The machine is Us/ing Us
When i begun the Internet Cultures module we were shown the video below. It was an important introduction about what we are going to see and do. At that time, the other students posted immediately this video. I waited until today.
I can say that today i am more experienced than that day. I understand much more the role of the web 2.0 and what people can achieve through it. I think the video shows to a great extent how the web works and where its limits are. The title of the video is very smart : The machine is Us/ing Us .
Is the machine Us or is Using us? I leave this down to you 
Goodbye Summer …
Unfortunately summer is over again! Just a few days are there for the August to finish. Then September follows … I have always felt that August just flies away so quickly. I love this month more than any else. In June I always have exams because of school and July is the month of relaxing after June exams. So, August is the month that offers the opportunity for really having some nice time with friends on the beach or on the mountains.
I have always wished that August would last just more days because I never feel satisfied when the month is over. I want more days before September comes. Before school begins, work begins, duties begin …
Anyway, I wish you had an awesome summer. I have to leave you for another month. Unfortunately, I begin my examination period and I will not be available until 29th of September. Till then, I hope you all will be fine. See you …
Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
This is a post totally different from the purpose of my blog. However, i felt that i wanted to share with you my excitement about the beginning of the Olympic Games in Bejing.
Four years ago the Olympic Games took part in Greece, where I leave, and i can assure you that it was a terrific experience! Unfortunately, i was too young to take part in the volunteer groups but if i had the opportunity today i would definately become a volunteer.
I feel that the opening day of the Olympic Games is going to be terrific, a show that nothing similar the world has ever seen. The Chinese are prepared to offer us the best they can and they will. They are well known for the discipline and their motivation to overcome any barriers the human body faces. So, i think that they are going to show us great acrobatic moves and combinations. Tomorrow we ‘ll see.
If you want to stay in touch with anything that involves the Olympic Games, you can visit the Official Website of the Bejing 2008 which is reguraly updated: http://en.beijing2008.cn/
The new Facebook
Have you seen the new template that Facebook offers?
I can’t say whether i like it or not yet. What i know is that it looks more professional and easier to handle. Sure, this change doesn’t make it easier to get used to the new facebook. For the first time i switched by chance to the new template i was very surprised and i was scared because i thought i couldn’t switch to the old and loving facebook template.
The new one is separated into four tabs: the wall, info, photos and boxes. One can move from one tab to another according to his/her preferences. This makes it easier to find similar info in certain areas without having to read the whole page. For example, on the info tab you can find the ‘facebooker’s’ personal data or in the photo tab you can find all the photos from the albums, and so goes on. I haven’t found other important changes yet since i haven’t got used to the new template and to be fair i prefer the old one, although it might be a little bit slow or confusing at times.
So, this is how the new page looks like
I think that in this way all similar information can be found in certain areas making it easier for the inexperienced user to find the information he/she is interested about. Moreover, the page is non-linear as the user can select different paths in order to ‘jump’ from one page to another. In my opinion, this new page has been created in order to enhance the user’s movements in order to easily navigate on the panel.
I am back II
Well my six months in London are over and i am back home in Athens. Unfortunately i don’t have an internet connection at home and this is the reason why i haven’t updated my blog for such a long period. I am really addicted on the Internet and now that i don’t have a connection in my house i feel like something is missing from my life.
Well, i used to be on the net for hours either reading and studying or communicating with friends. But now i have to go in an internet shop every time i need something from the web. I don’t like it. I prefer being in my own room and not somewhere else since i can concentrate more easily there. Next week i will setup a new internet connection which will be working in ten days hopefully and i will be serfing for hours. Well not for hours, i have to study a lot but i will be feeling better. Ha ha ha … We will see …
How do you learn best?
Have you ever thought how you learn best? Is it through watching or trying things? Do you like having someone showing you first or do you prefer to have written guidelines? While evaluating the course in Internet Cultures we where asked whether we managed to learn through the different VLEs. Whether we managed to communicate through them with our colleagues. But it is important to know how one best learns. What suits him better when is introduced in something new. What is that thing on his character that makes him best learn? I was making those questions on myself and to some friends. A friend then suggested to try a questionnaire, which after choosing answers, lets you know how one learns best. I tried it and i found it very interesting. You have to try it too and tell me your results if you want to. By the way mine is:
* Visual: 3
* Aural: 6
* Read/Write: 9
* Kinesthetic: 10
You can try it on this site : http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire
Don’t forget, after having got your results go and see what each one means. The site has other pages where each characteristic is described and shows how exactly do you learn and what you should and shouldn’t do.
Evaluation Period
We are in the middle of the course in the IOE and there is a mid-course evaluation about the different kinds of VLEs and the activities given each week. My comments about the questions given are the following:
For the first scale of the question, this kind of communication, either from the blackboard or the blogs, has not been the easiest for me. I used the blackboard for the first time five months ago but i still find it quite difficult to handle. What i mean is that this way of discussion is asynchronous and sometimes i lose the right order of the discussion. I am expected to sign in three or four times a week but although i do it every day, i can’t find it easy to read all the responses and understand what the point is about. Someone else can intervene in someone else’s answer and as a result the discussions may not lead to a certain way.
Moreover, you have to click on the first answer given, then to the next, and finally i tend to forget what the first question was about.
Also, as some people have already mentioned, what will happen when we cannot access the blackboard any more? Should we photocopy the answers given? This would be a great waste of time.
On the other hand, i haven’t used the blog for communication purposes. There are some comments on which i try to give a response but that’s all. I have used lots of videos since they give a different view on the blog and make it easier for some people to understand what the topic is about.
Next, as far as the readings and the pace of the module are concerned, i have to say that i am really satisfied. The balance between theory and practice has been just fine. As i mentioned in our discussion in Second Life on 10th of June, in my first online module, the readings and the activities where so many that i couldn’t really keep up. Every week i spent so many hours reading articles they gave us, that i was really stressed. In this module the pace is great. What is more, the readings are so interesting and informative. I really enjoy reading them since they are written in plain language and i am not stressed at all. We where given lots of time to familiarize with the blogs and we were allowed to have any content we want. The residentials have been very useful. I met the other colleagues and this made it easier for me to read and comment on their blogs. It was good that the residentials took part in two different days and i would recommend that there should be, at least for next year, another residential so as to help those who still feel that they can’t cope with their blogs, or any other matter they might be having.
