Entertainment

The Internet is becoming a source of many pastimes now. One main one is online gaming and watching videos online.

Both of which are useful and below are listed some reasons why:

- The ability to speak to friends from other places
- Enjoy a game or video with millions of others
- The interactive between people who are usually unable to do the activity (in online games)

But these also have downsides too:

- The possibility to online bulling in games and videos
- The lack of age restrictions on the web
- The fact that what you post can be accessed by anyone

Examples of online entertainment sites:

- Youtube - www.youtube.co.uk
- Google Video - www.video.google.com
- Second Life - www.secondlife.com

What I am doing

The 5 online services I am going to study are:

Communication, Real Time, Entertainment, Download Services, Commerce

Downloading

From all the stuff that we have downloaded and have found many advantages and disadvantages. Below are stuff we have downloaded good and bad points about the idea of downloading

Stuff we have downloaded
- Music
- Films
- Computer Updates
- Computer Programs

Advantage
- Cheaper than physical products
- Quick
- Free
- Can try before we but


Disadvantages

- Virus
- They can download stuff of you
- Downloads can traced
- Hackers
- Filed under false name
- Often Illegal sites

As a final overview I believe that the in general downloading software, songs and programs from the Internet is every good. But I believe that the idea of Internet downloading can be greatly improved. Such as being able to see the original source of the program and that it is possible to be 100% sure that a file does not contain a virus before you download it.

VLE's

The Wikipedia definition for a VLE is as follows:
A virtual learning environment (VLE) is a software system designed to support teaching and learning in an educational setting, as distinct from a Managed Learning Environment (MLE) where the focus is on management. A VLE will normally work over the Internet and provide a collection of tools such as those for assessment (particularly of types that can be marked automatically, such as multiple choice), communication, uploading of content, return of students' work, peer assessment, administration of student groups, collecting and organizing student grades, questionnaires, tracking tools, etc. New features in these systems include wikis, blogs, RSS and 3D virtual learning spaces.
Positives to having VLE’s in school are:
- The lesson can be done anywhere where there is Internet connection
- No student will require to miss a lesson
- All work will be able to be accessed via teachers computer
Examples of VLE’s at Abbeyfield School are:
- School website
- Blogger
- Samlearning

Online Learning

Internet learning is becoming a helpful tool in and outside the standard classroom. In this overview I will inform you of the finer points of how these educational tools can be used and how they will help a wide range of people.

The first site I shall comment on is Sam Learning. This site is and interactive learning site which can be used at home or at school. The site contains past exam questions, drag and drop exercises and you can keep track of how you are progressing through out the time that you are using Sam Learning. The main disadvantage is the cost to access the site. For each student at Abbeyfield School (1200 + students) to get an account it would cost £4,500 per year. That is why this site is good for those who can afford it but not for smaller schools.

The second internet learning site I shall review is BBC Bitesize. Bitesize is a learning program from the British Broadcasting Companies own website. It is aimed at students from year 1 to A-Level students. The main advantage to using Bitesize is that it is free to access and is always updated due to it being a government website and will have new courses and changes in subject lessons. The disadvantage it that it is not as interactive as Sam Learning as it does not have drag and drop activates.

Net Frog is the next e-learning site I shall review. Net Frog is a site that allows the user to learn about frog dissection without having to harm an animal. This is an advantage as you can redo the experiment at home if needed. A downside is that you are unable to get hands on experience of doing the experiment.

The Science Museum’s website can provide detailed information on history of several subjects. An advantage of the Science Museum is because it has a respected name the information provided can be trusted. A disadvantage of the Science Museum is that there are no interactive activates to do. Therefore this site is informative but not as good as Sam Learning.

The final site I shall review is Microsoft’s Online Tutorial. The website is used to teach people to use Microsoft program. It can be used by students or small business. An advantage is that you can get step by step guides to do almost anything on Microsoft programs. But the biggest disadvantage is that to fully make use of the tutorials you require the Microsoft software. This software is often very expensive.

