In this course I learned that CMC, is used more often than I thought, because there are more forms of CMC in this world today. Take for instance, text messaging, chat room community, e-mails and so on. I never consider that these forms of communication were becoming so popular in this day and age. When I used a computer it was for documentation and to play computer program games, I didn’t even have an e-mail account I checked on a regular bases. My main habit of CMC was text messaging, because it was an easy form of talking without being noticed, and with the cell phone company charging for airtime I had to turn to texting. I used texting so often I had to resort to unlimited text messaging and I was not charged on my bill for my airtime use.
In this course I had a lot of oh wow moments. When starting this course I never been in a chat room, I never used the forms linking to other web sites, I really didn’t use the computer, all this in itself was an "oh wow" moment. Another oh wow "wow" moment was when I made the avatar and had to enter act with other classmates, This was my eye opener when connecting avatars, video games, and CMC all made sense to me. I must tell you one thing this new way of communication is more than just texting.
I have changed my ways of thinking about technology and how it is a growing form of communication. Being the communicator that I am I want to learn and stay with the advancements of technology. Once I can organize my time better I believe it will get easier and more enjoyable to communicate through CMC. I find it necessary to keep a communication line open at least through e-mail if not for personal at most professional. Within my career life I feel good that I put my place of employment on the map, my job doesn’t use a lot of CMC and I was bringing new ideas to the workforce.
The one thing I will look at differently in regards to CMC is that I have to respect that it is another way of communication and as a communicator I will learn and keep up with its technology. I learned from this class that online learning is NOT for me only because you have to be able to manage your time efficiently, not be a procrastinator, and be willing and able to devote your time to education. When signing up for this class I really didn’t know what to expect I just knew it was a course offered in communications that I was unfamiliar with. I truly stand by the saying knowledge is power and to go to class and learn new ways in which to communicate, it was quite an experience. Many things in class were fast paced for me with my complex life, but I learned many things I did not know and that is what drives me to love communication in all its forms.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
T9 vs abc
Some of you may be wondering what T9 and abc are, well they are functions on a cell phone. The T9 function is where you begin to text a word and the dictionary within your phone, attempts to complete the word you are trying to spell. In relation to texting, the abc function allows you to spell the word letter-by-letter. The T9 function, I like to believe is there to help with the speed of texting as if you were speaking the words. Whereas the abc function slows down how fast your text will be sent out and would sound robotic if you were to speak it. Of coarse there are many other ways in which to improve the speed of texting, like a better quality phone with keyboard type keys.
I also like to think that the short step of T9 helps preserve on the life of your cell phone battery and abc would use up more of the battery power. This can very well be true because you use less buttons to spell a word with T9, by the dictionary helping with a variety of words to choose from. Abc function gives you no other word but the one you are spelling and you must push every letter in the word. Now with a little understanding of the two functions, now I must tell you the interest of T9 and abc. My sister asked to use my cell phone to text our mom when she discovered she knew nothing about T9 and had always used abc.
The first thing my sister had to ask is how can I let the phone think for me. I asked her how so, and she liked to believe if you are texting a certain word why let the phone start putting other words in your head and then you pick what the phone thinks is a quicker or faster choice of word. Regardless of how many more seconds it may take she believes T9 does not let you think for yourself it will change your thoughts. I thought she was being silly at first until I started texting a few hours later. I realized I started to text a word and other words that I have used in the past started to come up to see if I wanted to use one of them. There are many short cuts with CMC that everyone uses and some short cuts are more useful than others.
I also like to think that the short step of T9 helps preserve on the life of your cell phone battery and abc would use up more of the battery power. This can very well be true because you use less buttons to spell a word with T9, by the dictionary helping with a variety of words to choose from. Abc function gives you no other word but the one you are spelling and you must push every letter in the word. Now with a little understanding of the two functions, now I must tell you the interest of T9 and abc. My sister asked to use my cell phone to text our mom when she discovered she knew nothing about T9 and had always used abc.
