5th lesson

This week, we learnt how to create site feed for our blog.  Initially, I thought that it was quite tedious to do so, as this is my first blog and I did not really know much about creating links, but found that it was actually a breeze to do two of it for my blog.  I found that it was very useful to me, if I were to create another blog for personal use.  I have seen such "links" from my friends' blog previously, and was curious how to create one.  So, after this week's tutorial, I have learnt a new thing, which is to create site feeds, which enables me to view my friends' blog instantly with just a click. :) It is useful in the sense that if I have say, 100 friends and I like to view their blogs regulaarly, it would be tedious for me to memorise all of their blog URL.  Hence tthis feature allows me to "save" the blog links of my friends in my blog and as and when I feel like taking a look at a friend's blog, I can always search for their names in my blog and open a new tab for easy viewing of their blogs.
Also, from this week lesson, we were introduced to two different search engines, Metacrawler as well as Yahoo Directory.

I felt that Metacrawler is more of an effective tool when researching for my research topic, as Yahoo Directory tends to give me irrelevant search results.  Out of the 592 search results that Yahoo Directory shows, none of it is related to the development and usage of Twitter in education in a way or another.  Hence, Metacrawler is of better use to me.  However, there is also a disadvantage of Metacrawler, as users cannot type too many words in the search box.  As for the advantage of Metacrawler, or its feature, the teacher explained to us that Metacrawler is actually a website which brings us to the search results from other search engines such as Yahoo and Google search, Bing and Ask. 

Above shows the results that Yahoo directory gave me which are irrelevant.  It also depicts the fact that the related categories that it suggested to me is not really true ie. Twitter is not related to Peace Corps and American counseling association.  However, from the lecture nnotes, I understand that subject directories contain human-compiled categories, such as education.  Hence, they tend to be of the right category, since the tendency to categorise wrongly is limited.

For the practical activity for last week and this week, we are required to add in information that we have searched for previous practical activities and then present our findings in the EIR wiki page.  I find it very useful, as I am exposed to many other people's point of view and also anle to acquire more knowledge as others share their views in the wiki page.  In this manner, I am not only able to find out more information from other fellow course mates, I can also get to see the various photos or videos that others posted relating to my research topic, whic helps to broaden up my knowledge about it.  Of course, we must not forget to cite the author of the source for his or her work at the end of the sharing of ideas.

4th lesson - E-learning

HI everyone, here's my 4th post for this blog.  This week is E-learning, hence we are supposed to complete E-learning activity as well as practical 3. 

For Practical 3, we are required to describe the differences between Google search and Google Scholar.  Personally, I feel that Google Scholar is more suitable for my research as it gives me a more accurate picture.  Due to its higher credibility, I find that it gives a more precised idea of my project topic.  I am impressed of the various search facilities that are available, for example we are able to extract websites based on the year that we prefer.  Also, it is possible for us to choose the topic area that we want, such as Business, Science etc.

For last week's in-class lesson, one of the activity was to participate in a discussion question given to our class.  I find it helpful, as different people have different views about things.  We are able to hear from other people about their views about different topics and be exposed to new things such as other's experience.  When I first saw the discussion question, I did not really understand the meaning of it, but Ms Lian explained to us in layman's term.  I started to pondered deeply about the question and it took me quite a long time to finally post my views.  I have to read at least twice to see if there is any grammatical errors or misleading phrase etc.  I feel that although discussion forums are very useful, be it to students finding out more about their schoolwork or to working adults to enquire more about certain products, we have to be cautious of what we say in such forums, as we should not post anything that would harm others.  We should not post provacative remarks about others or defame others, as we would not want others to do the same to us.  However, I would not feel anxious to talking to other people that I do not know, as they do not really know about my identity.  I think I would continue to participate in forums, especially when I faced problems in my schoolwork or areas in projects which I am unfamiliar with.

Why is citation and biblography important?  This is because we must give credit to authors of the original work, as they are the ones who produce them.  Hence, we must cite the authors of their views and sayings.  Moreover, it helps to prevent plagarism, which is taking other people's work and treating them like it is our work.  It is always important to cite authors and provide biblography, as failure to do so may lead to serious implications, as authors may sue them for plagarism of their work.  Biblography is important, as it allows the person reading a project to understand more about a topic.  For example, I complete a project about SARS.  And if I provide biblography, others would be interested where I got my information from, say from Lifestyle magazine and on page 6. 

As for the SecondLife activity, I have chosen Port Seraphine for my shopping island.  During my shopping experience, I realised that there are many goods and service that this virtual world allows me to do. 

For example, there is numerous apparels to choose from, from gorgeous dinner dress to casual shirts and jeans.

