Faith Wolfs' Weblog

Module 4: Tasks

risingsone — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 05:14:38 +0000

Downloading tools/plug-in tasks:
(1): Task:
In your learning log, record which programs you downloaded and note which (if any) facets you think might prove useful.

I downloaded Web Copier for Windows, Version 4.6.
This is a trial version for a period of 15 days evaluation at which time there is the option to buy the program.
Once the program is loaded, you are able to create a new project which entails typoing in the URL of the page you want an offline copy of, and the program downloads it into the browser.
This is an excellent program for viewing websites which contain information that you are interested in for later viewing.Search Engine Task:
Using Web Tools
Specialised Databases.

When I attempted to open the link, both pages gave me an error message. “File not found”.
This part of the exercise was therefore not completed due to this problem. It was reported to the tutor through the online forum.

(2)Task:
Choose your most commonly used internet search engine and do a search with words of your choosing.
Record the first hit and number of hits in your learning log.

For this task, I used Google (http://www.google.com) and searched the term “internet communications”. This returned 44 million hits.

For this task, I used Copernic and searched the term “internet communications”. This returned 44 hits.

(3)Task:
What differences do you notice? Why? Which search, on first glance gave you the most promising results?

Results:
I downloaded Copernic Meta for PC which installs a toolbar in the browser, and a desktop menu. This program allows you to search for files on your pc, or through the search facilities.
I believe it to be a valuable asset to locate files, for example, assessments stored on the computer.
I do not care for the toolbar, however, that it adds to the browser, and prefer to search through the usual search engines, for example, google or yahoo.

Module 3: Tasks

risingsone — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:32:15 +0000

(1)Task:
Record any difficulties you encountered with these exercises. Record your thoughts about html – do you feel a sense of achievement? What are the differences between html and blogging? what do you like best?

Having an understanding of HTML prior to completing this tutorial, I found it to be an easy tutorial, with clear instructions. From the concepts contained in this tutorial, I have completed my “Internet Basics Home Page” and have posted it into student presentations. HTML requires coding to make the page internet ready, whereas blogging does not require any coding to appear on the internet. I prefer to code pages as you have more input into how the page will look compared to a weblog.

(2)Task:
Make a summary of what you believe are the 5 most important ‘rules’ for writing online. Think about any differences between the articles: for example, is the advice in Nielsen’s paper — written in 1997 – still current?

a: Scannable layout: Web Pages that employ scannable text
b: Highlighted key words
c: Bulleted Lists
d: One idea per paragraph
e: Concise text: Half the word count (or less) than conventional writing.

Conclusion: Both articles advocate the same methods be employed when writing for the web. I believe these methods are still current.

(3)Task:
Test your web page according to the W3C standards by going to their ‘validator’ page. If your page does not conform (it probably won’t!) record in your learning log why you think this is: try and identify the particular tags or code that are causing trouble. Are the problems related mostly to display, usability, or accessibility?

Result:
Tested page at: http://validator.w3.org/
http://www.cricketaustralasia.com/index.htm.
This page failed validation and there were (5) errors found. These errors were caused by tags within the page. The main problems related to the display of the page.

(4) Task:
Go to the Curtin home page and find the policy documents that relate to copyright and IP in IT use.
Drawing on these sources, consider these questions:

have you used images or words on your web page or website that contravene copyright laws?
Would you be in breach of copyright if you put the Curtin logo at the top of your web page for an assignment?

Result:
The image used for my webpage was obtained from “http://www.sxc.hu” which is a copyright free image site. Some restrictions are placed by some authors for their particular image. I have used words from an “internet basics” tutorial website, but have made a note of this underneath the text.Under Section 5.5.7 of Curtin Copyright Policy and Procedures, I have found the following text which would relate to using the “curtin logo” for my webpage.

- the artistic work must be “static”, not one where the image can move or change colour (as in animation);

According to the wording contained within this section, it would appear that using the curtin logo would be an infringement of copyright.

(5)Task:
Consider various uses for blogs such as citizen journalism and personal blogging. Have you seen in your net travels any interesting uses for blogs? This blog entry is an opportunity to tell us what you really think of blogging!

Response:
I have seen blogs utilised for personal web pages and sporting information and links. Whole websites are contained within blogs and are used by a large number of users online. I believe blogs will continue to gain popularity.

Module 2: Tasks

risingsone — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:16:36 +0000

(1) Email Tutorial: We have been asked to undertake this tutorial in preparation for the first task which I have done.

Task:
What information about a user’s email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?

