Using various Web 2.0 tools such as Blackboard, Twitter, blogs and online media, students in the Bachelor of Internet communications Unit Web101 discussed a variety of topics over the course of thirteen weeks. These topics ranged from the advent of the Internet to the current shift towards the connective experiences of Web 2.0. This reflection will cover a selection of some of the better known Web 2.0 platforms and tools covered in the unit, the way in which these enhance collaboration and communication, and some of the ways in which this might have the potential to impact upon the everyday user.
Implemented originally in the 1960′s to share information by NASA, the Internet is a network of computers joined by other computers. The
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Wikis are an example of Web 2.0 tools, the best known of which is ‘Wikipedia’, in which such collaboration happens. Wikis can be added to by anyone and, as part of the unit, students were required to do so, and in addition, the Wiki editor is web browser-based, meaning you do not have to be a web-design expert to use it. Furthermore, an interesting aspect of wikis is their ‘real time’ development, contributors often making entries as events happen as shown in the video footage of Wikipedia entries of the bombings in London (travelinlibrarian, 2006). In “The official 'Wikis' activity thread” on Blackboard, it appeared that most students were unaware of the history pages, discussion pages, and the reputation system, reminiscent of EBay’s feedback scores (2010). A report by Anthony, Smith and Williamson speculates that it is a sense of community and kudos that encourage high quality in registered users posts, and a pride in sharing expertise in non registered user’s contributions (2007). This system of user-based regulation is purported to keep the Wikipedia valid.
Another facet of collaboration discussed in Module 2 was that of ‘Taxonomies‘v ‘Folksonomies‘. By attaching labels to content using social bookmarking sites such as ‘Delicious’, we can share and collaborate with others, creating a database of knowledge. Folksonomies such as this lack the hierarchical structure of traditional categorization systems
J.C.R. Licklider first developed the idea of the Internet in a series of papers published in 1962. However, the infrastructure that would eventually become the Internet was developed by the United States government in the late Sixties. This network, called the ARPANET, sent its first bits of data in 1969. However, as the network got larger, the packets of data were becoming increasingly difficult for the network to handle. Therefore, protocols were developed to help facilitate smooth transfers of data. These evolved into TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), which are the basis on which the modern Internet runs. TCP/IP made it easy to integrate new networks, thus allowing for an increasing infrastructure on which the Internet
It is important to know the history of the internet. The internet is a worldwide network of computer systems that are connected to each other by cables (Howe, 2012). The internet first started out as a military experiment. In 1957, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was created by the United States department of Defense (Computer History Museum, 2004). The project was started after the Russians launched a satellite into space for communication reasons. The satellite was called SPUTNIK (Computer History Museum, 2004). It was rumored that President Eisenhower got worried and decided to get the United States to launch its own satellite. They recruited Dr. Joseph C. Licklider of MIT, was made head of the Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO)(Computer History Museum, 2004). Their purpose of the project was to focus on improving the military use of computer information.
I agree with Weaver et al. (2010) that the introduction of Wiki has opened up a new experience for off campus students studying online. I found that using the Wiki this semester provided me with the opportunity to strengthen my overall communication and leadership skill’s. Working collaboratively online suited my lifestyle by not having to stick to strict deadlines and allowing me to contribute to the assignment in my own time. Completing an online presentation using Prezi and Wiki allowed my ELA to see how much each individual contributed, which I felt encouraged other team members to contribute equally as a majority of it was assessed according to the individual’s contributions. In order to utilize this advantage I made sure that my contributions were noted on the Wiki to demonstrate that I was fully involved and committed to my group and this ensured that my hard work did not go unrecognised. Since I have started my course with Swinburne I have found the blackboard discussions to be extremely helpful and beneficial from social constructivism by feeding off one another’s ideas. I concur with the Chiong and Jovanovic (2012) observation that online
The Internet is, quite literally, a network of networks. It is comprised of ten thousands of interconnected networks spanning the globe. The computers that form the Internet range from huge mainframes in research establishments to modest PCs in people's homes and offices. Despite the recent hype, the Internet is not a new phenomenon. Its roots lie in a collection of computers that were linked together in the 1970s to form the US Department of Defense's communications systems. Fearing the consequences of nuclear attack, there was no central computer holding vast amounts of data, rather the information was dispersed across thousands of machines. A set of rules, of protocols, known as TCP/IP was
It can be defined as the group of various cooperating computers worldwide interconnected by computer based on TCP\IP communication. People use internet to get information over a particular standard communication link.
