Reflection for Week 5

This week, I learnt about meta search engine and subject directory. After using both search facilities to search for my related topic, I realised that they have their own advantages and disadvantages. I found out that using meta search engine is more effective than using subject directory because it accesses to several popular search engines such as Yahoo!, Google, Bing and Ask simultaneously. I used MetaCrawler as my meta search engine to try out for my research topic and was able to get some useful information. It has a higher relevance and more search results as compared to subject directory. Furthermore, it is easy to use.

I used Yahoo! Directory as my subject directory. Subject directory which is also known as subject catalog is compiled by human. The topics are arranged in a hierarchical way which enables users to select and browse a particular category. The information given in the websites are accurate due to human compilation. However, it does not produce many search results as MetaCrawler do. Therefore, I will definitely choose MetaCrawler rather than Yahoo! Directory as it is useful to me. Besides, I do not have to go to different search engines to search for resources related to my topic.

I feel that using site feeds in my blog allow me to link up the URL of important websites which shares frequently updated content. The benefits of using site feeds are centered mainly around how easy they are to use and how easy it is to adapt them so I can get exactly what I need. It also automatically let my readers know when my blog has been updated.

One thing I like best about collaborating on Wiki with the other students is that I am able to get useful resources from the EIR Wiki. It allows me to share and discuss information with the other students who have selected the same research topic as me. Through all these sharing and discussion, I am able to gain more knowledge.

Virtual Shopping on Second Life

I chose MIA (Men In Action) as my virtual shopping site.

MIA offered a lot of products. Some of the products that they offered are long shirts, long pants, pocket jeans, belts and even weapons. Cool! The shopping environment is quite awesome and realistic. Accessibility to the products and services offered are chargeable. However, some of the products offered are free. The virtual shopping in Second Life is actually not quite user-friendly because moving my avatar around the places for too long will give me a bit of headache and giddiness. The speed of access was quite fast and smooth. The help facilities provided were good as they provide more useful help tasks such as getting Linden Dollars, buying things and owning land. In addition, I met two people from other countries during my virtual shopping.

 

Below are all the screen shots that I had captured during my activities within the shopping site.

 

 

 

“What do you like best about this virtual experience which you cannot get in real-life?”

Erm the best thing I like when using Second Life is that I can teleport and fly to different places anytime. It also allows me to change my avatar's appearance as much as I want to, which I cannot get to do in my real life.

Comparing Second Life and E-Shopping Spree, I still prefer E-Shopping Spree that I did in Practical 1&2. It is because it is more user-friendly and convenient. I can easily find the items I want from E-shopping by clicking buttons unlike Second Life which I find a bit complicated. Furthermore, the items that I buy from Second Life are not real.

This e-learning experience has helped me learn how to use the world map in the Second Life. It also helps me widen my knowledge as now I know that Second Life allows me to create avatars to shop in the virtual shopping world.

One of the most challenging experience I faced was I am not familiar with the keys and functions as it was my first time using the Second Life software. However, after some time I managed to get familiarise with it.

Reflection for Week 3

I am impressed by the Google's search functions. I learnt about common Boolean operators such as AND which narrow my search and OR which will then expand my search. I also learnt AND NOT which restricts my search. These Boolean operators are very useful to me when I am doing my research because it saves me a lot of time and effort and gives me better search results.

Before the end of the lesson, we were asked to participate in the Facebook discussion forum. The topic is about can you imagine your life without Internet and how different your life would be without Internet. I felt excited to share my views to my classmates. The other participation in the discussion forum is regarding my research topic. It is helpful for my research because I get to know more about the topic as I get to see the different views and thoughts from others that post in the forum.

Doing citation is to acknowledge the source of information. It gives credits to the owners of the source and not to violate copyright regulations. By the way, an inadequate citation constitutes plagiarism. Doing bibliography allows me to trace back where I got my information from. It also allows others to get more details and suggestions on related work if they want to further look into the topic or to check the facts to see whether if I have used the information correctly.

E-Shopping Spree

If I have imaginary $500, I will want to spend it on a new 32GB iPod touch which costs $428.

This time round, Ipod touch has two cameras: One on the front, which focuses on me and one on the back, which focuses on what is in front of me. There is also a FaceTime feature that lets me switch between them at any time during a video call with just a tap of a button. It also have HD video recording feature where I can record video in low-light settings, thanks to the advanced backside illumination sensor. I can even edit and create my own mini blockbuster clip on iPod touch using the new iMovie application. Most importantly, it is a popular portable game player which I can play lots of interesting games. I will also want to spend the remaining amount of money left on Adidas jacket which can be bought on eBay. The purpose of the shopping website I had visited is for me to shop easily and conveniently from home.

Finally, what I had learnt from this week which is week 2 lesson.

This week I learnt about the different types of resources available for researching information for my research topic. Such resources are e-Magazines, discussion forums, blogs, wikis and organisational websites. I have chose "Discuss the causes and effects of endangered animal species" as my research topic because I am interested in it. I also learnt that shopping online can be quite fun and interesting because we can buy products that can only be found at other countries.