debby

=Debby's Analysis & Reflection=

Contributions:

 * Added reflection number one - //October 23//
 * Added a new page to table of contents, Pay By Touch - //November 5//
 * Added a **Colour Context** and **User Experience** to the already existing page, Colour. - //November 5//
 * Added a new page to table of contents, Miniaturization - //November 5//
 * Added a small paragraph in memorability page - //November 9//
 * Added more information to Miniaturization - //November// 9
 * Finished adding reflection number 2 - //November 11//

Community Building:
> > > >
 * Edited grammer and fixed spelling in Google Maps (also added an image to it) - //November 5//
 * Fixed the photo alignment in the danger hiphop sidekick page (image was obstructing text) - //November 5//
 * Fixed alignment and spacing in virtual reality page - //November 9//
 * Edited spelling mistake in memorability page - //Novemeber 9//

Reflections:
//October 23, 2006//

1. When first encountering wiki at the beginning of the course.
 * What do you think/feel about this collaborative learning environment?
 * What are your expectations for yourself ?
 * If you have previously used wiki in another course, then describe what you have previously learned and how you want expand your understanding.
 * What can you contribute as an experienced participant?

From my experiences of Wikispaces so far, the collaborative learning environment seems like a very efficient and effective space. I've visited wikipedia before and have understood its concept, but this is my first time actually using something of this sort. Wikispaces feels like another WebCT or CCNet, where class information (Labs, Lectures, Assignments, Announcements) can be posted for the students. But the difference with wikispaces is that we each have our own personal pages in which we can gather our own information (and also edit pages of others while we're at it) --- this, I think is a great idea because you get the best of both worlds. You can see what your fellow classmates are up to and how they feel about certain opinions / ideas / topics (you get to know them better that way) on top of what you learn in lectures and labs, and you get marks while you are at it.

My expectations for this assignment, like everyone else, is to do well. In terms of doing well... I guess that would mean researching information, stalking classmates through their wikispaces, editing, editing, beautifying, and more editing.

Overall, wikispaces has alot of potential and is a great idea for CCT333 because of the way it connects us all together in a virtual space, like a classroom outside of the classroom.

//November 5, 2006//

2. Think about the following and answer to the best of your ability:
 * How do you choose which postings to contribute or change?
 * What are your thoughts on adding, editing or re-arranging other people's work?
 * Do you regularly check your own postings for alterations? Has anyone changed your work and how have you felt about it?

The postings I choose are the ones that catches my eye or interests me, so the name of the posting is very important. When I want to contribute or change something in a posting, I tend to choose one with a topic that is familiar to me. I tend to lean more towards something I know, but will still do a little research on the Internet to retrieve further information and images.

Being able to add your own ideas and interpretations onto a posting is a good way of learning because it allows everyone to share their views on the topic. The idea of sharing ideas and thoughts is probably similar to that of an online forum but the difference (and advantage) of wikispaces is that you can edit the work of others, especially if you believe it to be wrong. Re-arranging the work of others is also an option if you think there are grammatical errors or if you think parts of the work is not necessary. Because the wiki is open to anyone to post, it is possible for alot of unnecessary and nonsensical work to be posted. With a forum, things like that wouldn't be able to be taken out, but with the wiki, things like that could be edited out or re-arranged in a way that flowed with the rest of the post. Also, the wikispace is read as one. Things are added into it and arranged into one informational page so that when a viewer came across it, things could be easier to read with clear headings and organized information. Also, spelling mistakes and other character and format functions can be fixed if need be.

I check my own pages frequently to see if anyone has made any changes to it, but so far there has only been a table of contents that was added to one of my pages. Although a table of contents box is wise (since the page was quite long) it seemed to be placed in an awkward place and was pushing my opening image down (maybe because my opening image was too big?) The fact that someone had altered or added something to my page does not bother me because I understand thats the way a wiki works. Also, if someone had added information onto my page, I would probably see it as another way of thinking, since I didn't think of it to add it onto my page myself (like a new perspective / different point of view -- and I see that as a good thing; more heads, more ideas) However, if someone were to edit a spelling / grammar mistake or to re-arrange something I had written, I would feel a little foolish for not seeing it beforehand. Furthermore, the things I change on other people's pages have somewhat of a similar effect. There was once when I added an image onto a posting only to see that it was taken down a few hours later. When this happened, I have to say... I felt a little offended since I was only trying to add my own point of view. But later on I understood that because it was a wiki, there really was no final say and that anyone could do anything. I guess in the end, that is the benefits and also the downfalls of the wikispace.