The information that is obtained from an email message includes the user’s domain, their username and account details; who the email was originally intended for; a reply address; bcc and cc email addresses (if applicable), and the subject of the email and content of the body of the email.

(2) Task:
In what cases would you find it useful to use the ‘cc’, ‘bcc’ and ‘reply all functions of email?

(a)CC: “carbon copy”. This particular email option is useful for sending an email to one person, and wanting another person to have a copy of that same email.
Example: You are arranging for a meeting and need to inform several people. Instead of emailing the same message more than once, inserting other recipients names into the “cc” will ensure that all receipients will receive the same email

(b)BCC: “Blind Carbon Copy”
Example: Each week, I send out a newsletter from my website to all the subscribers, but don’t want to list each subscriber’s email list to all recipients. By utilising the “bcc”, the same email is sent to everyone without revealing all receipients addresses and prevents possible spam

(c)”Reply To All”
Example: A friend forwards to you, for example, a chain letter which turns out to be a “hoax” email. By utilising the “reply to all” button, you are able to respond to both the sender and the other recipients of the original email to notify them all at the same time that the email should be ignored as it is false.

(d)Task:
In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by the receiver?

Example: When sending an attachment to an email, ensure that the attachment can be viewed, ie., if you are sending a word attachment, make certain the recipient has the necessary software to open and view it.

If you are not certain of the particular software the recipient is using, then send an ASCII, or plain text, document which will ensure they can read it.

The inclusion of the attachment name in your document ensures the recipient knows what is contained within it.

(e)Task:
What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?

Example: Filters or message rules can be used to sift through mail and route messages to appropriate mailboxes automatically. The filter or rule scans mail for keywords and names that you specify. I have filters set up for certain types of “spam” or “junk” mail from getting through to my email inbox. I achieve this by blocking email addresses that contain spam or malicious documents. RSS Feeds that I subscribe to I have filtered through to the folder “RSS Feeds” so as not to be included in my inbox for other email.

(f)Task:
How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?

Example: Creating a basic filing cabinet system in your email program, makes it simple to store and organize e-mail messages you want to retain. In my email, I have allocated folder names in alphabetic index so I can move, read, forward or delete messages from within these folders without having to look for the particular folder.

(g)Task:
What are the pros and cons of email lists versus discussion boards? Are there certain kinds of communication or purposes more suited to one or the other?

EMAIL LISTS:
Email allows you to send a message directly to another person, or a group, of people. Messages can range from short to long and may include quotes or attached files

Advantages:
Speedy responses.
You want or need regularly updated information about a particular topic.
You want to receive information from a group of people interested in the same topic.
A great method of keeping up to date with current events.
A good sounding board for other peoples ideas and opinions.

Disadvantages:
An easy way to waste time
Disputes of a personal nature can escalate.
There is a possibility of confusion arising from a personal opinion or viewpoint

DISCUSSION BOARDS:
Most discussion boards are kept on a single server maintained by the owner or originator of the forum or discussion board.

Advantages:
You don’t need an immediate answer
You want to participate in a community that is discussing a particular topic
You want to communicate with a group of people interested in the same topic
You need or want to provide extensive information about that topic.

Disadvantages:
Discussion threads can become complicated and go off topic from the original posting.
They can also become tedious as one general thought often splits into many thoughts (posts)
These then need to be responded to separately.
This is where some participants will begin to feel the threads become more argumentative instead of collaborative.

(h)Task:
Arrange with other students in the unit to meet up for a chat record observations from this chat in your learning log.You may want to think about and reflect upon what you enjoyed or didn’t enjoy about that chat method and what problems or benefits you think that method offers for internet communication.

(i)Task:
Follow your chosen newsgroup for a couple of days, and then post a message to the group. Cut and paste a copy of the entire message, including the header information.

Information:
This task proved to be problematic for me. Despite joining a newsgroup through Yahoo groups, I did post a message but never received a confirmation message from the moderator. After several attempts to gain access to my message, I was unsuccessful. At this time, I am looking for another group so I can complete this task. Please watch this space for further updates.

(j)Task:
Arrange with other students in the unit to meet up for a chat – record observations frm the chat in your learning log. You may want to think about and reflect upon what you enjoyed or didn’t enjoy about that chat method, and what problems or benefits you think that method offers for internet communication.

Information:
I chatted to (2) other students through ICQ, and found it to be very frustrating at times. Messages often do not reach the recipient, and chats can stagnate because of this. Unless you authorise the other person, chatting is very difficult and time consuming. Given other methods of chat, ie., yahoo and msn messenger, I would not recommend ICQ as an efficient method for chatting.