As society has progressed into the twenty-first century it is evident that humanity is becoming strongly reliant on technology, especially the internet in which people now use instantaneously on a daily basis, from diagnosing diseases to finding answers, information and gossip within moments of it occurring. Wikipedia is “a free, collaborative, multilingual internet encyclopedia. Wikipedia evolves without the supervision of a pre-selected expert
In this reading the authors explain how Wikipedia is a user driven knowledge application, where people discuss and collaborate their knowledge and work on a specific topic. The writing explains how Wikipedia is very open and simplistic, the user can easily update a page without any prior technical or programming knowledge. Both from the client’s perspective and server side, the user only needs a conventional browser to access the pages. The authors continue by explaining the impacts of collaborative research on the Wikipedia pages. As different people upload their knowledge and edit the pages the writing style and structure changes throughout, ‘the text as a unit has the traces of all authors’. Additionally, the way in which authors interact with one another on the Wiki pages allows for an area of action, which makes an interactive happening of knowledge construction possible.
Yochai Benkler stated in his TED talks video that “a new social phenomenon is emerging, a new set of social relations and behaviors are emerging and paving the way for self-expression, new opportunities, and collaboration”. In this statement, Benkler means that the Internet is a catalyst. It is powerful tool that opens a whole new world, connecting people from all over the world. There is no doubt the Internet is changing the way we look, create, and share the economics of information. One way we do so is through crowdsourcing.
The introduction of new media technology in this era and time has brought about many changes in how people interact with each other, and how communication is affected in this process. Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) has constructed a way of social interaction that cuts beyond space barriers. Initially, the internet was meant to help scientists work together, through exchange of knowledge and
There are many different collaboration tools that benefit a wide variety of organizations. Let’s first discuss the Electronic Bulletin Boards. These tools allow users to leave messages and/or read public messages that announce upcoming events, new products, and changes in services as well as solutions to problems encountered using the organization’s products or services (Reynolds). Organizations use these tools within their websites to attract users and increase the network traffic. The bulletin board is used to keep the visitors of the site up to date with the organization's information. Another tool is a Blog. A blog is a web site where contributors provide ongoing commentary on a particular subject. Some think of a blog as a
With the development of the Web 2.0 which made Internet participative, the Internet users are now capable of expressing themselves, interacting, and giving their opinion onto everything (products, services, brands, companies, cultural property) and on everybody, via multiple platforms on Internet. To criticize a restaurant on Cityvox, to note a seller on eBay, to denounce the actions of a brand or a company via a viral video on YouTube, to support a candidate for an election, to
The Internet is the key to development. In the United States, the Internet has a positive effect on education. It has broadened the amount and kind of resources accessible for research, provided students successful techniques for collaboration (discourse boards and forums), and has allowed for social networking to become not as formal and more widespread. The internet has the potential to be an enormous force for augmentation by giving fast and inexpensive information. It has turned into an instructive means for students, expanded communication, and allowed learning of all subjects to be shared.
Over the past 10 years, many significant changes have been taken by the appearance of the new Web 2.0 which turns the web culture into a new page. This new platform brought us a new way to share information, connect communicate, accomplish the business transactions, and foster creativity and cooperation among users. Instead of the dominant of web creators and the owners of web company, the new Web 2.0 focuses more on user that allow us, varied participants, to create, design, and control the content of the Web while deliberately interacting with other creator and sharing our thoughts, our personal interests and our inventions. With the arrival and new dissemination of Web 2.0, the controversy increases. Personally, Web 2.0 made the online experience more convenient, enjoyable and free than ever before.
Although virtual communities and social media primarily exist in the virtual world, they have made an impact on the physical world just as much as the virtual one. The Internet is changing the way people work, relax, interact ... it is changing the way they live their day-to-day lives. More and more people are beginning to replace face-to-face interactions with online interactions due to the easy interaction offered by online platforms. These new found virtual communities are new ways of interaction that have been made possible by the Internet.
Internet is a global network, connecting thousands of host servers worldwide. The United States Department of Defense established it in the beginning of the 1960¡¯s. Today, there are now 10 to 20 million people using an Internet comprised of more than 30,000 networks spread out over 78 nations all over the world.