The best thing about this virtual experience is it's hardly possible to do this in real life, sure we can talk over an IM service, but it isn't as fun as communicating inside a game. Also besides, like forums we won't be judged on how we look in real life because we are using avatars to represent ourselves. I think we are expected to observe social etiquette no matter where are we because it's a fundamental social skill, it's what makes us human.

It was fun and exciting going on a road trip to meet students from other countries in second life, and it's nice to see our class get together in an activity.

I did not gain much from this activity because there were too little students from HK and most of the time some of us were engaging in private conversations and it was frustrating because it is pointless as the questions we had to ask are the same.

Uber Messy.

Also, the place was a mess, more often or not we found ourselves walking around aimlessly looking for the HK students, only to find less than 5 on the scene. So in the end most of us just sat around talking and exploring the place. Sometimes, the students refused to answer the questions for whatever reason unknown, and they even told my friend to forget it after my friend started a private conversation with him after the HK student refused to answer back on the public chat.

Finally got hold of a HK student

A HK student disappearing on us after we managed to get a hold of him

Venice was a hard place to find on Second life, most of the places suggested places were confusing in a sense that the terms used were irrelevant.

So instead i went on to find more main stream places such as New York and I landed in Battery Park

Sure enough this was the real battery park:

There was obviously a resemblance, so kudos to whoever designed the park!

So the benefits of having a simulator game is having the advantage of viewing the place first hand if we ever want to visit it in real life. However, how the place is designed in 2nd life may not be what it seems in real life because it may be outdated or worse, intentionally designed wrongly by some mischievous joker.

My dream holiday...

I always wanted to visit Italy, especially a small town in the Northern area that is half submerged in water, Venice. Venice was a trading port for materials such as Silk, grain and spices and has always experienced a healthy growth, it was also the important hub for the arts, opera and symphonic music.

There also a couple of sights to behold other than tasting the wine and hearing the music in this little buzzing town, which I will start off with the arguably the most highlighted and noted sight, the grand canal. 


The Grand Canal

The Grand Canal or Canal Grande winds through the heart of Venice. It's over 21/2 miles (3 km) long and full of vaporetti, barges, water taxis and gondolas. Bordering the canal are beautiful palazzi, mostly dating from the 14th to the 18th century. 


Basilica di San Marco

This is where the Byzantine meets the Western art. Basilica di San Marco is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and the most important church in Venice. It was built over several centuries, starting in 832. Inside, the basilica is covered in splendid Byzantine mosaics (only illuminated at certain times). 


Rialto Bridge

Until the 19th century this was the only bridge between the two sides of the Grand Canal. The bridge as we see it today was built in the 16th century when a competition took place to chose the design of the new bridge to replace an older structure. Michelangelo was among the contenders but the competition was won by Antonio da Ponte. This is one of the centers of activity in Venice and everywhere on the islands there are signs indicating the direction for the Rialto bridge. The bridge is a good place to watch the activity on the Grand Canal at any hour of the day.


The Doge's Palace

The Doge's Palace was built in the early 9th century as a fortress. It was afterwards rebuilt in the 12th century and modified again in the 14th and 15th century. Its facade as we can see it today is a Gothic masterpiece in pink and white marble. From its early days, the Doge's Palace served as the seat of the government, the Palace of Justice, the prison and the home of the doge. The doge was the elected ruler of the Republic, but its role was rather that of a figurehead. Inside the palace the halls are lavishly decorated with many of the paintings representing the eternal glory of La Serenissima. Many of the works are by Venice's most renowned artists like Veronese and Tintoretto.


Islands of the lagoon: Murano

Like Venice, Murano is made up of smaller islands connected by bridges. It is known all over the world for its glasswork. The glasswork manufacturing started in the 12th century and in the 15th and 16th centuries Murano was the main glass producer in Europe. This craft continues today and the main attraction of Murano is to watch the glass artisans at work. Many small factories line the Fondamenta dei Vetrai, the street that starts at the Colonna landing stage. 


Islands of the lagoon: Burano

Burano is another small island of the Venetian lagoon. The same way as Murano is known for its glasswork, Burano is known for its lace. The island is quite small and densely populated and the houses that line the streets are painted in bright colors which makes the stroll very enjoyable. The main thoroughfare is Via Baldasarre Galuppi which ends into a beautiful piazza. There is also a lace museum here.