From my experiences using all these all these Internet learning sites I have come up with a list of advantages and disadvantages of e-learning in all.

Advantages:
- Work can be done at anytime of the day
- Homework can be set to large groups of people and can be accessed by those who are absent or away
- All work can also be done anywhere that has Internet access. That may not be in a classroom or work office.

Disadvantages:
- Those learners who don’t wish to work or those with poor study habits may fall behind due to not having a constant supervision.
- Students may feel isolated or miss social interaction
- Managing learning software can involve a lot of time getting use to the program

So as I have show Internet learning can be used in most situations. Some for more standard learning, some less conventional methods. But in the future I believe that Internet learning will be become a standard part of any students school life.

Links

Sam Learning - www.samlearning.co.uk
BBC Bitesize - www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize
NetFrog - frog.edschool.virginia.edu/
Science Museum - www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
Microsoft Software Tutorial – office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/FX100565001033.aspx

Fridays Weather

The weather for this day was exactly as was forecast. Partly cloudy but with sunny intervals. So as a whole the 5 day forecast was correct

Frog Dissection

To find a good comparison between two education websites I went on a site which teaches students how to dissect a frog using technology. Although for some it may be a bit Gorey, I believe it is a more humane method of dissection. Also before taking the final test there is a step by step guide in how to conduct the dissection correctly. The website is very old, however it is still very useful if you want to know how to dissect a frog.

Science Museum 'Making The Modern World' Page Evalution

To see the educational value of the science museum 'Making the modern world' page, I visited it to see what it could teach vocational A-Level students. Once I reached the site I worked through the pages and found the website to be very helpful, as it incorporates the use of pictures, video and sound clips. Therefore the site does meet it's purpose.

But while it is able to provide students with information of the early computers and networking systems, to use this online teaching method on a wider and more dependant scale would have to be monitored. For example the use of more classical testing and student monitoring methods should still be used in conjunction with the online learning.

To view the link yourself:
http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/stories/the_age_of_ambivalence/02.ST.04/?scene=1

Thursday Weather

Today it has been almost always sunny, but it has been a lot cooler than the rest of the week. though.

Wednesday Weather

Todays weather forcast said it would be cloudy with sunny intervals. Again the news report was correct on this fact. Also at this period in tim it does look as it is going to rain

Tuesday Weather

The weather station said that it will be overcastand as of 14:20 the forcast is correct.

Monday Weather

Mondays weather says it will be overcast but will not rain. From looking out the window at 09.18 this forecast is correct

5 Day Forecast

Travel Via Train

To travel to Tottenham Court Road from Northampton I decided to choose the option closest to the 10 am start.I started the journey departs 10:09 and arrives 11:11. This is Northampton to London Euston. Then I would walk just under a mile to Tottenham Court Road. In total this would take 1 hour 12 mins.

This meant the car journey was faster but the cost would be more than the train as you would spend more money on petrol.

