JMU only and Scratch

1. The “power law distribution” or “long tail” phenomenon, as seen in behavior online on the Wikipedia, suggests that the concept of an average user of Wikipedia is meaningless. Support your answer: how do you think a local, “JMU only” version of the Wikipedia would compare to the worldwide version? Would it be very similar? Higher quality? Less quality? Why?

First of all, I defiantly do not think Wikipedia is meaningless. The information might not always be accurate but I think it is a great way for information to get a start. I think a local version of “JMU only” would be of higher quality and more accurate then a worldwide version. Especially now, I think the worldwide version would focus on only what they know from the media and right now that would be the recent events this past spring and are recent victory against Tech. I think the local version would have a greater insight on other qualities that JMU has past parting and football and maybe what organizations are doing to give back to the community. Worldwide versions I feel tend to focus on a broader spectrum of what the over all concept of something, giving it less quality . Where as a local view would cite more detailed information and go in depth on things that the worldwide version would not have. I also think by having the different versions of something could really show how accurate and different something can be depending on the source.


2. After reading the article about Scratch and exploring the Scratch website, what are some observable benefits in creating a space to share student work?

The main thing I observed as being a benefit was how it was meaningful. When you participate and involve yourself in something that you care about you tend to put in a lot of hard work and effort. When you put other people in the equation that share the same passion that you do, I think the space created is a great place for collaborative work. It is also a great way to learn a new tool in creating something new. The one quote that summarized what Scratch was all about for me was one that I believe would get others interested and involved. “Three core design
principles for Scratch: Make it more tinkerable,more meaningful,and more social than other programming environments.” All three of these are benefits that would absolutely create a space where people would want to share their work and continue to do so. Scratch also reminds me of Facebook, or social networking because there is a community that is formed and I think it is a great way to share information and learn new things.

Wiki

* "Wiki promotes meaningful topic associations between different pages by making page link creation almost intuitively easy and showing whether an intended target page exists or not."
~ I think this is a very important point and something I found very useful because I have no idea what Wiki was and to just know that it is easy and very user friendly makes me more interested to learn about it and not be intimidated.


*"seeks to involve the visitor in an ongoing process of creation and collaboration that constantly changes the Web site landscape."
~ I also really thought this was an important point to mention that it was an ongoing process and that you can collaborate with others to change the web site whenever!

* "In Wikipedia, blue links are to pages that exist. Red links, they have yet to be written."
~ I found this very useful!!! I always wondered what the different colors meant and now I know so that's really cool!

*The video Wikis in Plain English was a really cool tool to learn visually what Wiki was all about. I def learned that the most essential tools that I will need would be the edit, save and link buttons. "Edit, process and save" is the phrase used in this video to describe Wiki and helped me understand the process so much better!

Privacy

If your mother uses wifi at home to send you e-mail, and your home network is not protected by WEP or WPA, what reasons would you suggest to her for enabling one of these two protocols at home if the liability of reading those e-mails still exists once her message leaves your home, on it’s way to school?

If my mother were to use wifi to send me an e-mail and my home network was not protected I would defiantly be suggesting for her to enable WEP or WPA!!! I think that it is very important, especially in today’s cyber world to keep what you can keep, private. Either of these protocols offers confidentiality, something that my mother would not have had before. It is also nice to have a little bit more confidence in that what you sending are protected and a more secure network. I do believe that nothing is ever really private anymore and I know that enabling one of these protocols doesn’t guarantee complete privacy but it is a start and will make the overall experience more reliable. I do feel that one is more advanced than the other and would be a better quality service to use and that would be WPA. This system, from my reading in class and a little bit of outside reading I found that WPA was developed in regards to the weakness of WEP, which just reiterates what I already stated; that privacy isn’t really that private and there are always flaws in a system that make it almost impossible to secure each and every little thing. But overall I would suggest a protocol to my mom so she can have a more secure and protected network than she had before.


Some news reports have suggested that the Bush administration used the USA Patriot Act to look at the e-mails of American citizens without a warrant. What’s your position if this was indeed the case? Should citizens be willing to give up their privacy? Does it bother you to know that your online communications are very potentially semi-private instead of private?

I don’t really think that looking at e-mails without a warrant by any means is right. People have a right to privacy which has really almost all been taken away by Bush. Almost everything is digital now and a large majority of people use e-mail as a way of communicating. To be allowed to have access to someone’s privacy without a warrant is really taking away the rights of citizens. I don’t think that most citizens would give up their privacy, but I don’t think that we have a choice in the matter. Most of the time it is being done and none of us even know it is going on which is the scary part. What you do, when you think something it is private, it’s most likely not. It is like a constantly being watched feeling; to know that what you do at any point can be seen by someone else with whom you did not give permission or access to see. Overall, I think this is something that is here to stay and is only going to intensify as technology increases over time.

Coming Clean

The official website for the drug Olanzapine probably didn’t mention the fact it might cause diabetic symptoms in patients. Another website obviously did. Commercials on TV now are required to mention possible side effects. Should drug companies be required to come clean about situations like the one with Eli Lilly’s Olanzapine in their commercial websites? Why or why not?

