the notion of belonging to an online community is empowering to alot of people. For alot of people it provides a sense of belonging to a community which shares the same values, opinions and ideas. The sense of belonging allows people to be who they really are, rather than in everyday life thye feel segregated as people do not share the same real life comunity.
As previosuly stated in other blogs the internet gives people the chance to be whoever they want to be, aspire to who they want to be, lie about who they are and convince others of who they really are. In some ways you could make up a completely different persona to who you are and the empowering thing about that is you can get away with it especially in a community where nobody really knows who you are.

b) p. 177 Does the Net provide a ‘public sphere’ where citizens can engage with each other? If so, how, and are there any limitations?

Yes the internet does provide a 'public sphere' for citizens to engage with one another this can be done in the same country or half way across the world.The technology which provides the sense of an 'online public sphere' is such things as MSN mesenger , hotmail, Facebook, forums and blogs. Some of these technologies allow for almost instant interacction.
The limitations within the internet and the public sphere boils down to a few necessary rules and regulations people's oipinions cannot contain any form of offensive, explicit nudity, violent threats etc those are the most obvious limitations however forums and blogs allow people to put their opinion across usually to do with politics or media behaviour successfully.

Week 3 (required reading) Sheery Turkle who am we?

Some points of interest from the reading

• There are many persona s to us all example in the text: there is Turkle the social scientist, trained in anthropology, personality psychology and sociology. There is Dr Turkle the clinical psychologist. There is Sheery Turkle writer of books.
• Sherry Turkle's new book Life on the Screen tells how the computer profoundly shapes our ways of thinking and feeling how ideas are not just changing our live but changing our selves i think this point is very true as well changing our lives and ourselves it is too a growing addiction.
• Conversations quickly turn to multi personae, romance and what can be counted as 'real' virtual space.
• The internet links millions of people in new spaces that are changing the way we think and the way we form communities.
• Moving from "a modernist culture of calcualtion toward a postmodernist culture of simulation".
• we are the producer, director and star of our own online drama
• We are using new ways of thinking about evolution, relationships, sexuality, politics and identity

Lecture notes - Selves and other online key points and terms

Lecture notes from week 3

• Post modern equals a fantastic self.
• Negative effects of virtual world is that we are not connected to our real live selves.
• Do we have a identity or many?
• Experimentation can be found with sexuality, relationships, class, race and gender.
• Key point- disintermediated.
• Non verbal, no smell, touch or feel of emotions or people.
• Free of real life oppressions.
• Technophillic- Poistive/new technology.
• WE can each personalize our experience of life.
• Empowered self- Lots of choice.
• Modern media- modern man.
• New media- postmodern man.
• Hyper reality of simulations NOT representations of reality.
• Even in real life our identites are not fixed.
• Can 'discover' more intent and fullfilling selves.
• Diegesis means world created by text
• Experimnental identities are often stereotypical (offensive) socially regressive.
• Post modern technophiles- see the web as seeting us free to be post modern
• Critics of technology- see it as decreasing our real life in various ways

Week 3 Topic 1- Questions A to E

A) Page 64 In what ways can the Net be thought of as an "open architecture?"

I think this question relates to the fact that the internet is not made up of large companies that control the internet but small companies that contribute their own ideas, inventions, democracies etc etc that build up the internet. It is open to anybody as it is not a fixed product but one that we can all independently customize.

B) Page 66 Do you think that assuming an online persona (via screen name/handle, avatar etc) encourages people to play with the identity they present online and take risks in the ways they express themselves?

I do believe people play with their identity when it comes to online personas for example with screen names or screen pictures through the use of selection of material can portray themselves in a different light. For instance i could put a digitally remastered picture of myself as my profile picture which may not look anything like me as it has been manipulated and my screen name could be "Amanda loves life and everybody" when it actual fact i could hate life and not be very fond of people at all. This is a minor case of manipulating identities there are much more serious cases for example when it comes to older men trying their luck at being a much younger, modern man than they are. Similarly they could post a profile picture which may not even be them and change their profile names to something completely different to their actual names. The risks with doing such things is being reported to the company of which the profile belongs or worse being handed over to the authorities depending on the kind of behaviour involved.