NN4 To Tottenham Court Road Via Road

Start out at NN4 0QU,Northampton
Turn left onto Rowtree Road
At roundabout take the 2nd exit onto Rowtree Road
At roundabout take the 2nd exit (signposted Wootton)
At roundabout take the 3rd exit
At roundabout take the 4th exit
Turn right
Turn left onto the A45
At roundabout take the 2nd exit, then join the M1 motorway (signposted London)
Leave the M1 at junction 2, then merge onto the A1.
Traffic blackspot: Call 401100 from your mobile
At traffic signals continue forward
At Henlys Corner continue forward onto the A406 then
Keep in right hand lanes then branch right onto the A1 (signposted Central London, Holloway, Highgate)
Bear right (one-way) onto Archway Road
Continue forward (signposted Central London, Holloway, Archway)
At "The Woodman" public house continue forward (signposted C. London, Holloway, Archway)
At Archway Junction continue forward then immediately
Bear right and shortly
Continue forward onto the A400 (signposted Camden Town, Kentish Town)
At Tufnell Park Underground Station,traffic signals continue forward
At traffic signals continue forward onto the A400 (signposted C. London, Euston, Camden Town)
At "Quinns" public house, traffic signals branch left onto Camden Street (signposted C. London, Euston, Camden Town)
At traffic signals continue forward (signposted C. London, Euston, Kings Cross)
Take left hand lane and at traffic signals turn left onto the A400 (signposted Central London, Euston)
At traffic signals bear left onto the A400 (signposted West End, Westminster, Holborn)
Then at next raffic signals bear right take right hand lane then shortly
Continue forward onto the A400.
Central London Congestion Charges Apply
Mon-Fri 7am-6pm
At traffic signals continue forward onto Bloomsbury Street
At Shaftesbury Theatre, traffic signals turn right then
continue forward
At traffic signals turn right
Arrive at Tottenham Court Road Underground Station,London
Section time 1:35, Total time 1:35

This journey would take 1 hour and 35 minutes. The source I used to get this information was http://www.theaa.com/travelwatch/planner_main.jsp?database=B

From using this website I believe it gives a detailed account on the route you would have to take.

Chat Rooms And Instant Messaging

Chat rooms are a helpful but a dangerous tool to use. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages to using them

Advantages

- Can be accessed anywhere all over the world
- Ability to share views with like minded people

Disadvantages

- Often talking to complete strangers
- May not be who they say they are

Also instant messaging is used to communicate with friends. But again this method has both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

- Can be used anytime as long as the Internet is working
- You can add the people that you only want to talk to

Disadvantages

- The possibility that your account may be hacked
- People you don't know can gain access of you email address

Tsunami & Modern Communication Methods

In the case of the tsunami in 2004 the use of technology was helpful in allowing people to know if relatives were safe. Texting was used to communicate with family members, blogs were set up to relay information on any changes in the welfare of the country. E.g. disease and totals of those who had lost their life. Also the tsunami was able to be tracked to allow warning of when it would hit. But a problem was that a percentage of people did not have access to this information and were unable to escape in time. Once the tsunami was over people were able to get in touch with charities to tell of areas that are worst hit.

This tragic event shows the effect that not having access to technology that the rest of the world does.

Newsgroups

Newsgroups are a way of communicating, but these days they have become alot less popular. however they are often used for finding out people's opinions. To find a news group to follow I typed 'Digital Divide' into Google groups, this group was displayed as a good result.

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/misc.activism.progressive/browse_thread/thread/b96937574d86745b/05bd3b60d3061639?hl=en&lnk=st&q=Digital+divide+groups#05bd3b60d3061639

Texts Messages

Text messages are changing the way that the world is communicating. There are many advantages and disadvantages.

Some advantages to texting are

- Can be sent anywhere you can get a phone signal
- Often very cheap to use
- Can send directly the person
- Can be set up relatively cheaply by purchasing a mobile phone
- Messages can be sent to more than one person at a time

Some disadvantages are

- Can cost alot to sent messages on other networks
- May not be able to get a signal
- Not easy to send large amount of information in one text
- File attachments can not be sent along with the message unlike E-mail

E-Mail Summary

There are many good points to emails. These include:

- Being fast
- Normally very reliable
- Forward Messages
- Can be sent to more than one contact
- Attach pictures, files and music
- Contacts can be grouped
- Often free to use
- Is easy to use
- Save Drafts
- Can be sent and received even when the person is not in

There are also some bad points. These include:

- Spam and junk emails.
- Viruses
- You are also limiting your contacts as many people still do not own a computer.
- Emails can be deleted
- Requires internet to access
- Worms
- Trojans



Below is a diagram of how email works

Online Services

This is where I will record my findings on the usage on;

- Blogs

- News Groups

- Instant Messaging

- Email

- E-Commerce