Dinner dresses-Awesome !!

Swimwears of different designs

There is even makeups for us ladies to select how our makeup would look like.

Eye makeups are shown above

These are the models portraying how the various makeups would look like.

I am amazed that there are even men's department in Port Seraphine.

This shows the portrays of how men would like their abs to look like, perhaps when they go for a swim.

This is very creative and it would be impossible for real life human to select how masculine they prefer in a shopping centre, hence this is one of the advantages that we have in virtual world.  :)

As for the service provided, there's a redelivery service which I took a snapshot of.

Not only that, there is also prizes to be won and sales going on, just like the real world experience.

For the shopping experience, I feel that it is very real, as we are able to sit on stairs or even lie on the sofa bed available in the virtual world.

                                    Resting and replenishing energy after a long shopping trip.

                                        Sitting by the stairs to rest, while viewing clothes around.

Unfortunately, in Port Seraphine, the items sold there are chargeable, which must be paid using L$(money in SecondLife), so I did not make any purchase as I did not have any.

The snapspot above shows the amount of monet which I have to pay (in US$) if I were to buy one of these dresses.

All the prices are clearly stated when you put your mouse on top on the item that you are interested in.

For my shopping trip, I am able to walk, run and even fly.  In the real world, we are unable to fly to speed up our movement. 

I am also able to change my clothes that I am in very quickly, so as to suit the occassion that I am in.

I changed into a lovely dress half-way through my shopping experience. Happy :P

Also, during the experience, the speed of access is very fast, despite the many users in SecondLife. 

As I shopped in Port Seraphine, I found many users also touring in Port Seraphine.

We can even make friend with other users that we meet during the shopping experience in SecondLife.

I feel that this virtual shopping is very interesting and fun, as we do not have to travel physically to buy the various items sold in SecondLife.  With just a click, we are able to purchase the clothes and makeups what we would like how we look like.  It is indeed very special to be able to choose the fantastic bodylines, be it for the females or males, which we are unable to in real life.  Imagine everyone being able to purchase the bodyline they we yearn to have, ie. how slim they are or how masculine they would like to be.  We are able to fly in the virtual world, which in real life we are unable to.  Shopping was so easy and there would not be situation such as crowded places, as we are able to teleport to different places if the place that we would like to go is crowded.  Also, we do not have to bump into other people while shopping in a crowded place in the virtual world, as we are able to fly past objects to reach the destination that we would like to go.  We are also able to choose how we would look like in Secondlife, which is pretty amazing to be able to do so, because in actual life, how we look like would depends on our parents' genes.  There are also different services offered, one of such would be the redelivery service.  In conclusion, the virtual shopping experience was certainly a total new experience for me, as it was my first time buying beautiful clothes and makeups in virtual world. 

Continuation of EIR Lesson 2

In  addition to last week's post, I would like to add in what I have learnt from the practical that I did in class during the second EIR lesson.  From the second practical activity, I am able to diffentiate the difference between organisational website, blog, Electronic journal/ magazine and dicussion forums.  The difference between an organisational webisite and a blog would be that organisational website provides the specific scientific knowledge of a topic, for example diabetes.  It would give the definition of the illness, who it may affect and how do we prevent it or get a cure.  It would normally be written by a professional in that area.  However, a blog tends to give more personal views about diabetes.  It would include daily "journals" of a diabetes patient's life and would most probably give examples of food that they try not to eat, such as sweet food and drinks likes swiss rolls etc.  The difference between an E-journal/ magazine and a discussion forum is that an e-journal is a  "formal" piece of writing and may be the electronic version of a printed publication.  It is similar to materials published periodically, such as newspapers and magazines.  It does not allows for communication.  On the other hand, a discussion forum tends to allow users to post queries that they have onto the Internet and usually other members would respond with answers.  So a discussion forum is just like a platform whereby we can ask anything that we are unsure of, from advice on getting a mobile phone to queries about schoolwork.  There would be communication between users, as many different users would start to post whatever knowledge they know on that particular subject or topic.

For the tutorial homework that requires us to shop online, I personally felt that it was created to allow us to find out the objectives of shopping online.  I felt that it allows me to explore the wide variety of unique goods and services offered.  It was also very convenient to purchase them from eBay and Yahoo auction etc, as we do not have to be physically present to buy them.  Just a click and we will receive them right at our doorstep. (That is if we opt for delivery, which some websites offers it for free)  Moreover, they tend to be much cheaper than shops selling in shopping malls, as shops in shopping malls have to pay for rental, which they have to add the additional cost onto the goods or services that they sell.  Another boon to shopping online would be that it allows shoppers to compare the different prices sold on website, such as comparing prices between eBay and yahoo auction.  However, there are also banes to shopping online.  This is because some scheming people will take the opportunity to scam innocent victims.  Also, it is very difficult to buy clothes such as dresses or shorts online, as these items often requires us to try the sizes that fits us best.  In conclusion, online shopping serves as a platform that helps busy individuals to save the time and effort to go down to shops physically just to buy the items that they need. 