            I have always thought that drug companies should be required to come clean about situations, especially when it puts your health at risk!  I know that most of the time when you look at the commercials on TV, websites or even on the radio the print is so fine or the talking is so fast at the end of the commercial that you can’t even comprehend what is being said or read what the side effects are.  It is interesting to me that the official website wouldn’t mention the side effects of the drug but another website would.  I think this shows a lot about a company’s character and for a company to not provide that sort of information is wrong to the individuals exposed to the drug.  I think that if a company does come clean on side effects that have gone wrong in patients it does show that there can be complications in taking the drug but it also shows the character of that company.  And when I say come clean I mean a thorough explanation not a quick sentence at the end of a commercial or website.  To have a good reputation weather it is represented on a website, TV commercial, radio etc I think that all information, good or bad should be required to be mentioned. 

Proprietary Software can be an advantage

Some states and some companies are turning to open source software for a variety of reasons, some mentioned in this chapter. Some companies (say Microsoft) have gone on the record against open source software. Explain some of the advantages of using proprietary software and cite your advantages with websites that take or mention these positions.

                For me, I have never really paid that much attention to weather the software I was using was open source or propriety.  Open source software seems to be a way for other people to understand how the software works and make modifications.   Microsoft however has seemed to take the opposite approach and use propriety software.   This type of software makes it up to the company on how the software is distributed and most of the time it is highly restricted.  Although it seems very limited, it could also be to the company’s advantage.   This might mean paying for the software but it could also mean more money to create funds for research and advance the software.  This can also be an advantage because problems that are likely to occur can be fixed with the time and effort put into it.  Adobe Photoshop is an example of proprietary software.  The company is always coming out with new versions of the software with updates and new features.   This is such an advantage because it allows for error but the customers still know that research and money is being put into making it better.  There is also a license agreement that the customer agrees to on how long they will be able to use the software, and although it may seem restricted it also guarantees the use of that program until the license is up.  The one thought that came to mind when I thought about proprietary software is you get what you pay for, and most of the time when using open source software it is not always what you expect it to be.  With proprietary though you do get what you pay for and even though it isn’t free sometimes it is worth it to pay for something that does all of the functions you can’t always get with open source.  

Social Media Tools

            If Shirky is right, and we’re headed to a period where social media tools like YouTube, Flickr, and social networks like Facebook become “invisible,” what’s the impact on things you spend money on as consumers? Books? Movies? Music?

The world of technology is constantly shifting and it’s hard for me to even keep up to pace.  Like Shirky points out, everything that used to be so clear between one another are now all merging into one.   “Now that our communication technology is changing, the distinctions among those patterns of communication are evaporating; what was once a part break between two styles of communicating is becoming a smooth transition.” (Pg 87)  I like this quote from Shirky because it is the one thing that I so often fail to recognize but what is evident everyday and what will continue to happen now and in the future.  Media tools are so useful to me in everyday tasks that I’ve almost forgotten what it would be like if these tools didn’t exist.   The one thing that we have talked about in class and that is very unambiguous is privacy.  It is one thing that people can no longer have complete control over once they start to use these media tools. 

            Out of all of the media tools named above you can make a sure bet out of it that the impact of these social media tools and networks will continue to dominate.  I think that is what Shirky meant by media tools becoming “invisible”, that they are now becoming undistinguishable from one another.  The presentation on social media was a perfect example of what the different time periods were like pertaining to social networking.  It has steadily and rapidly increased over the years and like the presenters stated, has no intention of slowing down.  All of this makes me think that the impact it will have on the money I spend towards different things.  Overall I believe I will continue to spend the same but maybe not as frequent.   I say these because the more and more technology that is discovered the more ways there are to buy things.  Media tools can promote items that you want to buy in commercials digitally and maybe even cheaper than if you were to buy merchandise in a store.  I feel like the impact on the amount a customer will spend on things depends on how up to date they are with social and networking media tools. 

Community of practice

Consider the concept of a “community of practice.” How can such a community offer opportunities for learning?             

      I am a huge fan of “community of practice”!  As Shriky says, I am always asking my friends “How did you do that?!”   I am taking another class for my minor this semester called Informational Technology.  It is all about learning new forms of technology such as Photoshop and Dreamweaver (those are the two media tools I have worked with so far).  I am able to learn how to navigate and use these tools through a website called Atomic Learning and Technology Skills Training.  This is a program that takes you step by step on how to operate the media tool such as Photoshop, to recreate and make images your own (endless possibilities) or Dreamweaver, where you can create your own website.  Atomic Learning has tutorials on different labeled sections of the program and visual and vocal tools to help you out.  It is very user friendly and I have found it so useful!  I think “community of practice” and websites such as Atomic Learning are great ways for people to learn new skills.  I know that for the job that I would ultimately want (Event Planner) I need to have the most diverse and up to date skills that I can to be in a business that requires creativity and business.  “Community of practice” would be great for anyone who wants to learn something new and an easy way for them to figure out “how someone did that”.  I support this way of practice to the fullest and think it is a great way to learn anything that you have trouble figuring out that just needs a little more attention.