The first thing my sister had to ask is how can I let the phone think for me. I asked her how so, and she liked to believe if you are texting a certain word why let the phone start putting other words in your head and then you pick what the phone thinks is a quicker or faster choice of word. Regardless of how many more seconds it may take she believes T9 does not let you think for yourself it will change your thoughts. I thought she was being silly at first until I started texting a few hours later. I realized I started to text a word and other words that I have used in the past started to come up to see if I wanted to use one of them. There are many short cuts with CMC that everyone uses and some short cuts are more useful than others.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Second Life Halloween Party
Now that I'm starting to get the hang of this online community it's not so bad as I thought it was. For Friday's class we held a Halloween Party on Second Life and I actually enjoyed communicating with other classmates and others online. I never really payed attention to how convenient it is to communicate online from the comfort of your own home. Friday started off just a little crazy for me, the cable guy was there hooking up wireless access and both my younger boys are home from school. If I had not told anyone that, all they were to know is that I was at a haunted manor for a online class.
Once the chaos settled down or I stopped multi-tasking I really began to get involved with Second Life. Yes, it is true you look like a clone if you don't change some things about your avatar and I was still unsure on how to do that. I did respond and say hello to other classmates and watched how other online avatars followed and made weired comments. It was a handy feature to know how to teleport to another place especially if someone insisted on pestering you. Once it becomes annoying then it feels like stalking and that can feel uncomfortable and you want to leave.
Someone stopped to say hello and asked if I needed help. I was so happy someone found me and knew a little bit more then I did because I just could not go anywhere. The person that helped me was named David and he spends most of this time helping out "newbies" such as myself, not feel like a clone. David actually taught me how to teleport and I even have different clothes that fit my taste for such short timing. I guess my appearance ranks high on the list before comfort begins to set in.
P.S. Sorry for any inconvenience but I have other blogs you just have to click on my personal profile that's what I meant by it was just a click away. LOL
Once the chaos settled down or I stopped multi-tasking I really began to get involved with Second Life. Yes, it is true you look like a clone if you don't change some things about your avatar and I was still unsure on how to do that. I did respond and say hello to other classmates and watched how other online avatars followed and made weired comments. It was a handy feature to know how to teleport to another place especially if someone insisted on pestering you. Once it becomes annoying then it feels like stalking and that can feel uncomfortable and you want to leave.
Someone stopped to say hello and asked if I needed help. I was so happy someone found me and knew a little bit more then I did because I just could not go anywhere. The person that helped me was named David and he spends most of this time helping out "newbies" such as myself, not feel like a clone. David actually taught me how to teleport and I even have different clothes that fit my taste for such short timing. I guess my appearance ranks high on the list before comfort begins to set in.
P.S. Sorry for any inconvenience but I have other blogs you just have to click on my personal profile that's what I meant by it was just a click away. LOL
Sunday, October 26, 2008
The light bulb moment
I like to call this blog the light bulb moment because it was the first time I felt comfortable and relaxed to write this blog relating to CMC. First of all I have been writing my blogs as assigned from day one of class, I haven't missed an assignment but still didn't feel connected to the class. We even had a weeks worth of online discussion for class, I just couldn't figure out what I could possibly be doing wrong or did I miss something in class that I wasn't on the same page as the rest of the class. No, I was there I just couldn't figure out how Computer Mediated Communication had anything to do with me.
I had been blogging since I've opened this account, but before this class I never knew nothing about a blog and then relate it to CMC. OK the other blogs weren't horrible, but it was frustrating trying to figure out this foreign way of communication and for me I love communicating. So, here we are week 10 and I'm reading other classmates responses when 'BAM' the light bulb comes on, this relates way too much about me and my family. Just because I am not communicating as much on the computer doesn't mean I'm not communicating at all it just means I'm a little behind the rest. I am now figuring out little short cuts that are helping out my very full and complex life, it has gained me now 45 minutes on completion time.
I enjoyed writing my last response to our online discussion on virtual worlds and Second Life, and how people use them for community and community building more than traditional ways. I realized that I may not have been the one on the computer but I have spent plenty of times by the side of my husband who was fully engaged in online communities. He also used the computer to communicate to many people at once. When I checked my response to see if anyone responded, to my surprise there were four. I had always wrote about feeling a sense of belonging and how feedback and responses make people feel like a community. I just never expected to be the one who didn't feel like I was part of the class community, until I finally after 10 weeks of class I got a response.
