Its time to move on....

Hi everyone, glad to meet you all back once again. However i am sad to say that this would be the last entry that i would be doing for my UIR lesson.

Throughout these 7 weeks of UIR, i learnt alot of valuables lessons and together with that i have gathered tons of precious memories blogging. It was through UIR that i learnt to blog for the first time in my life. I am glad to say that UIR has been a rather enriching experience to me.

I was taught to search the websites by identifying and comparing the different categories of the internet resources such as discussion forums, electronic journals or magazines and the WWW sites. I was also taught to identify the different purposes of internet resources and compare them as well.

In addition to that, I learnt to search for information using different search facilities which I never realized existed. In total there are about four different types of search facilities namely the search engines, Meta search engines, subject directories and databases. These four search facilities can be used for different purposes.

Most of all, I was introduced and taught to use a criterion of which I should utilize when searching for information. Purpose, coverage, authority, accuracy are some main points of the criterion which would enable me to evaluate the effectiveness of different Internet search facilities. Not only does this ensure that I do get the correct information, it also prevents me form obtaining information from a source which might be fictitious or inaccurate.

Talking What?!?!

Hi everyone…

Last week during my UIR lesson, we did yet another fun activity and that was to go to
TalkingCock.com website and evaluate it based on the criterion that I was taught in my previous lessons. Also we were made to do a role play such as being either the prime minister, Singaporean or foreigner and describe how we would react to this website.

So as for the evaluation, I think that this website is rather interesting. It has lots of information regarding various topics such as politics and business. However the information contained in them are fictitious and we should not depend on any facts stated in them. The websites also has links to other pages such as forums and features to enable us to view even more entries on the various topics. It also has a search facility which I found to be very useful. The website belongs to the TalkingCock.com itself, however it was last updated on 2003. It also has some means of communication such as through email which would enable me to contact them should I have anything to enquire about. The website was quite accessible as it required no registration and the navigation around the website was simple. Presentation wise, all the contents and tabs were arranged neatly on the screen. The menu bar on the top of the screen is like the summary of the various headings there are, while the index on the left side of the screen shows some of the sub topics within the heading itself. Overall it has been an entertaining and website.

As for the role play, my row was made to play the role of the Prime Minister. So I was supposed to put myself in the shoes of a Prime Minister and describe my views on the website. Well firstly I would be rather discontented with the website and its contents. As a Prime Minister, it makes me feel as if I am not going a good job and that this website is the only way that the people can express their feelings about the government. Also it makes me feel as if they are not being serious about what is happening in Singapore and just continue to mock at the whole serious situation.

Well as for the role of a Singaporean, I think that the website is like some sort of a medium to enable people to express their views without being known and criticized at. Since Singapore is a country where some sort of freedom of speech is allowed, I think that it is rather interesting to read about the various topics without having to worry about anything.

As for the role of a foreigner, I would firstly feel very weird at the fact that there are people making fun of their own country and posting it up on websites such as this TalkingCock.com. It makes me have a very bad impression on Singaporeans despite being a cosmopolitan country. It makes me wonder whether the majority of Singaporeans are like that or not.

So below is the screen shot of the TalkingCock.com which I was made to evaluate:

Forums Day!!!

Hi everyone, welcome back....hope u have enjoyed reading my blog so far.

Recently i have posted questions regarding my topic "Discuss the impact of drug abuse on youths" on several forums dedicated specially to information related to drugs. I am totally glad that i did receive some kind of a reply for my question posted on the 2 forums. So below are the screen shots of the question and replies that i have received.

From: http://www.drugs-forum.co.uk

From: http://www.soberrecovery.com

Wiki wiki Wiki

Hi everyone!!

Last week , my class did some intersting things. We learnt how to use wiki for the first time. Initially it needed a little getting used to as I was not sure how to use and how to navigate my way through the wiki. Eventually over weekend, I had some practice while browsing and now I am quite familiar with it. I find that it is somewhat similar to the wikispace that we had to use while doing BSIT.

I also realized that wiki can be shared across the groups and classes as well. This means that the entries posted up were not private after all. We can post entries as a group yet the wiki enables us to write notes as well. In addition to that, we can also post up threads within the wiki itself. So wiki is really beneficial as it enables the browsing through all the posts without having any kind of restrictions.


Below is a screen shot of the work that i had posted up on wiki.

My Dream Holiday!!!