C) Page 167 What do you think of postmodern views which stress the fluidity of online selves and their apparent disembodied status, which has been argued frees people from being represented through signs of race, gender, class etc?

I believe that our online selves have potential to free us from the negative signs of race, gender and class as being online gives us the opportunity to be whoever we want to be. For instance Jim is a white, working class factory worker and Bob is a black middle to upper class lawyer. Online these personal facts play no part in the conversation they hold over conversation on MSN messenger as usch conversation is un personal as it is is not face to face however if it were these factors may contribute.

D) Page 168 Do cyberidentities constitute an alternative to 'normal social reality'?

Cyberidentities are an alternative to what is considered to be 'normal social reality'. However this notion of normal is dependent on the individual as we all have an idea of what is considered to be normal.Moving on as i have already expressed cyberidentities relates only to the 'cyber' identity not identity as a whole 'through the telegraph, the telephone, mass media and now online communications we have learnt that the self does not subsist only as an embodied presence but als0 as a networked presence'. Cyberidentites i feel serve as an escape for those who do not like the elements of their physical social reality and use cyber space to produce a person they would prefer to be.

E) Page 170 Are online relationships the same as offline ones?

Depending on what the relationship is depends on whether it will be the same offline or online from a personal point of view me and my boyfriend speak the same online as we do offline. However i do know that for some people talk online is easier for them as they may not be as confident in real life as they are online. It is far easier to say what you feel online than it is offline as you do not have that face to face interaction this i see as a negative rather than positive you could for example be arguing with somebody online more so than you could do face to face, it prevents interuption, body language and facial expression. Sometimes it becomes apparent that their is a degree of falseness and that through cyberidentities we can be more or else who we want to be online than offline. So yes in most cases i do think that relationships are different offline than online.

Week 2 Topic 2 Questions A-G

Topic 2 week 2 questions A-G (Web Forums and Blogs)

A) Navigation - How do you get around web forum; is it an online conversation?

It is true to say a web forum is like an online conversation site however this depends on whether or not the members are both online to speak to eachother at the same time so it is almost instant. However if you are not online the messages will be automatically saved to your account until you check again. Web forums are simialr to that of Facebook, Myspace and Bebo etc etc in which you create an account verified by an existing email account this then allows you to have a profile which consists of information about yourself and a "posting wall" of which anybody who is in your contact list may write or comment on. Similarly the blogger.com profiles work the same yet the blogs are usually about a certain topic and the conversations on both given examples can continue on "threads2 of conversation.

B) Expression- do you express yourself in the same way? How do we "take turns"?

I personally feel i express myself the same way as i would do in everyday life, i dont see the point in trying to be somebody that you are not. However the problem with such online sights is that people can make up profiles to portray themselves in a given light and be whoever they want to be. It is more than easy to become somebody else in a virtual world where nobody sees you face to face it can be a positive or negative effect. For al fair amount of people it gives them the chance to be anybody but themselves. Such webistes take away the element of being human you can be happy, sad, grumpy, rude, carefree without the initial worry of the consequences or who may be watching or seeing what you do.

C) Interaction- How does it compare to face to face seminars?

Seminars would lose to key things there would be less formality and less interaction it would be harder to gain feedback and opinion from group members as face to face seminars allow for all of the above but in depth.

D)Time- Activities being over a week?

A week seems to go by quicker than 7 days and as was said before it depends on people's commitments as to what is completed or not and whether you gain any help, feedback or answers to what you need to. Time management with this unit and all th others is key as to fall behind by one week will only double the work load.

E) Authority and identity- who is in charge?

