I am pretty sure I can feel my brain growing from all the information I have been taking in over the semester. Cheesy, I know, but I am really being serious. Especially in Dissecting the Internet, there has been so many knew thing that I have learned this semester. Obviously, in this class, information about technology is taking over. Just when I think I am an expert on technology and the internet, some new, interesting information is thrown at me.
This week, the knowledge came in the form of a guest speaker of a marketing firm. This man's company specialized in helping companies website's to appear further up on the list of matches Google comes up with when an internet user searches for a certain type of business. I did not even know such firms existed, much less were a very widely-used corporate tool.
It was fascinating to see they ways Google chooses to order its matches for internet searches. I also was amazed by how much money Google receives from companies choosing to advertise their websites at the top of certain Google search results. During his group's book presentation, Merrick even mentioned some interesting information about the enormous sums of money Google rakes in from advertising.
Speaking of (or rather writing about) book presentations, two more groups presented the books that they read on Thursday. Although much of the information was similar to that which was discussed in other presentations, due to the similarity in book topics, I thought both groups did a good job at making their presentations original. The use of PowerPoint seemed very professional to me, and it helped to keep a steady flow and strong organization to the presentation. These two groups wrapped up the presentations. Now it is time to move more fully into working on the Annotated Bibliography.
I am curious to see what we will be discussing next week. It is a mystery for now! I am sure we will be notified soon enough via the wonderful Internet!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Week 9 - HON 1515
We began presentations this week in Dissecting the Internet! It really felt very sudden for me. Even though we had been assigned the books at the very beginning of the semester, it seemed then that it was such a far ways away, and then suddenly the due date was upon us. The semester really is flying by. . .
Well, I definitely enjoyed listening to the presentations and discussions groups gave on their books. This week we heard from the students that read The Dumbest Generation, The Overflowing Brain, Distracted, and Against the Machine. Many of these books seemed to have expressed similar views on the internet's negative effects on our generation; however, students seemed to be annoyed that their books did not offer any solutions to these consequences. I know that is they way my group felt after reading Distracted. Our author rambled on and on about information that, although somewhat interesting, often had nothing to do with her point, and in the end, she gave no cure for "the dark age" our generation is headed toward due to new technologies.
Despite the similar topics and viewpoints discussed in all of the books, I thought each group did a good job at presenting their book in a unique way. For instance, I enjoyed the presentation of Against the Machine, where the groups first asked their classmates what they each thought the best and worst thing about the internet was.
This week starts another round of book presentations, which I am looking forward to listening to and discussing. We will also have a guest speaker! Yes!
Well, I definitely enjoyed listening to the presentations and discussions groups gave on their books. This week we heard from the students that read The Dumbest Generation, The Overflowing Brain, Distracted, and Against the Machine. Many of these books seemed to have expressed similar views on the internet's negative effects on our generation; however, students seemed to be annoyed that their books did not offer any solutions to these consequences. I know that is they way my group felt after reading Distracted. Our author rambled on and on about information that, although somewhat interesting, often had nothing to do with her point, and in the end, she gave no cure for "the dark age" our generation is headed toward due to new technologies.
Despite the similar topics and viewpoints discussed in all of the books, I thought each group did a good job at presenting their book in a unique way. For instance, I enjoyed the presentation of Against the Machine, where the groups first asked their classmates what they each thought the best and worst thing about the internet was.
This week starts another round of book presentations, which I am looking forward to listening to and discussing. We will also have a guest speaker! Yes!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
HON 1515 - Week Eight
Thanks to Dissecting the Internet, I now know how to write in code using Transposition and Substitution Ciphers. Last Tuesday (the only day of class last week due to Fall Break), our class had a special guest speaker, a computer science professor, come speak to use about Ciphers. Not only did I find this lecture informative but also quite entertaining.
We had to get a partner whom we would switch codes with throughout the class and decode the other student's messages. The first form of Transportation Cipher we learned about was an Anagram. For this, I used the message "Student Union" with the hint "a place on campus." The cipher text turned out to be: USEDTUITONN.
My partner, Melinda, was able to decode this and the rest of my codes, as I was able to do to hers as well, but it was often hard to once we got to more challenging ciphers, like the Vigenere Cipher.
The professors of Dissecting the Internet have done a wonderful job so far at using all methods of teaching to help us retain the information being offered. I really enjoy having guest speakers, and I hope we can have more in the future.
We had to get a partner whom we would switch codes with throughout the class and decode the other student's messages. The first form of Transportation Cipher we learned about was an Anagram. For this, I used the message "Student Union" with the hint "a place on campus." The cipher text turned out to be: USEDTUITONN.
My partner, Melinda, was able to decode this and the rest of my codes, as I was able to do to hers as well, but it was often hard to once we got to more challenging ciphers, like the Vigenere Cipher.
The professors of Dissecting the Internet have done a wonderful job so far at using all methods of teaching to help us retain the information being offered. I really enjoy having guest speakers, and I hope we can have more in the future.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Week 7 - HON 1515
I swear, talking is the best way to learn! Just discussing topics and sharing different opinions and viewpoints helps to embed anything that I am learning into my brain. We have been doing exactly this in Dissecting the Internet.
This past Tuesday, we discussed articles that we read about a site called 4Chan. This site allows users to have complete anonymity, unlike sites like Twitter or Facebook. Obviously, complete online anonymity is rare these days, and Facebook creator Mark Zuckerburg believes that it is not a good thing. Instead, Zuckerburg believes in almost complete transparency. These two contradicting opinions were the basis of our classes conversation, which turned into somewhat of a debate: Complete Anonymity vs. Complete Transparency.
