Last Blog Post!
So, this last blog post will be to sum up on what is the most important lesson that I have learnt in my whole UIR journey.
Well to me the most important lesson would be on evaluating the different websites using the various criterias. Before learning UIR, I did not really bother on the website's presentation, neither did I really go and find out more about the website's information to see whether the materials provided by them are accurate.
But after taking up UIR, I realised that not all the information provided in the websites are reliable and accurate. We will have to evaluate them using these criterias:
(1) Purpose
Only by using these criterias to evaluate are we able to conclude that the website provides accurate and relevant information. In addition, by evaluating we will also be able to know whether is the website done by an organization or just a group of people posting their opinions and comments. Therefore to me the most important lesson that I have learnt in UIR will be on how to evaluate a website.
Besides learning how to evaluate websites, I have also learnt other useful things in UIR like:
(1) Identifying the different types of Internet Search facilities
But to be able to learnt so much in 7 weeks, it is definitely the hard work of our UIR teacher Ms Faridah! Ms Faridah would always be willing to help us if we had any doubts or queries about our assignment. =D It was really an enriching and enjoyable 7 weeks with the company of my group members and not forgetting Ms Faridah too! =)
Bye people~!
Practical 7
So for this week e-learning, we are actually suppose to submit a summary of our own research findings for our own topic. So let me do a reflection on this e-learning activity. =)
My Reflection
For this e-learning activity, I have researched on my own topic 'Discuss the impact of drug abuse on youths'. After researching, I realised there are actually still quite a number of youths taking drugs despite some of them knowing the consequences.
Some of the drugs that youths take are:
- Alcohol
- Cigarettes
- Heroin
- Morphine
- Cocaine
- Inhalants
Up till now, I still do not quite understand why do youths want to take drugs and destroy their own health. From the research, I realised that taking drugs can lead to many Health problems.
1) HIV, Hepatitis and other infectious disease
After seeing so much health problems that can occur after taking drugs, why do youths still want to take drugs and damage their own health? I feel that one of the reasons youths take drugs is due to stress.
Therefore, youths should not even take drugs to relieve thier stress. Instead, taking up a sport activity or a hobby would be an excellent way of relieving stress and it will definitely help the body.
So, I still believe that PREVENTION is the best way to drug abuse.
In this blog post, I will still have to evaluate one website which is the TalkingCock website.
1) Purpose
2) Coverage
This website covers quite a lot of things that are happening around us. Some of the materials that are covered:
News
- News in Briefs
- Local News
- International News
- Politics
- Business
- Sports
- The Arts
This news is actually having Singaporeans to have a good laugh at ourselves and our society.
Well, the intended audience for this website is a mocking site for Singaporeans which the website will write articles to poke fun at local events and happenings.
3) Authority
TalkingCock was founded in August 2000 as a forum for people to share their jokes with each other.
It has since gathered millions of page views and a subscribership in the tens of thousands. It also has been debated in Singapore’s parliament, being featured on the BBC, Time Magazine etc.
4) Accuracy
As this website is mainly writing articles to laugh at Singaporeans, I believe that there is not much accuracy in the website. Besides, the website has also some ‘Singlish’ language in it therefore I think that the facts are not accurate.
5) Currency
The information provided in the website is up-to-date. They will take the current news of Singapore and make an entertainment of it.
6) Accessibility
The website is quite easily accessible as users can be able to view the entertainment quite freely. However, if anyone wants to post anything, they would have to be a member and then they will be able to log-in.
7) Presentation and Arrangement
I feel that the information are still quite well-presented and arranged as the materials are quite organized. Links are all neatly arranged at the left so users can be able to look for the navigations quite easily.
There is also a search facility for users to search their items faster.
8) Usability
This website is quite easy to use and the navigations are easily to search. Therefore, users would not have any difficulty using the website.
9) Overall Quality
In overall, I feel that this website can be sustainable to a certain extent as they have managed to achieve the purpose of providing entertainment to Singaporeans by making a joke out of the news. Besides, the overall website is quite well-maintained and the navigations are also clearly presented.
Next, our group was supposed to react to this TalkingCock website if we were a Singaporean. Well as a Singaporean, I feel that this website can be considered as an entertainment website. By looking at this website, Singaporeans would then be able to know the ugly side of their own country. However I feel that the people doing the website should know their own limit and not post too much dirty comments about our own country. It will not be very nice having the other countries looking at the ugly side of Singapore.