I hope to have further responses especially to my weekly blogs, but it could be just a click of a button I could be missing.
I had been blogging since I've opened this account, but before this class I never knew nothing about a blog and then relate it to CMC. OK the other blogs weren't horrible, but it was frustrating trying to figure out this foreign way of communication and for me I love communicating. So, here we are week 10 and I'm reading other classmates responses when 'BAM' the light bulb comes on, this relates way too much about me and my family. Just because I am not communicating as much on the computer doesn't mean I'm not communicating at all it just means I'm a little behind the rest. I am now figuring out little short cuts that are helping out my very full and complex life, it has gained me now 45 minutes on completion time.
I enjoyed writing my last response to our online discussion on virtual worlds and Second Life, and how people use them for community and community building more than traditional ways. I realized that I may not have been the one on the computer but I have spent plenty of times by the side of my husband who was fully engaged in online communities. He also used the computer to communicate to many people at once. When I checked my response to see if anyone responded, to my surprise there were four. I had always wrote about feeling a sense of belonging and how feedback and responses make people feel like a community. I just never expected to be the one who didn't feel like I was part of the class community, until I finally after 10 weeks of class I got a response.
I hope to have further responses especially to my weekly blogs, but it could be just a click of a button I could be missing.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Plugged In
In this episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, they were trying to communicate that we are living in a society that communicates through machines. These machines have many avenues and options that can virtually change our life by the way we communicate.
Computer mediated communication can be any form of electronic communication, this may involve human relationships that are computer based. As we seen from the character Willow, who does most of her communication on the computer, formed a relationship at the first sign of attention. Willow, although very book smart when it came to a communicating via email with someone she never met, Willow had no idea who she really was communicating with.
There was a comment on idiot box vs book and how there is much error in the computer, whereas the book has been around for centuries with much less error. In response Willow states that the only reality is virtual and if your not 'plugged in' your not alive. That is terrifying who would want to be plugged in to be alive! There are ways of communicating to others then the computer, there is also other ways to feel alive or plugged in.
While everyone is plugged in and Buffy is still the only one not catching on, this Internet demon has now tapped in and has taken control of everyone. OK, Buffy The Vampire Slayer is a series on TV but what if someone can control all those that were plugged in, they could do what ever their hearts desire. Now this really gets me thinking about the movies The Matrix, everyone plugged in and the matrix has total control of you now that's creepy!
When Buffy decided to start doing her own investigating on Willow's new friend you could see many ways of communication. Buffy spies on a lead, while close friends spy on her through security cameras, all while sitting in front of the computer. Web cams and different web feeds can virtually put you there but not really be there at all.
As the professor put it best, with a computer there is no texture, no feelings and emotions just words. When it comes to the idiot box vs book, the book wins because knowledge is power.
Computer mediated communication can be any form of electronic communication, this may involve human relationships that are computer based. As we seen from the character Willow, who does most of her communication on the computer, formed a relationship at the first sign of attention. Willow, although very book smart when it came to a communicating via email with someone she never met, Willow had no idea who she really was communicating with.
There was a comment on idiot box vs book and how there is much error in the computer, whereas the book has been around for centuries with much less error. In response Willow states that the only reality is virtual and if your not 'plugged in' your not alive. That is terrifying who would want to be plugged in to be alive! There are ways of communicating to others then the computer, there is also other ways to feel alive or plugged in.
While everyone is plugged in and Buffy is still the only one not catching on, this Internet demon has now tapped in and has taken control of everyone. OK, Buffy The Vampire Slayer is a series on TV but what if someone can control all those that were plugged in, they could do what ever their hearts desire. Now this really gets me thinking about the movies The Matrix, everyone plugged in and the matrix has total control of you now that's creepy!
When Buffy decided to start doing her own investigating on Willow's new friend you could see many ways of communication. Buffy spies on a lead, while close friends spy on her through security cameras, all while sitting in front of the computer. Web cams and different web feeds can virtually put you there but not really be there at all.
As the professor put it best, with a computer there is no texture, no feelings and emotions just words. When it comes to the idiot box vs book, the book wins because knowledge is power.
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