howesnicole


 * Nicole Howes

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=Analysis & Reflection=

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=__October 19, 2006__= This is my first time using a wikispace. I have browsed wikipedia.org many times and thought it was a great idea. Using a wiki in the course is challenging because I have no experience but this gives me the opportunity to learn something new. Building a wiki is easier said than done. The wiki provides the entire CCT300 class with a "collaborative learning environment." I think the wiki idea will become popular with more professors in the up coming school years, especially those teaching CCIT courses. The wiki is a form of technology which allows us to analyze other forms of technology. Some expectations I have for myself are to learn as much as I can in terms of editing and viewing the wiki as efficiently as possible. Up until now I have been surfing the wiki and trying to remember where everything is and how to use all the functions it offers. Once I get the hang of the wiki I'm sure I will spend less time clicking for no reason and staring at the screen with confusion. I like the idea of a class wiki and hope to use it again in the next two years of University, as I'm sure previous experience provides an upper-hand.

=__October 31, 2006__=

//Question: "Whatever the case, do not plan to blatantly steal other people's intellectual property - ever. You are all in a field where this can easily happen to you - do you really want to start off on such a poor karmic footing? Sharing has its purpose - stealing never does. Discuss."//

Response: Intellectual Property (IP) is increasingly difficult to manage and protect as globalization and digitization has inter-connected many locations world wide. Globalization has allowed for the spread of mostly American/commerical IP and digitization makes it possible for anyone with access to a computer to find that IP and reproduce it. Who wouldn't exploit something that is obtained so easily? (For example, online advertising, music piracy) Rising income in industrialized societies results in increased spending on communications and infroamtion technology. A similar issue is the stealing of satellite (television) signals. Almost anybody can buy a satellite dish and set it up in their backyard. The satellites' beams just seem to fall in. Because it's there. Morals play a role in determining what kind of technology user one is. There is the choice to steal satellite tv, to log onto your neighbours' wireless internet to download the latest Hollywood movie. I know people who do download music and others who are completely against it. File sharing benefits those who have access to the files and will host that file for others to download. When downloading mp3's the moraly correct thing to do is sign up for a service that pays the artist. In terms of being able to download McCloud's Understanding Comics without him receiving any compsenation...this is also morally wrong and illegal. He should definately be paid for his work, just as any one else in society would expect a pay cheque.

Relevant Links: http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en http://strategis.gc.ca/sc_mrksv/cipo/welcome/welcom-e.html

=__November 10, 2006__=

The purpose of a wiki is to work together and create the best possible product. The more people who edit the wiki, the more informative (and valuable) it will become. The online postings I choose to edit are usually fairly developed, in terms of references and ideas on the page. I usually add to that page by starting a new subsection for a relevant topic to the issue. Only once did I find a page where I edited it's grammar and sentence structure. Building off other people's content is much more exciting.

Pages I look to edit are topics I have thought of to research but someone has already started a page for. This is always a bonus because I can view what s/he has written and work with a wider base of knowledge to begin my research with. When I choose to edit a page I try to bring ideas which the author seemingly has not thought of. Later, when I go back to the page, someone else will have posted something I haven't thought of. That is the beauty of collaboration/group work.

Editing, adding to or re-arranging other people's work is a good idea if the author has rambled, said something false, improper grammar, etc. Going into someone's page and adding sentences to their work is ok, but so far I haven't really edited someone's essay-ish piece. Some of the pages I have seen do need some editing and cleaning up. I guess I will fix some of that today (ie: the Photography page).

I always check my own postings for alterations. When someone has edited my page it expands on what I have already written and adds more interest to my work. It is everyone's effort that makes the wiki work.