When it comes to these web forums and our university blogs there are rules of "engagement"and conduct (terms and conditions) you agree with by becoming part of the website. Administartors have the right to take away or baqn you from sights if they believe your contents are in any way incriminating, disturbing or rude.
To create an account there is a registration page you have to follow which includes full name, date of birth, email address and password - with verification. Once you have given consent you will then be sent an email which by opening will most probably activate your new account.

F) Speech/Writing- does the forum have features we would associate with either? A combination

Web forums and blogs both have features which would be recognisable either through each different company or ones that are similar and simple to use so not to confuse its users.

G) Do you have the knowledge, the media 'literacy' to be a user, an advanced user?if not how does it feel

I would say that i personally have an average amount of knowledge when it comes to web forums and blogging. At first it takes me a while to get to grips with things so i usually give myself a day or so to really try. It then gets abit addicitive and after a while i just use such things when necessary.

Week 2 Topic 1 focusing JUST on questions:A, C, E and F

Week 2 Topic 1

A)With windows Vista replacing XP and Office 2007 replaicing 2003 (and so on) what is "upgrade culture" all about? Is some new media change just consumerism thought up by big business?

Upgrade culture in these terms deals with the continuation of technology and the nature of it always being "upgraded" as it were.the example being Office was the successful and popular package designed by Microsoft and used for a few years as a global company there became a "need" to design something that would satisfy these "needs" according to Microsoft of being newer, better and newer again. I believe thatsome new media change is just consumerism another example is the Apple I-pod there have been at least four or five upgrades since they were first made all the time claiming to be newer and better than the last model. For some reason we seem believe them but surely if they had really thought about it they would have at first produced a super duper I-pod that did everything in just one model. However it appears that would be too easy

C) Are new media a source of "progress" in the sense that they enhance things we do in spheres of social activity- businesses, education, shopping, democracy etc? Could we say that such a proposition involves an "ideology of progress"?

New media= new technology, upgrade, bigger, better, faster, stronger and newer. "These connotations of 'the new' are dervied from the modernist belief in social progress as delivered by technology" (Lister et al p.11) As a constant thing of change we have no choice but to go along with this "progress" if we wish to continue in our social activity spheres. Businesses, education and democracy are probably the areas to affected most by this "progress" and this will be due to legislation enflicting it on them. Because of this enfilction it is fair to say our activities will become more advanced than before. If we look at the ways in which we communicate telephone, email, msn messsenger, facebook etc etc they become advanced so do we be it through their own laws or the people above them this then ties in with the ideology of progress because that is exactly what it is doing.

E) Digiatlity and code. Imagine you couldn't compose your assignments on computer. How would a hand-written editing and composition process be different?

A hand wirtten composition would be very different from a computerised one firstly there would be very many drafts before you even had the final product. This would be down to mistakes through grammar and spelling and indents with paragraphing. Not only so but to produce an essay for example is very time consuming anyway let alone having to write it by hand through perfection. At least with a computerised version the process is very simple when writing an essay the simple tools of cut, copy and paste spring to mind as the whole process really boils down to editing. Thinking about it more we take the computer for granted as not so long ago you would have to complete assignments by hand.

F) What do you make of Lunenfield's concept of 'immersive interactivity'?What could we apply it to?

Lunenfiled's concept of immerse interativity i believe can be best related to computer games as he says 'we move from seeking to gain access to data and information to navigating representations of space or simulated 3D worlds we move into 'immersive' interaction" (Lister et al p.21). The user (player) can enter these wrolds through watching a flat screen and using controls or putting on headsets which 2include visual and sensory pleasures of spatial exploration" (Lister et al p.21)

Week 1 Topic 2 a,b and c

Joseph Goebbels 1930s speech about Radio

a) How is Goebbel's view of radio linked to a political ideology? Why does he identify certain kinds of communications potential in the medium?
`The speech as a whole is only marginally about radio having read it two or three times the underlying purpose of the speech is to reinforce politically ideologies, and somehow linking them to the new medium of radio. And at the period of time it was a great invention which came just at the right time to influence the german public experiencing a contrversial war at a time when they most depended on the government. I belive he points out potential within the medium to divert attention away from the idea behind the use of radio at the time. Which will have been sued for such things as propaganda etc.

b) How migh his views seem to people today? What is radio 'good for' in your opinion?

