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Thursday, January 31, 2008
Week 15: The Most Important Lesson
After all these weeks taking UIR, I have learnt a great deal of concepts. Many of these concepts have been applicable not just in this subject, but also for life in general.

But of course, as subjects go, there have been lessons that have stood out. For me, the most interesting lesson came about in the lesson concerning search engines. Despite having used search engines for many years, I never really knew how they worked. This lesson opened my eyes to this, and the myriad of possibilities from using search engines. Through this lesson, I refined my researching skills, and this has helped me a great deal in many aspects of my work. Without a doubt, this has enriched my learning experience.

That is why, this is my most important lesson.

~ { 6:45 PM }
Leaving the CITY;

Monday, January 21, 2008
Week 12: Practical 8
This week, we had to compile a bibliography of the resources we have used in our report. Bibliographies are an important part of any piece of work, and without a bibliography, a person cannot hope to ever justify his or her work. Bibliographies are hence a good way of showing others that real hard work was done, and the conclusions were arrived at with good consistent research.

On a personal basis, I have used bibliographies on many occasions, and it has been useful on each and every occasion. By compiling a bibliography, I get a better idea of where my ideas have come from, and I find it much easier to talk about and promote the findings in my work. Without a bibliography of references to back me up, I believe that I would not be able to speak as confidently about my work than I do with one. As such, bibliographies have become an important and irreplaceable part of my reports.

~ { 3:02 AM }
Leaving the CITY;

Sunday, January 13, 2008
Week 12: Practical 7
For this week's practical lesson, we had to write about what we have learned thus far for Assignment 2.

Under the individual component, I have learnt that the impact of drug abuse is great, and many youths fall victim to the consequences of drug addiction. These consequences affect not just the individual, but also his or her loved ones, and even society-at-large. As such, these impacts cannot be ignored.

To tackle these impacts, many organisations around the world have been formed. Some of these organisations such as the Global Youth Network, have tapped on youths to reach out to other youths. Personally, I find that such an intiative might work better, as the sense of being talked down to, or lectured, by an adult is removed. Instead, a peer might work better.

Another learning point from the week has been the usage of WIKIs. Through the whole exercise, I have found that WIKIs can be an excellent tool for groups to present their work. WIKIs also allow other users to edit and improve on existing work, which can only be beneficial for all users. On a personal note, I believe that WIKIs will be the way forward for the information world, and major WIKI sites will become the most prominent news outlets in the years to come.

~ { 7:08 AM }
Leaving the CITY;
Week 11: Practical 6B
As the second part of the e-learning activity, we had to make use of the second resource that we found to evaluate its quality. Using the same keyword search, "youth drug abuse", the website that I found was "Global Youth Network – Youth & Drugs". The URL of the site is

http://www.unodc.org/youthnet/youthnet_youth_drugs.html

Having completed this exercise, as well as the one from last week, it has occured to me that the skills taught in this subject are very much flexible, and can be applied in many areas. This has been proved by the fact that this exercise was done independently as an e-learning exercise.

Aside from this, we had to post a discussion of our topics on an Internet forum. My Internet forum of choice was Yahoo! Answers.

After following the forum for a week, I have found that Internet forums can be useful places for anyone who requires information in any field. In Yahoo! Answers, almost any question can be asked, and anyone with a Yahoo! account can answer any given question. This allows answers to built on, and improved over time. Topics raised can also be about the latest issues, and easily reflect the mood of the times. Aside from this, it is also possible to find answers to quirky questions that might be covered in most websites. I found many different questions that few people would think over; interesting questions that produced interesting answers. After this exercise, I believe I would be spending more time on forums, through which I can get my questions answered, while also learning more about this world that we live in.


~ { 12:33 AM }
Leaving the CITY;

Saturday, January 12, 2008
Week 11: Practical 6A
For this week's lab activity, we had to learn independently through e-learning. As such, we had to read and understand Lectures 6 and 7, and complete Lab Exercise 6a. To complete the exercise, we had to find two resources related to our assignment topic, and evaluate one of the resources. For the assignment, my group chose "Discuss the impact of drug abuse on youths".

Using http://www.google.com/ as my search facility, and the keywords "youth drug abuse", I found the Internet resource, InfoFacts – High School & Youth Trends. The url of the website is

http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/HSYouthtrends.html

The website is from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) in the United States.

My overall impression of the website is that its well-organised, and is of sound quality. Being well-maintained, the information provided is useful for anyone interested in finding out about the impact of drug abuse on youths.

From this exercise, I have realised what is required to evaluate a website. Each and every website is different in many ways, for example in purpose, accuracy, coverage and presentation style. As such, it is necessary for anyone intending to use a website to first evaluate its usefulness to the task at hand. Should a person fail to do, he or she may end up with useless information.

Through this exercise, I have sharpened my skills in evaluating websites, and it is in my belief that these skills will help me in years to come.

~ { 11:18 PM }
Leaving the CITY;