Last week of EIR

My EIR journey hasn't been very long, but definitely rewarding. Amidst the many things learnt, one thing has really stuck with me.

Life isn't a fixed puzzle. There are many ways and paths to take to get the answers you need.

I learnt that during the practical with Meta-Search engines. I was very reluctant to leave my comfort zone of the usual search engines like, Google. But now I see, I can use Meta-Searches to obtain a much larger pool of results, especially when the search engine I'm using just doesn't seem to give me the results I want.

I have found several interesting facts about the roles of robots in society. Robots are here to aid humans in the tasks that cannot be done by humans themselves. That includes working in harsh environments like space exploration and dump sites. I have also come to a conclusion that robots will never replace humans in society. While robots are durable and completely obedient, I feel they will never have the kind of creativity and spontaneity that humans possess.

With that, I end my EIR journey. While my course here has ended, the lessons and techniques obtained will definitely aid me in years to come.

Twitter

At the start of this course, I was asked to create a Twitter account to share snippets of my research findings with others. Although I have used it for my own personal reflections, through this week's tutorial, I found out how Twitter can be a great learning aid.

Many people around the world learn valuable information from the place they're in. Twitter is a good way for them to share that information with people as far as the other side of the globe. It also empowers those people to send their response back to the first guy. The world has really become a global village now.

I haven't exactly started using Twitter for my EIR topic until this week. I found valuable information about the topics that other people were working on. I really enjoy such trivia and Twitter does help there.

Compared to Blogspot, Twitter is much like individual Lego pieces. Each post is small but can be crucial to helping piece up the larger lego structure that is Blogspot. Through Twitter, I can be notified on what others I am following have updated.

Through Twitter, I can post web URLs relevant to my research. People who are following me can also start a discussion and ideas can be exchanged.

Practical Seven - My Dream Holiday

Since young, I had always wanted to visit places that are unlike Singapore. I've seen so much of Singapore and it's tropical climate. I've also seen neighbouring countries like malaysia and Thailand. Where I want to go is somewhere faraway. Somewhere colder and different from Singapore. Somewhere like:



Switzerland.

The grass is so green. The skies are so clear. The air is so fresh. It truly looks like a beautiful escape from the hustle and bustle of the busy life in Singapore.



I love how all the buildings and greenery form such a nice combination. It's truly a marvelous sight to behold when taking a stroll beside one of these lakes, looking at the mountains in the horizon.



It is not just the scenery that draws me there. The history and culture of the country is also somewhat interesting. Stories like William Tell and Heidi that I heard when I was young were actually from Switzerland!




Of course, all these things that I know about Switzerland are found online. I used this Website - http://www.switzerland.com/en.cfm/home

Purpose - While the purpose of the website is not clearly stated, one can tell that it is to promote travel and possibly, emigration to the beautiful country. And if so, I think they have done a good job, 'cos I certainly want to go there now after seeing the website and reading the various bits of information there.

Coverage - The website explains and covers a very huge area of attractions, statistics and even about their political issues. It covers other topics like culture, geography, business opportunities and even scientific advancements.

Authority - I think the URL of the website kind of explains that it is an authoritative source.

The URL came up top of the list when I searched it with a search engine as well.

Accuracy - The information presented is pretty accurate to what I know. While it is a website promoting the country, I feel the biasness is minimal. It presents its ideologies and political beliefs very clearly and informatively.

Currency - I can't seem to find a statement stating the date which it was last updated. However, since it is not a news site, the information presented is pretty much standard and would stay the same throughout. And since it is powered by the Swiss National Tourist Office, MySwitzerland.com, the information should be pretty updated to avoid confusion.

Accessibility - All information is freely accessible on this site. No registration is required.

Presentation and Arrangement - The presentation is excellent! Flash animations certainly aid the user visually and entices them to go further. The links are well mapped out as well, sorted into tabs that are easily traced and navigated.

Overall - I love it. This website only serves to make me want to visit Switzerland even more.

Practical Four

I learnt about Meta-Search engines in this tutorial. Even though the concept is not new to me, the only times I came across it is by accident. I found it rather irritating and confusing as it isn't a definite search engine. With so many sources, the likelihood of unrelated sources would be much higher and more time would be needed to sift through the results to find appropriate sources.

While it was a new experience using a different a meta-search engine to research my resources, I was quite uncomfortable with using such a resource as I was quite unfamiliar.

I don't think I will be using Meta-Search engines very much. It tends to come up with results that are quite useless to my query. Such as when I was searching for the "role of robots in society", several results turned up teaching me to build my own robot.

Collaborating on Wiki with other students is yet another new experience. The only other time i discussed with other people online is via Instant Messengers or online forums. With Wiki, the information is much more organised and information I might not have come across can bev found by the other student I'm collaborating with.

However, sometimes it does get annoying when the information that I found has also been found by the other party and already put on the Wiki page, rendering the things I found repetitive and useless.

Practical Three

For Practical 3, I learnt about various Search Engines and the purposes they serve. I had no idea that there was such a thing as "Google Scholar". Google Scholar is a search engine that narrows its search results down to academic journals and research reports. While I do not have to use it often, it will prove very useful in research for my reports and in the future.

I also found out about search strategies to narrow my search results to what I need, and not together with other rubbish that might not be related. I used this phrase for my research query:
(Discuss) and (robot* or machine) and (role or function) and (culture or environment*)
This narrowed my my query down and gave me useful information for the subject.

My eyes were opened as to how useful Google really is. It has been done up to become very user-friendly. Drop-menus and "searching under categories" really help in what I want to look for. No wonder Google is the top search website in the world =)

Second week in EIR

A week has passed and I'm now on my second lesson.


Today we learnt about different types of internet websites and how they facilitate internet research. To know what kind of information you want, you have to know where to find them. Knowledge of different websites would be a great aid in narrowing your search. It is a wonder how a system that was originally designed for the US militiary in World War 2 would become so beneficial and accessible to the world today.

Today, we also had an exercise with $500 (imaginary) to go online shopping! How COOL? Of course, it would be way better if we were each given real money but what the heck...

I went on to Amazon .com to "buy" the "Complete Calvin and Hobbes. Volumes 1,2,3".



I've just gotten back to reading the series and I'm absolutely hooked! Even if it did cost me a hefty USD94.50.

Of course, I went on to buy some CDs and vinyl records. That cost me almost $50!



Of course, $500 isn't enough to buy a record player so I'll just have to wait for the next "$500" to be given out.

till next time!

Oh! Check this out! http://www.wwwdotcom.com/

About Me

I am Darius! Want to know my Chinese name? Well too bad. I don't tell you.

I'm currently in my third year in the Diploma in Communications and Media Management at Business School.

During my free time, I like to surf the net and catch up with friends online through MSN. playing the guitar is also a nice way to unwind after a long day. I enjoy listening to Blues music - Stevie ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, John Mayer, etc.

I don't watch much TV. Just some series that include How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory and House MD.

I really enjoy hanging out with my friends, be it catching dinner, or playing bridge in some unknown corner in town.