Further References

• Allen, M. (n.d.). Internet communications: Concepts document in Net11: Advanced skills in internet use. Curtin University of Technology. Retrieved December 1, 2006 from http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_b/scripts/student/serve_bulletin

• Sherman, C. (2005). Unleash the full power of your web research. Seminar booklet, presented February 21, 2005, Sydney. Web Search Pacific.

Module 4

Module 4 – Using the Infosphere: taking and organizing

(1) Invisible or Deep Web: What it is, why it exists, how to find it, and its inherent ambiguity
Barker, J. (n.d.). Invisible or deep web: What it is, why it exists, how to find it, and its inherent ambiguity. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved January 20, 2007 from
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/InvisibleWeb.html

This resource calls itself a tutorial, but reads more like an explanation. It gives a brief background to the invisible or deep web, then answers the questions posed in title. The ‘How to find it’ section is arguably the most important and contains useful external and internal hyperlinks to further information. Overall the text is well written, informative and objective. As a university site, it carries a high degree of intregrity and is aimed at staff and students to help them use the internet for work and study. The page was last updated in August 2006, so is obviously maintained and kept up to date.

What lets this page down is the design, or lack of. The layout is unimaginative. There are no graphics, just text and no effort has been made in the design department. The text runs the full width of the screen, making it uncomfortable to the eye. Different questions/sections should have been broken up more through design. One of the crucial points in the ‘how to’ section (searching the hidden web by using a keyword, then adding the word ‘database’) is buried in text and should have been highlighted. This interesting subject could have been better served in this webpage.

Author Joe Barker is a librarian at UC, Berkeley and web search instructor.

Concepts: Just knowing that the invisible or deep web exists and how to access databases is like searching in a whole new universe, especially to users who have only ever used the most basic features of a search engine like Google. Tertiary students and staff are exposed to the database of their own university library for example, but it’s a leap to then realize other organizations have databases that can be mined through searching the www.

(2) WebBrain
TheBrain Technologies Corp (n.d.). WebBrain – The smartest way to see the web. Retrieved January 20, 2007 from http://www.webbrain.com/html/default_win.html

This resource is an innovative, accurate and speedy way to search the web. Using visuals and the idea of association, WebBrain lets users ‘see’ their search. On first opening the site, 16 categories for searching are displayed alphabetically from Arts to World. The categories are shown as small text boxes with thin lines linking them back to a central WebBrain logo.

One of the most interesting and useful aspects of searching in this way is that many other possibilities are opened up to you at a glance. Instead of just typing in ‘bushwalking’ and seeing a text list of bushwalking sites of variable standards, you could start your search off by clicking Recreation from the main listing, then seeing another visually displayed alphabetical listing of different recreations, from Antiques to Travel, and including Bushwalking. On this page, you are also shown an excerpt of the previous page (the general categories listing), and other recreation categories such as Sports, Training and Arts – an arrow lets you scroll down these lists without impacting on the main display. As you move your cursor over an item, it is highlighted with a green box, black background and a yellow line linking it to back to the central topic.

In the bottom half of the screen the results are listed giving a hyperlink, a brief description of what the site actually is and the hyperlinked url. Giving a meaningful description of the site is incredibly useful for deciding if you want to visit it, as traditional Google searching is often guesswork.

This resource has many useful features too numerous to cover here and is highly suitable for both general browsing and specific searches. Website creator, TheBrain Technologies Corp, is based in the US.

Concepts – users searching the internet at the most basic level may often find the process time-consuming, frustrating and unsuccessful. There are now many more tools to search with than just Google. Being able to use specific search engines for specific uses, and specific ways of searching the internet, differentiates the advanced internet user.

Module 3

Module 3 – Contributing to the Infosphere: e-writing?

(1) The Blogging Phenomenon: Who? How? Why?

Pruitt, C. (2005). The Blogging Phenomenon: Who? How? Why? The Digital Divide Network. Retrieved January 15, 2007 from http://www.digitaldivide.net/articles/view.php?ArticleID=86

This article, published in 2005, is a good introduction to the ever-growing blogging industry. It is clearly written, objective and puts blogging in its real-life socio-political context. After reading this article, most readers would have a much clearer idea of the whys and wherefores of blogging. The article’s layout comprises a central column on the page, the narrow width making it easy scan quickly. Paragraphs are broken up with white space between. It ‘looks’ easy to read size-wise and the text is black on white background. [This article was chosen over another similarly well-written article on another site, but which had a black background that was hard to look at.] A handful of hyperlinks take readers to external sites for further information. The whole page itself is low-key in style, with two side panels either side, again with white backgrounds, and heading bars in a subtle green colour – the overall effect is understated and substantial, which adds to the feeling of objectivity and accuracy.