Hi everyone,

I totally loved last wk's lessons, because it enabled me to find some rather interesting information about my dream holiday.

So here it is...

The website that I researched about my dream holiday is: http://www.australia-goldcoast.com.au/

The website provides useful information describing what Gold Coast city is all about. It has a link which totally talks about the history of Gold Coast City and it was somewhat fascinating to read it. The website also has various tabs which enable the readers to know more about Gold Coast city. For example, the Accommodations tab focuses fully on the various places tourists can stay at. The Attractions tab and the Local link tabs are the main ones that really enlighten me about what are some of the interesting places there are that I could tour around and what are some of the local activities there are. I also liked the travel Advise tab, as it educates me on how I should be wary of myself when I am travelling in Gold Coast. There is also a Japanese edition link, which enables readers who knows Japanese to read it with ease. However, I felt that it would have been much better if there were links to other languages as well.

The website belongs to the Gold Tweed Coast Pte Ltd. There is a Contact tab which enables readers to contact the person in charge either through mail or telephone. It is also up to date and was recently updated on 14 April 2008. It was also rather easy to access the webpages as there was no need to register to read the information. The whole website looks crowed actually because the background is too busy with the watermarked pictures of leaves and trees. It thus makes it more difficult for readers to read the content. However I like the fact that there is like a menu system at the side of the screen, which enables the users to browse through the various pages with ease. Presentation wise, most of the information are laid in a table format hence making it look neat. All in all, the website was not quite user friendly, because it did not have any search functions or help information that could help me get more information.

So throughout my whole evaluation of this website, I chose Purpose as the most important criteria that I had used to get information about my Dream Holiday. I chose to go to Gold Coast City because I have never been there in my life. In addition to that, the reviews and the experiences that my friends had shared with me about Gold Coast had sparked an interest in me to travel there. I want to experience all the same exciting things that my friends had experienced as well.


Picture Time...










Reflections:

While doing practical 6, I learnt quite a few things. For example, I got to know that there are actually many evaluation criteria that are available. I did not know that I could use these criterias to find for information. These criteria helped me to compare websites with one another and see which one is better and more beneficial to me. It also helped me to rate the value of information found in the websites. So after this lesson, I have learnt to find information based on these criterias to ensure the validity of my research rather than just blindly find any resources that might not even be accurate.

Purpose of internet resources...

Hi everyone...

This is a post which i had forgotten to post up 2 wks ago. Thank god, my teacher reminded me or else i would have totally forgotten about it. Well here it is now.
Hope it would be beneficial to you guys.
Read and enjoy.....

Listed below are the purposes of resources :

· Information

· Advocacy

· Business/marketing

· News

· Personal

· Entertainment

Resource 1: Information

Purpose of resource: Provides factual information.

Reasons:

Informational websites are one of the best types of websites that are often frequented. It provides the readers with loads of information regarding a certain topic that they are searching for. It also helps to educate them with these useful information. However, we have to be wary that not all information displayed on the net can be trusted. We have to look into several factors such as the publishers and the copyright of the website to confirm its validity. All in all, informational websites are indeed rather beneficial to the world.

Resource 2: Advocacy

Purpose of resource: Increase awareness and voice out opinions relating to a particular topic.

Reasons:

Advocacy enables people that come from all walks of life to discuss and argue about a particular topic that they might support. It also serves as a means for these people to influence one another about their beliefs of what they think might be correct or wrong. Hence it functions as a medium for people to analyze the topic from different angles and not look at it from one point and assume it is right. In addition to that, such websites also create awareness about the relevant topics and let the world know that such an event or issue is being raised.

Resource 3: News

Purpose of resource: Report news to the world.

Reasons:

Websites that cater only to news is very efficient because its primary goal would be to report any news to the world in just a click away. It enables us to view the news at any time of the day without having the hassle to flip through the large newspapers. In addition to that, we can get to know everything that is happening in the world around us. Normally there are 2 different types of news. One of which would be the general news and the other would be related to a certain topic. Hence it enable us to choose what kind of news we would like to read.

Resource 4: Personal

Purpose of resource: Encompasses the personal information about a particular individual.

Reasons:

Personal websites are created by an individual to express opinions regarding a certain topic or simply to just say something about himself. Such websites are normally done to either advertise something about the person or the services he provides or to either have an online store. Thus it serves as a means to create awareness about the website and the reasons for it. However there are some advantages and disadvantages to having such personal websites. Although some might still be alright with such websites, others might find it as a waste or own such websites.