My Reflection
Well, after doing several times of evaluating websites, I realised that to see whether if a website is good or bad, we will have to evaluate it using several criterias. The various criterias are Purpose, Coverage, Authority, Accuracy, Currency, Accessbility, Presentation and Arrangement, Usability and lastly is the Overall Quality.
Only know did I realise that there is such as website called TalkingCock. To me, this website provides jokes and entertainment to the people. After looking through the website, I do understand the whole purpose and coverage of the TalkingCock website.
Bye!~
This post will be a little long as I have to evaluate one website that showcases the places of my Dream Holiday. After that, I will then blog about my Dream Holiday! =)
Title of Internet Resource: Japan National Tourist Organisation (JNTO)
Well, I will now evaluate on this website using various criteria.
1) Purpose
The aim of the website is clearly stated. The purpose of JNTO is to further international exchange through tourism. This website provides Japan travel information and free literature to offering suggestions on tour itineraries.
2) Coverage
For this JNTO website, the information provided is quite comprehensive. It allows the users to know more about the history and culture, seasonal attractions of Japan and many others.
Some of the materials that the website provides:-
About Japan
- Geography
- Language
- Population
History Culture
- Traditional Annual Events
- Experience Japanese Culture
- Japanese Food
- Amusement in Japan
Seasonal Attractions
- Cherry Blossoms
- Sparkling Water Illuminations
- Seasonal Highlights
Besides all these information, the website also allows the users to find their information by:-
- Browsing by Destination
- Browsing by the Map of Japan
- Browsing by Interests
- Festival and Events
The subject areas covered are quite comprehensive in overall. Users or tourists who are interested in visiting Japan are able to know the essential information of that country after reading the materials provided by the website.
The website also provides other links to other sources which are quite useful for the users as it brings the user to the related sites with more information provided.
3) Authority
This is an authoritative source as JNTO has regional offices in various countries such as Germany, France, China, Korea, Thailand, Australia, and U.S.A. JNTO has its partners and also supports various organizations too. Therefore, I think that information and materials provided are quite relevant and can be trusted.
This website is mostly for users who want to visit Japan so the information provided must be accurate so as to allow customers to believe the information. This website does not contain any political or biasness in the source. JNTO website is also free from grammatical, spelling and typographical error. Therefore, accuracy is important as there will be many users looking at the information.
The information and materials provided in the website should be up-to-date and well-maintained as things are always changing. Therefore, if the information provided is not up-to-date then users would not be able to know whether the information is still correct and relevant. For this website, it provides up-to-date information and is also well-maintained.
For this website, I feel that the information is quite well-presented and arranged. All the information each has a topic and therefore the whole website looks well arranged.
Information are all clearly and logically presented which enables the users to look for information easily.
There is also a search facility which speeds up the user’s search. Besides, this website also provides an advanced search which allows the users to select their destination so as to narrow down the search criteria.
There are also lots of pictures included in the website to enable the users to browse through the pictures to have a better picture and have a better understanding of how exactly Japan looks like.
8) Usability
All the navigations are all provided at the top of the page which was quite user-friendly as users would then be able to select which site they would like to go without having the need to search for the navigations. There is also a page where all the links are provided to allow the users to search their information much easily.
9) Overall Quality
In overall, I feel that this website is quite professionally done. The overall color of the website is pleasing to the eyes which will not distract the users. There are also many relevant links provided by this website so as to provide more information and materials for the users.
Well, the most important criteria I used to get information is the currency as I feel that if the information is not up-to-date, it would not be quite nice reading an outdated information. Therefore, I feel that the information that I obtained must be up-to-date and well-maintained.
After evaluating this website, let me tell you more about my Dream Holiday!
Well, today's blog activity would be to talk about My Dream Holiday!
I would love to go to JAPAN especially Tokyo as my Dream Holiday. =) Before I tell you guys why I chose Tokyo as my dream holiday destination, let me first describe a little on Tokyo.
Tokyo is one of the most popular cities in the world. It is a thriving center of economy, culture and industry. It is also the capital of Japan and it consists of 12 million people making it one of the most popular cities in the world!
Now, let me tell you why Tokyo has always been my Dream Holiday.
Read on!
Reason 1: Food - SUSHI!
Eating Sushi is definitely a must when going to Japan as it is one of their famous local cuisine!
Here are some of the traditional dishes of Japan:
Sashimi
Yakitori
Soba and Udon
Namerou (Chiba Prefecture)
Sushi! -- My All-Time Favourite!
Tokyo is best known for its Cherry Blossoms between the end of March and the beginning of the April to bring this wonderful season to a climax.