Module 1: Tasks

risingsone — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:39:56 +0000

(1) TELNET INITIAL COMMAND: “open library.deakin.edu.au”
Outcome:
I was prompted at the search screen to type the letter for the record I was seeking.
After requesting author, the next screen prompted me to place the author’s name in “Bennahum”, which brought me up 2 entries.
Typing in “1″ brought me the record of David A Bennahum and (2) Ninotchka Bennahum.
I proceeded to then obtain the record for both authors.
I then selected to print the record, and was prompted to provide my email address.
The record was then sent to my university address.
I then followed the same procedure for the next record.
I was emailed both records which I found to be very long with a lot of unnecessary information contained within the record

Thoughts:
My overall impression of obtaining library records in this manner was that th is process was very time consuming in regards to the number of screens utilised to obtain 2 records. This method is in my opinion very outdated and library searches online are more expedient

(2) TELNET COMMAND: “open towel.blinkenlights.nl”
Thoughts:
While I found this application to be unique, I am still uinimpressed with Telnet as a communications tool. The animation took a long time to load through each screen, however, for Telnet’s limitations, it was put together well

(3) FTP: recall.curtin.edu.au
Outcome:
I utilised the FTP program CuteFTP Version 8.0 to do this task
commands recall.curtin.edu.
username anonymous
password anonymous
Once connected, two directories were shown:MSC and ROB
After clicking on the MSC directory, I found the “readme.txt” file and downloaded it.
After opening, and reading this document, I found the missing word to be
“CAPITALIZATION MATTERS”

Thoughts:
I find this particular FTP program very easy to use and connection time is fast.

(4) TRACING ROUTE TO CURTIN.EDU.AU[134.7.179.53]…
hop rtt rtt rtt   ip address domain name
1 1 0 0   70.84.211.97 61.d3.5446.static.theplanet.com
2 0 0 0   70.84.160.162 vl2.dsr02.dllstx5.theplanet.com
3 0 0 0   70.85.127.109 po52.dsr02.dllstx3.theplanet.com
4 0 0 0   70.87.253.21 et3-1.ibr03.dllstx3.theplanet.com
5 0 0 *   157.238.225.5 xe-4-4.r03.dllstx09.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
6 5 0 0   129.250.2.153 ae-2.r20.dllstx09.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
7 * 8 7   129.250.3.130 as-0.r20.hstntx01.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
8 8 8 8   129.250.3.25 ae-0.r21.hstntx01.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
9 50 49 49   129.250.3.121 as-1.r21.lsanca03.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
10 49 49 49   129.250.5.90 xe-0-1-0.r03.lsanca03.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
11 50 50 50   198.172.90.102 p4-1-1-0.r03.lsanca03.us.ce.gin.ntt.net
12 201 195 201   202.158.194.153 so-3-2-0.bb1.b.syd.aarnet.net.au
13 207 211 207   202.158.194.33 so-2-0-0.bb1.a.mel.aarnet.net.au
14 222 222 220   202.158.194.17 so-2-0-0.bb1.a.adl.aarnet.net.au
15 249 247 247   202.158.194.5 so-0-1-0.bb1.a.per.aarnet.net.au
16 247 247 244   202.158.198.178 gigabitethernet0.er1.curtin.cpe.aarnet.net.au
17 249 249 249   202.158.198.186 gw1.er1.curtin.cpe.aarnet.net.au
18 249 249 249   134.7.16.46
19 249 244 244   134.7.248.65 te1-1.b309-sr.net.curtin.edu.au
20 244 250 250   134.7.179.53

Answer:
There were 20 hops from Central Ops. Net to curtin.edu.au with 244 milliseconds from the centralnops.net/co/ website to curtin.edu.au.

The IP address is:
134.7.179.53

(5) PING COMMAND: ping webct.curtin.edu.au

From Windows command prompt:

Reply from 134.7.180.156: bytes=32 time=120ms TTL=235

Reply from 134.7.180.156: bytes=32 time=118ms TTL=235

Reply from 134.7.180.156: bytes=32 time=114ms TTL=235

Ping Statistics for 134.7.180.156:

Packets: Sent=4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss)

Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:

Minimum = 114ms, Maximum = 120ms, Average = 116ms

From Central Ops. net

Results

count ttl (hops) rtt (ms) from

1 236 250 134.7.180.156

2 236 247   134.7.180.156
3 236 253   134.7.180.156

4 236 253 134.7.180.156

5 236 254 134.7.180.156

Statistics

packets sent 5

received 5 100%

lost 0 0%

times (ms) min 247

avg 251

max 254