Islands of the lagoon: Lido

Lido is a slender island located between the lagoon and the open sea. The only reason to visit this island is to go to the beach. It has no notable architecture but if you want to relax on the beach, after all that walking in Venice, then this is the place to do it. From Venice you can reach Lido by vaporetto.


Venice is the ideal place for an art lover like me because it is rich in the arts, not pop art but in the renaissance period. It is also an amateur photographer's dream because of the architecture and streets. It's no wonder that people are doing all they can to preserve this city.


All information can be found from http://andreea.francu.com/travel/venice.vr/places.vr/ with no copyright infringement intended

Secondllife E-Learning Activity One

I visited MIA (Men In Action Island) and the island mostly offered Urban, Goth and Lolita fashion. 

After viewing what the island offered, I noticed the shops are designed with the outback and ranch like kind of feel, I think it's mostly influenced by the outback in Australia or Africa.

Some of the apparels do not require money, like the one on the top screenshot (if you noticed the left-handed most banner says "FREE 4 YOU", and true enough I managed to get a few free apparels.

Some apparels however require a bit of money to purchase, the in-game currency "L$" is purchasable using real money, then exchanged for it.

The inventory slots are well placed and categorized, so there was no trouble with looking for my clothings. However it is slightly frustrating to navigate because there wasn't any directions given.

As you can see the island is mostly deserted, so I had to find my way around on my own.

Last but not least, my notecard.


Since the reflection isn't long, I shall go ahead and do it here

Reflections

Compared to the E-shopping spree, this is more fun because it's more interactive. Rather than looking for stuff online, (makes me feel like I'm doing research) I feel like I am actually doing the shopping like walking along Orchard road or Suntec.

However, I've learnt that it isn't wise to buy virtual items using real money because it just isn't real. Virtual things are meant to simulate everyday living, but not replacing it. I've learnt that lesson the painful way when I spent over $500 on virtual games such as Gunbound, Maplestory and other F2P (free 2 play) games.

The most challenging experience was navigating, because the island was huge, I had difficulties finding my way and not to mention, travelling takes awhile too.

Evaluation of Stomp (http://www.stomp.com.sg/index.html)

Stomp is basically a platform for users to contribute articles, it can be video, images or just words as long as it's original. The reason why SPH set up this site for users is simply because there are things going on around Singapore that sometimes, the SPH crew cannot take down because of lack of man power.

Main Page:

The layout is slightly messy, however it isn't hard to navigate around, on the top are tabs to individual columns, and at the center is the latest headlines.









The Singapore Seen  column is where most of the happening things around Singapore are posted, some of the
articles can range from complains to certain sightings in Singapore, here are some of the screenshots. Posted just today, you can expect to see the column being frequently updated.

Stomp also gives its users a chance to rate the article, (as you can see above) and the ability to share it via other social networking sites (Facebook or Twitter). This is a good way especially for Singaporeans to connect, plus it's free to view and to create an account (for posting comments and articles) which is a big plus.

Besides the Singapore Seen column, there also other useful links such as Ask Libby! where users can post questions about laws or doing certain acts in Singapore. 

 "Is it illegal to record phone conversations without the consent of the other party in S'pore?"

However, the site also posed quite a few hiccups, for example because this is an open platform, anyone can upload what they deem fit which sometimes spoil the browsing experience for certain users. Some articles are also irrelevant or old and at the worse, completely irrelevant to Singapore's society.

Seriously?

Credibility is also an issue here, because anyone can post an article it doesn't actually benefit much but more than usual it makes Singaporeans skeptical. 

Let's take this article for example. No names,face or where this incident were disclosed, (in order to protect the reputation of the company) however it faces a severe credibility issue. If this is to create awareness, I'd say this article has done a very bad job because no information was disclosed so it somehow isn't providing information, or at the least very general or sparse information. Like I said, Stomp is an open source journal website, and articles like this can be posted by anyone. There are no witnesses, what if the female employees were the one dressing inappropriately in the first place? It's anyone guess now whether this article is true or not. 

Overall, Stomp is intended to be a platform for Singaporeans to share news around town, but time and time again people refuse to stop putting up complain articles which doesn't benefit anyone. (making out in public to name a few) 

Lessons learnt - Tutorial 1 & 2

1. Can't say exactly I feel anything about discussing things on Facebook, to me it's just the same as any other forum, the only difference is that it's usually done within a group, (EIR and Hard Rock Cafe to name a few) so the group moderators has the authority to control who is allowed to comment or who isn't. (Private groups/Public groups) Like all forums and blogs, the internet is a wide data base and anything that is posted online can and will be used against the author should any discrepancy arise. So like regular forums, I'd watch my tone and language, remembering not to make snide remarks (flaming) about certain people. While sometimes it may be done in the name of fun, the receiving end usually wouldn't think of it that way and that is where we have to practice cyber etiquette.