I think we take radio for granted these days as well as all forms of technology although we have seen mobile phones and the internet develop at our age we have never really had to be without it so never known any better. We laugh at our parents because they cant work mobile phones or the internet properly and our grandparents barely no where to start. But in their day and age they never had these forms of technology. So to Goebbles and the rest of the people at that point in time radio was a great technological advance. So in one way Goebble's speech was aplicable because of this.
Radio is still a great medium one that makes up a choice of which technology we use and one that can still speak amongst the unheard, it too provides a great source of entertainment.

c)What kind of things have been said about the internet and the impact it is having on society?

There is no doubt that we're living in a technological age. According to Computer Industry Almanac Inc., more than 625 million computers are used worldwide, including some 182 million in the United States. A study done in 2000 by that same company reported that more than 400 million people across the globe use the Internet, up from a mere 3 million in 1994. That number could reach 1 billion by 2005.
With such a surge in Internet usage, it should come as no surprise that its impact on society has been heavy. Our purpose is to identify both positive and negative factors that determine the Internet's impact on our society. With that in mind, we invite you to read more about issues surrounding this technology. http://www.mjbear.com/323/society/

Companies are booming because of the internet people pay for delivery, pay for what they cant gte in store and the best quotes they can get for products such as car and home insurance. Little businesses thrive on the hype of the internet. Negatives of the internet include website scams and plagurism

Week 1 Topic 1

Having read and researched online the below relate to each internet form of communication and inlcude both the characteristics and how I use them.

Email and email lists - A method of electronically passing messages from one computer user to another, typically over computer networks. www.bbn.com/utility/glossary/E. Going back to the very first time i created an email i signed upto MSN the most popular messaging service at the time and created my email address (which you need to have to even create an email) which is afrogirl88@hotmail.com i still use to this day although slightly embarassing but still applicable to myself. i send emails to family and friends regularly as well as to keep in touch with my tutors at uni. Although fully aware that at one period of time the only form of communication would have been writing letters.It is now so easy to get in touch with friends a couple of hours away or relatives the other side of the world.

Usenet and Bulletin board systems- Usenet is an online bulletin board system that began at Duke University in 1979. Usenet users can post messages to newsgroups that can be read (and responded to) by anyone who has access to the system through a newsreader. Over the years, the number of newsgroups has grown into the thousands, hosted all over the world and covering every conceivable topic. http://www.lycos.com/info/usenet--usenet-newsgroup.html Personally the only time i can think of having used such or searched bulletin boards is where i may leave a comment complaining about a product having seen other peeople experiencing the same problems or the most logical this unit that i am still getting to grips with.

IRC's chat rooms, messenger services- Msn, facebook chat, and Skype are the most current and popular forms of messenger services. An online conversation can only happen if two plus people are "online" using their accounts for which ever service they use. This service has gone global and now liekwise to email you can chat to anyone in any country almost instantly using this service. I regularly use these services as it is a simple, easy and cheap way of communicating with my friends, peers and family.

Webistes- A web site is a related collection of web files that includes an initial file called a home page. You can get to a web site by typing in the home page address, or URL, in your browser. From this home page, you can get to all the other pages on a web site.www.scotsmist.co.uk/glossary_w.html I use websites to look into various things from shopping, to television programmes, to facebook etc it is a quick and effective way of finidng out information I specifically want to.

first week back

The first week back hasnt been as easy as first thought. Got to start getting organised and getting a head start on the work!April is going to be a crazy month for deadlines freaking me out already!!