=__December 5, 2006__=

The final reflection of the course asks for my thoughts and ideas on:

Challenges and Limitations of the wiki The greatest challenge of the Wiki is similar to that of any other project- time mangagement. There is a limitless list of topics which could be added to our wiki and then would need to be fully researched. There is not enough time to manage them all. I choose to focus my page creations on a few topics which captured my interest. For an elaboration of which topics I have deemed most interesting please see the community building and maintenance and the content contributions links. While working collaboratively on wiki, some of the limitations I experienced was when I updated a page, for instance, Photography and then it sat there for months untouched, unedited. Since photography is a topic of another course (CCT357) maybe people felt the topic has already been exhausted. Another limitation was the actual wiki itself. It often froze or did not complete my edits correctly. This wasted my time and made me angry. In the end, everything worked out but it was very frustrating to edit something and after saving the page, it looks completely different from what I had intended.

Advantages and Benefits of the wiki The most evident advantage of participating in the CCT300H-F wiki was the actual event of participating. As I am taking CCT210 (300's prerequisite) concurrently, for me just to be in the course was a challenge. I had to clear my situation with the Prof at Sheridan and the CCIT department at UTM. The benefit is obvious I have learned a new skill: "wiki-ing." The second most evident benefit is I have further strengthened my editing skills. This past summer I took WRI203 which taught us about the editing process and how crucial it is to creating a superb piece of work. The wiki allowed me to put these skills in practice. I had the opportunity to edit my own work as well as that of my peers. The wiki is a powerful communication tool and I will definately exploit it's potentials in my upcoming years of University.

Comments and Suggestions Generally speaking, the wiki was a success. As a group we have created an organized space on the web showcasing selected works. The wiki has been well managed and maintained. If there was more guideline or structure as to what is required for the wiki, maybe those students who are new may catch on more quickly. Also for the new students, a help page or frequently asked questions would be extremely helpful. This "help page" could be used interchangebly amongst the CCIT classes participating in a wiki assignment, thus helping it grow to it's full potential and setting a standard for the minimum of what must be known to successfully operate a wiki. My experience with the wiki was a positive one. When I had trouble posting a clip from youtube, I created a new discussion post, letting the other students know I had a problem, and within a few days I had a response and someone had fixed my clip. This is a great example of team work and how the students of CCT300 collaboratively completed this final assignment.

=**Community Building and Maintenance**=

1. =__Oct 5:__= -Added to the Study Notes Understanding Comics page (link: http://ccit300-f06.wikispaces.com/understanding+comics+notes)

Introduction:
 * examination of the art-form of comics
 * what are comics capable of
 * how do comics work
 * how do we define comics
 * what are the basic elements of comics
 * what does the mind process the language of comics
 * closure: what happens between the panels
 * how does time flow, how is it represented
 * interaction of words and pictures to story-tell
 * comprehensive theory of the creative process, what implications does this have on comics and on art in general



2. =__Oct 19__= -fixed typos on the Blog page (http://ccit300-f06.wikispaces.com/blogs) -added to the list of advantages of blogs -added a link (blogscanada.ca)

3. =__Oct 19__= -rewrote sentences in the "What it is" paragraph on the Billboards page (http://ccit300-f06.wikispaces.com/Billboards) to make them coherent

4. =__Oct 19__= -added to the "acronyms found in chat rooms" list (http://ccit300-f06.wikispaces.com/Chat+Rooms)



5. =__Oct 31__=

-Added Subliminal Advertising link to the Advertising page



6. =__Nov 10__=

-Added to the Surrealism page, put in Duchamp, Dali, Ray and Breton graphics.

References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Breton http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dada http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Dal%C3%AD



7. =__Nov 12__=

1. fixed typos on Game Shows 2. fixed typos on Calypso 3. added online gambling link and prophet Mohammad cartoons link to the critical media issues table of contents 4. Added ethnographic documentary photography to Hierarchy of Media genres



8. =__Nov 17__=

-Added a deinition and quote to the Online Hate page -Updated Ethnographic Photography -Added youtube clip on Ted Stevens

9. =__Dec 4__=

-Added YouTube clip under [|Dorotha Lange] on the photography page



10. Dec 6 -Created new page, As We May Think for the Final Test study guide and posted my rough notes on the article

=**Content Contributions**=

== = = Content contributions are located on: http://ccit300-f06.wikispaces.com/howesnicolecontent