Author Cedar Pruitt has a masters degree in technology in education, and has designed and built several websites. She is particularly interested in how new media affects child development, parenting and education. The article is published on a site called the Digital Divide Network and hosted by a US organization called the Center for Media & Community. It offers free blogging, discussion boards and news to anyone interested in using ICTs for community development and lifelong learning. The whole vibe of this site and article is helpful, solid and non-commercial.

Concepts – Does the uptake of new media by different societies around the globe reflect or challenge the status quo? E-publishing, particularly blogging, can be used by anyone who can read, write and who has computer access (these are other issues!), to get their message across, no matter how miss-spelt or unsavoury it is.

(2) Vincent Flanders’ Web Pages That Suck

Flanders, V. (1996 ) Vincent Flanders’ web pages that suck. Retrieved January 15, 2007 from http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/

This website is a breath of fresh air amongst a multitude of sites claiming to help users design good web pages. Using humour, example and reader input, author Vince Flanders helps web designers and companies see the error of their ways when it comes to poor design or non-user friendly websites. His main message is simple - create designs for the client’s audience, not the client. Rather than offering tutorials on good web design, he provides tools (checklists) so users can evaluate their own mistakes. There is a strong consumer advocacy element running through - readers nominate bad websites which are then published with comment in The Daily Sucker department. Flanders is not scared of big companies, examples include the Toyota site for its poor usability. In the interests of topicality and fairness, the site will also update if a website later improves itself.

Navigating this site is sometimes confusing; there is so much content it is easy to spend a lot of time going through it all. The site sometimes goes to different pages with same content, but a different template or colours. The temptingly named “Worst Web Page in the World” could not be found. A number of small hyperlinked adverts run through the pages, but it is not initially clear if they are sponsored links or examples chosen by Flanders.

The author is a long-timer in the computer industry, with a special interest in website design, accessibility and usability. He is a book author, speaker and teacher and advertises his services and products on the site. WPTS has been nominated many times for various industry awards.

Concepts – Using reader input (decentralized participation), in the form of site nominations and commentary, is a powerful example of contributing to the infosphere. This website wields some power as companies have changed their websites after being featured here – and the site itself gains integrity by then updating its comments accordingly, making Flanders a responsible website author.

Module 2

Module 2 - Communicating in the infosphere

(1) The Importance of Being Synchronous

Haefner, J. (2000). Opinion: The Importance of Being Synchronous. Academic Writing. Retrieved January 23, 2007 from http://wac.colostate.edu/aw/teaching/haefner2000.htm

This is a thought-provoking article particularly relevant for people involved in education, online learning, the sociological aspects of the internet, and obviously, teachers and students involved first-hand in asynchronous education courses like Net11.

This is clearly labeled an opinion piece, but it is the opinion of an academic with considerable experience in the area. Haefner teaches computer science and coordinates a writing program at a US university. The tone is considered; although he favours synchronous teaching, he knows distance learning is a growing industry, and that technology is rapidly developing that can minimize the down side of

Haefner discusses the pros and cons of distance learning, for example, the flexibility and the isolation.

This piece was written in 2000. Studies on these issues may have been completed in the seven years since publication, but the observations discussed here would be just as relevant today.

The author believes that developing technology will allow a good mix of synchronous and asynchronous communication in the online classroom, though the details still need to be determined.

A photo of the author is hyperlinked to his contact page with further links to courses he teaches and his published works.

Concepts - Access to questions and answers – your posted question will show up almost immediately, but when or if you ever get a reply is based on the schedules of others in the classroom – it would be much harder to ignore a question asked in a small room. Users need to state what forms of communication meet their needs, and the organizations offering online education need to listen.

(2) What is email etiquette?

Kallos, J. (1996). What is E-mail Etiquette? Retrieved 20 January, 2007, from
http://www.onlinenetiquette.com/index.html

There are numerous sites and pages on the internet explaining what netiquette is and many sensible tips are now well-established as best practice. Many tips cross over from general etiquette rules, while others are, of course, specific for writing, communicating and publishing online, particularly email. However, does this topic need such a busy and comprehensive website as this one? The author has turned the topic of online etiquette into a niche market and is determined to exploit it from every possible angle. Starting with the home page, this site has a decidedly feminine look and feel, from the red and white colours used, to the flowing script font used in the page heading. The three book covers shown are all red.