Cherry Blossoms will usually bloom for only about a week after the full-bloom. The flowers will flutter to the ground and the blossoms are said to be the most beautiful at their final stage. For many Japanese people, the blooming of the cherry blossom trees symbolizes human life and nobleness. They will celebrate and cherish their beauty while it lasts.
Well, I would really love to go to Tokyo to see the bloom of Cherry Blossom. It would definitely be a magnificient sight! =)
Reason 3: Tokyo Disney Theme Park!!
I have never been to any Disneyland before so thought it would be great if I could go and visit the different disney characters.
Tokyo Disneyland - Electrical Parade Dreamlights
Isn't it beautiful! =)
In Singapore, I would definitely not be able to experience the four seasons and the fun in Disneyland. So, I believe I would enjoy myself as there are just so many fun and great activities happening in Tokyo! Hope the pictures kind of attract you guys to visit Tokyo too! =D
My Reflection
Today's blog is really long! But I have learnt quite a few new things through practical 6 on Evaluating of Internet Resources. Firstly, I learnt how to evaluate a resource using the following criteria:
1) Purpose
2) Coverage
3) Authority
4) Accuracy
5) Currency
6) Accessbility
7) Presentation and Arrangement
8) Usability
9) Overall Quality
By evaluating through all these criteria, we would then know if the resource is a good or an average website.
Like for Presentation and Arrangement, we have to see if the website is presented in a logical manner and also see whether is it well-categorized. By providing consistency in the presentation and arrangement, it will definitely be more user-friendly and will also capture the attention of the users.
As for Usability, it is also important as users would then be able to navigate around the website without any difficulties. A Search facility in a website will also enable the users to locate the materials and information more easily.
Therefore, having a professional website would allow the users to visit the website more often and also enable the users to navigate through the website more easily.
Lastly, this lab lesson has really made me learnt and understand various things that I have never even notice before. I would definitely remember what I have learnt in this practical lesson! =D
Practical 4 and 5
Well, for this practical, we are still based on our research topic to do our research.. So let me tell you more about what I have done in this practical.
Well basically, I am supposed to choose the relevant keywords from my own research topic and then list the variations (synonyms) to the keywords that I have chosen.
So my topic is 'Discuss the impact of drugs abuse on youths'.
Keywords: Impact, Drugs Abuse, Youths
Variations (in respective order): Effect/Influence, NIL, Teenagers/Adolescence
After listing down the variations to the keywords, we had to now write out the search phrase with the keywords and variations. The search phrase made use of boolean operators like AND, OR and N/2 to narrow down the search results.
Search phrase for my topic will be:
(1) Search Engines - Google
(2) Meta Search Engines - MetaCrawler
(3) Subject Directories - Yahoo Directory
While looking at the different search facilities and searching for my resources, I had to take note of the size of hits(total number of results), time taken and also evaluate and make a comparison on the effectiveness of each of them.
My Reflection
Next, I have also learnt what are the various types of Search facilities. They are Search Engine, Meta Search Engine and Subject Directory. After comparing each of the search engines, I realised that each of the search facilities has its own strengths and weaknesses. One of the Strengths of Meta Search Engine would be that users can get their information from the various search engines at one go.
Well, this lab really made my realise that there are not only the usual search engines like Google and Yahoo for us to search but lots more different search facilities avaliable for us. I have also learnt how to make use of the search phrases more effectively to narrow down our search results.
APPLE IPOD NANORED Special Edition, 8GB NEW
Price: US $229.99
Features: Photo Viewing, Video Viewing, Text Display, Full Color, Backlit LED, Picture Viewer
Other Features: Able to play up to 5 hrs of video or 24 hrs of audio on a single charge
I've been wanting this Apple Ipod Nano for quite some time already! And this is even in red colour and if i'm not wrong, it is a limited edition! Isn't it beautiful! Haha =D
and this
SKAGEN LADIES' STUDIO WATCH w PINK LEATHER STRAP
Price: US $85.00
This elegant and fashionable Skagen Ladies' Studio watch has a stainless steel case with mother-of-pearl dial surrounded by round pink and white Swarovski crystals, and a pink Nubuck leather strap with traditional buckle closure. The 31mm watch features Japanese quartz movement and a mineral crystal.
Saw this watch in ebay and thought it was quite beautiful as it is in my favourite colour PINK! and it looks rather simple and nice. So thought i would get one of those if i had $500. =)
♥ AMELIA ♥
7 June 1989
Gemini
Temesak Poly
Pink
Her Family
Her Friends
Shopping
Going to K
Eating
Her Ipod Nano