2. As mentioned above, anybody (to a certain extent) can comment on such discussion forums as long as they are posted online. Discussion forums are usually a two sided affair kind of thing, the number of people viewing the information is easily 20-30 times more than what we usually we do in class, while this may mean that more point of views are provided, it also means more chances of getting into arguments where the infamous "keyboard warrior" arrives on scene. Not only do more arguments arise, there is also a great chance that there are people who simply refuse to contribute by attracting unwanted attention by posting nonsensical or insulting remarks. However, that doesn't mean a class discussion is any better either. Most people (from what I have observed) communicate better behind the monitor because it is easier to communicate their ideas, because for me, I tend to stutter and be silent around new colleagues especially females. Yes, the quality of a class discussion is often better than public discussion forums however it takes time to "activate" if I may put it, the kind of class participation spirit that has been lost after taking the PSLE.

3. I'm rather neutral with regards to this question, because it's something I have been doing for quite some time and I wouldn't depend on it, but rather use it as an additional resource.

Invisible webs (deep webs) are probably my last resort of finding resources, because it is usually non-HTML coded, Google wouldn't be able to find it simply by hitting the search key. Instead, there are special databases that are visible on Google results that provide such invisible articles. Usually my search terms are quite general and search engines will suffice. Besides, Google already provides a vast collection of articles and dare I might say, I seldom exceed the first 3 pages before getting what I was looking for. The deep web is at estimate, 500 times bigger than what we see on search engines, then again, who will actually bother searching through everything, especially students?

I would like to comment on Daniel's blog (chaaarbeeehooon.blogspot.com) he has provided some useful tips on surviving on forums, especially local forums (where the people are not so friendly), oh and I would like to add: nice layout, totally brings out your inner feminine nature.

EIR - Practical 4 & 5

The thing that benefits me the most when using multiple search engines is probably the results. It allows me to cross refer almost about anything, and something that is relevant to my search topic in Google may not be true in Yahoo or Metacrawler.

Site feeds are quick ways to get users to more information of the same topic (selective mutism in my case) and usually it solves the issue of getting blog readers to open new tabs to search for similar resources.

What I like most is the Wiki snowballs and sooner or later, there wouldn't be any need to cross refer to other sites because the Wiki is simply a compilation of all the relevant materials from all over all aspects of search engine

Blog reflections...

Finally I managed to find time to post up a another reflection.


After using Google search function and features, I must say I am very impressed by it, not only does the search take less than a mere second to process, the results are fairly accurate as well. Especially when using * and AND search terms, the results are immediately narrowed down to more specific, accurate and relevant. Besides being a search engine, Google has a ton of other cool features as well, such as language, maps and books. Although the language translator isn't as accurate as I thought it might be, however it is still nevertheless fast. The search results are also up to date, for example I searched NBA results, and without keying in the word 'latest' in the search query, Google provided me with last night's match results. The auto complete function is also an unrivaled function, providing users with an even quicker way of searching, Google automatically provides their users with the results without them even have to reach for the return key. Google too has an automatic filter of removing irrelevant terms such as 'and' or 'or' (without caps locking it). 
Overall Google is an impressive search engine, because it is constantly improving to be the fastest and most efficient search engine.


Participating in a discussion forum is an exciting experience, because it allows me to express my thoughts without being judged based on the way I look or what race I am. Forums (the good ones) are an interesting place to hang out because it's a place where people get together and share knowledge that isn't readily available on certain sites. E.g., the recipe for preparing an egg omelette uses 2 teaspoons, but if there are forums available, people can share their way of preparing the omelette, e.g., using butter instead of oil for a better tasting dish. I wouldn't say participating in a discussion forum makes me nervous, on the contrary I feel more comfortable not talking to people face to face. 


The reason why we need to do citations is pretty self-explanatory, we have to give credit to these sites that we take our information from because not only will the school accuse us of plagiarism, it also reflects on our personal integrity as well. How would you feel if someone copies your work with proper acknowledgement? 


Rong Yi out... for now