"Shopping Spree!"

This is the second post for the EIR blog.  So far, I have learnt about various websites and their uses.  For example, forums are there for people to query about things which they are unfamiliar of and people reesponds with answers to their questions. 

I have since chosen to research the topic of development and usage of Twitter in education.  I think that this is an interesting topic since we are currently living in a "digital world", whereby our lives revolves around technology.

Our assignment for the week is to use various websites such as eBay and yahoo auction to "purchase" things we would like to have, if we have $500 to spend.

Well, for me, I prefer to buy practical items which I most likely would use in the near future.

One item that I would yearn to have is this pretty checkered white coat, which would cost $51, inclusive of postage.

 Another thing which I would buy if I were to have $500 to spend would be this Adidas jacket costing $40.  This could be used for rainy days to keep me warm. :) 

This watch costing $87 seems to be a good buy for me.  It is a gold watch studded with genuine Swarovski crystals and is scratch proof so I do not have to be constantly worried that I may damage this expensive watch.  In addition, it comes with a three year buckle-to-buckle warranty.

 

It would also be good to have this black Maxx New York

Wooster Satchel bag ($100) , as it is not only trendy but also classy.

This Sunbeam Heritage Series Hand Mixer would be ideal when I bake cakes or muffins during my free time.  It has a comfortable soft-grip handle. Plus, it also comes with two chrome beaters, two dough hooks and two whisks and a matching stainless steel bowl with cover, so that the crumbles would be easy to clean up after using it.  e-Shopping.com is currently selling it at the price of $43.65.

Molto Italiano: Simple Italian ($69.95) is a cooking book which I would like to have, as it teaches me how to cook simple yet tasty Italian side dishes and deserts.

 

This gorgeous Carolyn Pollack Sterling Silver Jewelry set ($103) is so elegant that every lady  would love to own it.

 

The last item that I would buy would be this Nature's Way Vitex Fruit 400mg, Capsules costing $5.  It would be suitable for students or working adults which seldom have fruits for lunch or dinner. 

 

Tadas .  This would be how I would spend the $500 shopping through the Internet.  However, there would be limitations for reliability through shopping online, as many individuals might take the opportunity to scam others of their money.  Hence, one should be wary of such cases when shopping online. 

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Introduction of Myself

Hi everyone, I'm Shi Hui from Diploma in Business Studies Grouping.  You might ask me why did I choose this EIR as my CDS.  It is because I've selected "Digital Literacies" cluster for my certificate programme, and EIR is part of the programme offered to me.  I hope to be able to understand more about the Digital world including Internet research etc. It would be helpful to have such handy knowledge, especially in the working world in the near future. 

My favourite past time activities are playing netball, as well as going out on shopping trips with my family members and friends.  I learnt to play netball since I was in Secondary One.  Netball was my CCA back then.  I love to play the position of wing defence or wing attack.  Netball is a competitive game which involves 7 players and one important skill to play netball is to give all your best till the last minute and to be flexible.  To find out more about this sport, there is a video in youtube website which I find very infomative.  Here's the URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBuxsRnU50A

Hope you all will find this video attached below useful ! :)



Other than that, I would like to travel to different countries around the world.  I like to explore the various cultures and traditions of countries.  Moreover, I enjoy indulging in unique cuisines and last but not least, the shopping experience in different countries.  Of the countries that I have been to, I would recommend Korea and Macau for travel destinations.  In Korea, one would fall in love with their infamous Korean Ginseng Chicken soup, which is very nutricious and keeps you warm in cold weather.  Not to be missed are Kimchi, Korean Barbeque and Bimbim Bap.  As for Macau, there are many delicacies including Portuguese tarts, crab porridge, almond biscuits and many, many more for me to name.  Macau and Korea also sell many trendy and fashionable clothes that are affordable, which are suitable for students at my age looking to go for shopping trips with their family members.

As for my favourite dramas, just like other teenagers, I'm also quite into Korean dramas.  I find the story plot intriguing and engaging.  Some of them include Boys over Flowers and Cruel Temptation.

I also like surfing the Internet, chatting with friends as well as playing Facebook and Viwawa games. 

That's about me.  Hope to get to know more friends in the upcoming week. ﺕ