If I had to pick a side, I would lean more to the transparency side, even though I think complete transparency is pushing the boundaries. Anonymity worries me because I feel that if people need anonymity online, it is because they want to post stuff that they would be ashamed to take credit for. People post so many unnecessary, derogatory, and vulgar things online, and if they would be forced to take credit for what they post, it would cut back on a lot of these things. Internet users will want to take credit for things they are proud of.
Then, on Thursday, we had a "Facebook Good vs. Facebook Bad" debate. I was assigned to argue the "Facebook Good" side. Unfortunately, my debate group lost by three votes; however, I think everyone got a lot out of the argument, which is the important thing. The debate honestly got a little more heated than I thought it would, especially since the debaters didn't even get to pick the side they wanted to be on or actually believed in!
This week discussing Privacy vs. Anonymity was really productive, and it is a topic I have enjoyed discussing!
This past Tuesday, we discussed articles that we read about a site called 4Chan. This site allows users to have complete anonymity, unlike sites like Twitter or Facebook. Obviously, complete online anonymity is rare these days, and Facebook creator Mark Zuckerburg believes that it is not a good thing. Instead, Zuckerburg believes in almost complete transparency. These two contradicting opinions were the basis of our classes conversation, which turned into somewhat of a debate: Complete Anonymity vs. Complete Transparency.
If I had to pick a side, I would lean more to the transparency side, even though I think complete transparency is pushing the boundaries. Anonymity worries me because I feel that if people need anonymity online, it is because they want to post stuff that they would be ashamed to take credit for. People post so many unnecessary, derogatory, and vulgar things online, and if they would be forced to take credit for what they post, it would cut back on a lot of these things. Internet users will want to take credit for things they are proud of.
Then, on Thursday, we had a "Facebook Good vs. Facebook Bad" debate. I was assigned to argue the "Facebook Good" side. Unfortunately, my debate group lost by three votes; however, I think everyone got a lot out of the argument, which is the important thing. The debate honestly got a little more heated than I thought it would, especially since the debaters didn't even get to pick the side they wanted to be on or actually believed in!
This week discussing Privacy vs. Anonymity was really productive, and it is a topic I have enjoyed discussing!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Week 6 - HON 1515
I don't know about the rest of my classmates, but I found the internet search assignment we did this week to be my favorite activity so far!
Last Tuesday and Thursday we launched our "Privacy and Anonymity" segment of the course. Naturally, my classmates, professors, and I were all curious about just how much privacy we had online. None of us are major celebrities (singers, actors, professional athletes, etc.), so it didn't really occur to us that there would be much information about our personal lives on line. Boy, were we wrong!
Everyone in the class got a partner to look up online, and the mass of information found on each other's partners was incredible. People could find relatives, house locations (including pictures of the house), cell phone numbers, club and sport activity, birthdays, academic achievements, and the list goes on. I would have never thought that there was such a large amount information about myself or any of my classmates online. After all, who exactly would want to know all of that stuff about our lives?
I searched myself as well and found so many things documented about my years competing in auto racing and about my dad, who is a television commentator for Speed Channel. Apparently, according to one racing site, my racing status is now "presumed retired" because I have not raced in the past two years. I laughed at the fact that I could be "retired" at the age of 18. I also found it a little unnerving when I located a blog post where a racing fan talked about my success in a particular race and then watching me walk around the pit area afterward talking on my cell phone. No wonder celebrities freak out when being watched or followed, I felt pretty awkward after reading just that one article. I especially didn't like finding ugly pictures from my middle school years online. I can hide the hard-copy versions of those pictures when I'm at home, but I don't know how to get rid of them online (unfortunately).
This week has made me really realize how easy it is for anyone to find information about anyone else online. I am really excited to continue with this topic on Tuesday. I am anxious to find out more!
Last Tuesday and Thursday we launched our "Privacy and Anonymity" segment of the course. Naturally, my classmates, professors, and I were all curious about just how much privacy we had online. None of us are major celebrities (singers, actors, professional athletes, etc.), so it didn't really occur to us that there would be much information about our personal lives on line. Boy, were we wrong!
Everyone in the class got a partner to look up online, and the mass of information found on each other's partners was incredible. People could find relatives, house locations (including pictures of the house), cell phone numbers, club and sport activity, birthdays, academic achievements, and the list goes on. I would have never thought that there was such a large amount information about myself or any of my classmates online. After all, who exactly would want to know all of that stuff about our lives?
I searched myself as well and found so many things documented about my years competing in auto racing and about my dad, who is a television commentator for Speed Channel. Apparently, according to one racing site, my racing status is now "presumed retired" because I have not raced in the past two years. I laughed at the fact that I could be "retired" at the age of 18. I also found it a little unnerving when I located a blog post where a racing fan talked about my success in a particular race and then watching me walk around the pit area afterward talking on my cell phone. No wonder celebrities freak out when being watched or followed, I felt pretty awkward after reading just that one article. I especially didn't like finding ugly pictures from my middle school years online. I can hide the hard-copy versions of those pictures when I'm at home, but I don't know how to get rid of them online (unfortunately).
This week has made me really realize how easy it is for anyone to find information about anyone else online. I am really excited to continue with this topic on Tuesday. I am anxious to find out more!
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