Wonders of Internet.......

Last week, while doing my practical for my uir lesson, I learnt that there are actually three different search facilities that we can use to enhance the output of results of whatever we might be finding for. The three search facilities are Search engine, the Meta search engine and Subject directory. Before this lesson I didn’t even know that such facilities ever existed, well except for the search engine of cause. But other than that I didn’t know about the other 2. So while experimenting with these search facilities, I actually came to realize the benefits of each individual facility.

Like for example, the search engine would just give you all the results pertaining to the keywords typed in the textbox. Whereas for the Metasearch its actually passes the keyword to the other search engine and output the results. On the other hand, the Subject Directory outputs results that a re categorized according to the keyword typed.

I also learnt other ways that I can enhance the output of the results that I want. I learnt how to use Booleans such as AND, OR and NOT to find my results in a much more effective ways. Just by adding them to the keywords, it does make a significant difference to the outputs being displayed. So in future, I am going to use these Booleans to enhance my research.

Money!!! Money!!!

Hi everyone, back again to blog about my shopping experience....

Well since today we did not have our uir lesson, we had some e-learning stuff to do. One of which was the shopping part. It was so fun for me to shop for things that i would love to buy given the limited amount of just $5oo. I had the feeling that i was shopping for real. Normally when i do shopping, i would try to spend within $100, but because of this exercise, i was so excited to see what it was like to spend 5 times my actual amount.

So while searching through the eBay website, i thought that i might buy myself a handbag and a nice pair of sunglasses since i have none of those that i personally own.

So these are what i bought....

PRETTY! COACH LARGE PINK EXPANDABLE SATCHEL BAG PURSE

Price: $378

A Simply STUNNING Satchel! Coach's Large Expandable Satchel Set Has Two Snaps On Either Side, a Beautiful Front-to-Back Laced~Leather Hidden Magnetic Close, and is Incredibly Sleek and Stylish! Four Protective Feet on Bottom ~ Gorgeous Khaki/Gold Coach Signature 'C' Satiny Lined Interior, AND Shiny Silver Hardware! Matching Shades-of-Pink Coach Leather HeartCharm Accessory Has a Mini-White Coach Hangtag, and Attaches With a Dogleash Release Clip! Gotta Love It!~

NEW CHRISTIAN DIOR SUNGLASSES STRONGER 2 BLACK D28 HOT!

Price : $104.95

Brand: CHRISTIAN DIOR
Model: DIOR STRONGER 2 c.D28VK
Lense Color: gray gradient
Frame Color: shiny black plastic & silver metal
Origin: Made in Italy

So through my fake online shopping experience, I have learnt to use the various websites such as yahoo, eBay and shopping to do my practical 3 exercise. I also learnt the various methods it took to purchase an item and to stay within budget. All in all, I had a great time shopping for fun……..

Reviews on Tut 1 & 2

Hi everyone....

Have been doing e-learning stuff for uir lately. Seems like there is alot that has to be done. haha.... anyway i have learnt several things in doing the tut 1 & 2. Firstly i was able to learn and realise how much the internet has played a big role in my life...well mostly poly life la....haha due to the never ending projects.....

Anyway i also realised that internet is so much better and effcient compared to borrowing books. Well maybe some may still find books better....but i am surely a huge fan of the internet. i find that not only it saves me time to search for a particular thing, it also provides me with loads of information relevant to what i am searching for. This has hence increased my liking for the net even more.

In addition to that, i have also learnt something about advocacy websites. Through my research, i realised the need for such websites. One of which would be to enable people from all walks of life to discuss and argue about a particular topic that they might support. Not only does these webites serve as a means for these people to influence one another about their beliefs of what they think might be correct or wrong, it also functions as a medium for them to analyze the topic from different angles and not look at it from one point and assume it is right.

Myself

Hello everyone!!! My name is Farah. i am currently pursueing my studies in Informatics and Information Technology. Right now i am in my third year. I love simple things in life. My favourites would include chocolates, watching loads of tv and hanging out with my frens. I love to read and watch scary ghost movies. I kind of like the adrenaline rush when i watch these movies which scare the hell out of me.


My favourite two links are:
http://www.youtube.com/
http://www.gv.com.sg/