Melinda Cooper's Blog

Creating an Avatar; what a fun project! I started off with creating a speaking Avatar. That was so much fun, I created another Avatar. One that in my opinion resembles the way I actually look. This was a very fun experience. You can get caught up in creating and Avatar for hours. From picking your hair style and color, picking your outfit, then to what you were going to say, and lastly the background. This was a very easy process. You had too of course create an account; but let me tell you if was so simple. Once you create the account, you activate it by clicking the email link they sent you. Once you did that, you were on your way to creating your own Avatar. You will see on my blog homepage, the Voki Avatar in the right upper hand corner, and my other Avatar on the actual blog. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed creating them. If you haven't done so, I encourage you to take a few minutes (or hours), to create an Avatar. It will give you a nice break from studying!

So we are coming to an end of week three (3). For this week, one of the things we learned about was the Internet. I am happy to say, this is a concept that I am pretty familiar with. One thing that I thought was very important in this weeks lesson, was how to find information on the Internet.

To find most of your information, you should utilize a search engine. A search engine is a web service that uses web robots to query millions of pages on the Internet and create an index of those web pages. You can then use these services to quickly and easily find the information they may be looking for. When searching for information on the Internet, there are a few things you should keep in mind. You should put quotations around your searches. For example if you are searching for multiple common words such as computer and help, it is a good idea to place quotes around the full search to get better results; i.e. "computer help". Another good thing to remember is be aware of stop words. Many search engines will strip out common words they refer to as stop words for each search that is performed. For example, instead of searching for why does my computer not boot, it'd search for documents with computer and boot. Further, you should familiarize yourself with Booleans. Many search engines allow Booleans, which can prevent results you many not want from being displayed. Your most common booleans include "and" / "or".

You should always know what features are available on the internet. See this Google tips section for additional tips and features you may not be aware of.
http://www.riches.com.au/articles/internet_search_tips.htm


Lastly, always try multiple search engines. Not all search engines contain the same information. For example, you could try using a Meta search engine, such as www.dogpile.com. A meta search can give you a fair picture of what's available across the Web and where it can be found, thus reducing your search time.

So, it is the middle of week two (2). I learned a multitude of things this week, but one that stuck out in my mind was computer literacy. Computer literacy is something that you probably hear very often in today’s world. The meaning of computer literacy has gone through many different definitions.
See, http://communication.ucsd.edu/bjones/comp_lit_paper.html; this is a term paper I found on the Internet. It is a very interesting read!

In the early days of computers, if your employment didn’t force you to work with a computer, you probably didn’t deal with them very much, or for that matter care anything about them. Nowadays, even your own grandmother can compose and send an e-mail. Since computers are now such a common thing in most households, the definition for the term computer literacy can be defined as anyone who has a basic understanding of their computer and can effectively use it to their advantage.

It’s safe to say that today, a majority of our society is computer literate. I think it is also safe to say that most people don’t have any formal training about computers, but can relatively learn a great deal of knowledge about computers with some hands-on experience. Even most kids these days are introduced to computers at a very early age. Further, many of our elders have been introduced into computers through their younger generations. I would agree that computer literacy is a valuable tool in today's fast paced society. I think that it is very important for people to be exposed to computers at a very early age. Computers are our future, not a fad that will eventually go out of style. As I am sure you will agree, computers should be a required course in grade school, just like english, math, and science. To function in society today, if you don't have a computer background or have some sort of computer literacy, you are *screwed*.

So, as you can see, knowing how to use a computer effectively is a very important tool in today’s world. You may be a student typing a research paper, a manager planning the company budget, or just someone who wants to send an e-mail. It seems that computers are here to stay whether we are ready or not. There are various sites on the Internet that have good *old* and *new* knowledge about computer literacy. My advice to you is to take a moment and read about computer literacy. You just might learn something *new*.

During week one (1) I learned a variety of things. One that stuck out was Netiquette. I ask, what is netiquette? We can simply say it is network etiquette. It is the etiquette that we use on the worldwide web or as we know it, cyberspace.

Netiquette is a set of rules for behaving and interacting properly online. Netiquette is important because cyberspace has its on culture. Cyberspace doesn’t have explicitly stated rules. To most people they are the unknown or unstated rules. Unless you know the rules you are sure to violate them. If don’t know them you might very easily offend someone. Let me give you a crash course in Netiquette. Probably the most important is, when you type an email or type a blog, don’t type in all caps. IF YOU TYPE IN ALL CAPS, it looks like you are shouting at the person you are writing to. Instead try using *asterisks* to get the point across. Another good rule is to be careful when using sarcasm and humor. You can use emoticons to express humor, i.e. :) would be a happy face, and :( would be a sad face. So, you get the point. Also, a good rule is when talking about a book try using _underscores_ to express the title. So, I have shown you three (3) good rules when it comes to Netiquette.
To learn more Netiquette rules, visit http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html.

Netiquette operates under a system of rules that may not be plainly stated but are expected and enforced all the same. When you enter any new culture you're sure to commit a few social blunders unless you know the rules. Also, you might offend people without meaning to. Or you might misunderstand what others say and take offense when it's not intended. The rules in cyberspace are essentially different than those of everyday life because cyberspace presents such a story like environment. To make matters worse, the common sense of communicating in cyberspace make it easy to forget that you're interacting with other real people.

So, next time you go to type an email, type an instant message, or even write a blog, look over the rules of Netiquette. Make sure you don’t commit the faux pas like a lot of other people do. Make sure you follow the rules of cyberspace. I have listed a few other sites below that I found interesting when learning about Netiquette; I hope you do the same! I am confident we will all follow the *rules* next time we write in cyberspace :)

http://internet.suite101.com/article.cfm/netiquette_guidelines
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netiquette
http://networketiquette.net/

My name is Melinda Cooper. I live in Jax with my husband Justin and 2 dogs, Turbo and Lance. We have lived in the area going on 5 years now. Justin is stationed at NS Mayport as a helicopter pilot. Being a Navy Wife is not always easy, but believe it or not it is very rewarding. It is an honor that my husband loves his country and serves for it everyday. I don't think we would have it any other way.

About 3 years ago, I decided that I wanted to finish my bachelors degree. With a little research I found UF's online business program. It was truly a blessing. I had to attend FCCJ to do some pre-requisites before applying, but after completion in May of 2009, I applied. Guess what, I got in! I am now in my second semester and I love it. A little stressful at times, but all in all, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Unfortunately things aren't cheap, so I have a day job. I am a paralegal for a DUI defense firm here in Jax. 90% of what we do is DUI defense. I am proud to say that we are probably one of the only firms in the state of Florida that does this and are very successful at it. Look us up on the web; http://www.flduidefense.com/. It has definitely opened my eyes up to a whole new world. I enjoy my job very much, but am excited to see what new adventures are ahead of me after graduating.

Hello to all my ISM mates! I have to say that I am new to blogging. I have always wanted to do a blog, but never spent the time to create it. I guess it is a good thing I am forced to create an account. It will hopefully get me in the habit, so after the class I will continue with it. I wish everyone good luck in!


Enjoy the class!
Melinda