The tone mimics that of a fussy aunt who is trying too hard to be helpful, while attempts to be up close and personal become cloying. The words ‘my’, ‘you’ and ‘I’ occur too many times on this page. Exclamation marks are also over-used which makes the reader feel as though they are being promised the world at the touch of a button, or worse, being shouted at. In the four short paragraphs on the home page, there are no less than 10 hyperlinks to advertise the author’s products or other pages on the site. Down the left hand panel there are 22 hyperlinks, all squashed together. Another five hyperlinks sit at the top of the page, with another four sitting at the bottom. The effect is overwhelming – this is no quick-stop list of well-written tips for anyone wanting to know about netiquette. The site is currently maintained, last modified in December 2006. Author Judith Kallos describes herself as a “technology muse” who has been online for about 10 years. Good on her for running her own business, but it’s hard to recommend this site to anyone, unless it’s as an example of bad writing, bad design and marketing overkill. Ironically, this site needs to rethink itself and apply some of the principles of netiquette more firmly.

Concepts – Netiquette is an important aspect of the internet – if users want to communicate well in a variety of online settings there are established dos and don’ts. Failing to follow them can lead to the ultimate lack of communication - people just won't read what you have to say.

Module 1

Module 1 – Hardware and Protocols

(1) Surf the Web: How the Web works

Learn the net (1996). Surf the web: How the web works. Retrieved January 12, 2007 from http://www.learnthenet.com/english/html/13wworks.htm

This ‘beginners’ tutorial provides a good overview of complex ideas and avoids overwhelm by not including too much detail. In well written sentences it exposes readers to terms such as web browser, servers, routers and hypertext, with key words and phrases in bold. The colours are good – black text on white background - the font is a good size and white space is used well. A number of terms (shown in green) are hyperlinked to adverts, but the mouse-over function brings up a small pop-up box, so readers can decide whether to go further into the ad or not. Colourful cartoon-style illustrations provide visual explanation of text. The tutorial takes up the middle panel, with general site navigation options on the left hand side and hyperlinked text ads listed on the right. More ads sit at the page’s end.

The page also discusses the W3C and provides some WWW history with external links to, among others, Tim Berners-Lee. There is also an interactive option allowing users a taste of what it was like to surf the net in past years. Related articles are hyperlinked at the page’s end.

Though the product of a private US company (Learn the Net), the page is not overly commercial, instead just providing easy-to-understand lessons about the internet. The page does contain adverts, but they are usually relevant to the general content, though one advertises Irish culture and history.

The site made an industry Top 100 Sites list in 1999 and 2000 and has been running since 1996. It was last updated in late 2006, so its topicality rating should be high.

Concepts - Using the www is not the same as knowing how the internet works. Even a basic knowledge of the processes involved can empower users to solve problems and get more from their internet use.

(2) FTP new user guide

Ipswitch, Inc. (n.d. ) FTP new user guide – FTP 101, A beginner’s guide. Retrieved January 12, 2007 from http://www.ftpplanet.com/ftpresources/basics.htm

This page is what it claims to be – a basic guide for those new to FTP. It is well-written and accessible, explaining FTP functions and uses, including FTP sites and FTP clients. A handful of hyperlinks offer short definitions of key words and background information and at the end of the page three hyperlinks can take readers further (see below). The information is split into different sections using headers and the text is broken up into small paragraphs so the reader does not have to negotiate a great block of text to learn. The tutorial text is black on a white background in a central panel whose width is easy on the eye. Key words and terms are highlighted using italics. A screen shot illustrates the typical two-panel design of any FTP client. A black and dark red boarder make up the screen, while a yellow left-hand panel displays links to purchase or download three related products. In other words, the tutorial text is the main feature of the page and there are virtually no visual distractions.

The website is sponsored by a US-based company, Ipswitch, Inc., which makes FTP products. This does not result in a heavy-sell however as the tutorial itself is neutral – the company’s products are not mentioned, the text instead makes general references to the FTP process. To take the tutorial further however, the company’s FTP products are used. The page was last modified in July, 2006.

Concepts – File Transfer Protocol is one of the most basic functions that computer users make use of every day, perhaps without knowing it. The technology allows anyone, from home computer dabblers up, to make use of what the internet offers. Understanding how FTP works and knowing what FTP products are available allows users to run a large business or download (transfer) songs in their bedroom.