::
One Important Lesson Learnt
Through the development of my portfolio, I had learnt various new things that I did not discover before attending UIR. Firstly, let me talk about why did I chose UIR as one of my CDS. Besides having to study hard in my diploma (very demanding) and do lots of research in the future (year 2 and 3), I wanted to choose something with relevance to my diploma (as it teaches me how to research effectively) and something of my interest, which is IT and the only CDS which fulfills these criteria is UIR. Through UIR, I have learnt how to create a blog which allows me to accumulate my reflections in an easy way. In the past, I have heard of blogs but I have never think of creating one myself until I came to UIR where I started create my own blog and cultivate a habit of doing reflections on what I have done over my practicals. This is useful not only in UIR but also in my diploma where I can learn my mistakes easily from my reflections and it is rather interesting to read my past reflections too..! Blogs can also be a progress monitoring system whereby you improve on your mistakes and get better each time you reflect. Besides blogging, I have learnt many things like classifying various websites, discovering new search engines and evaluating websites which I find it is the most important and useful practical learnt as compared to other practicals. It is because through evaluating a website, you get to combine what you have learnt over the past practicals and make use of them to evaluate websites. Besides incorporating this knowledge into evaluating a website, there are useful guidelines in the lecture notes and the template (the eight criteria plus overall impression) for me to follow. Although it is rather tiring and tedious initially, as you practice more, you evaluate better and much faster. Overall, I feel that the most important lesson I had learnt when developing my portfolio will be my experience through doing the four evaluation of websites. This is the gist of UIR and as the name of the CDS implies, Using Internet As A Research Tool, how do we use the internet effectively to retrieve information, and the most important step I feel is by choosing a good website which fulfills most of the criteria of the evaluation. If it is a good website, I can assure you that you can retrieve your information in no time.
Thank you UIR...! You have made my internet surfing experience more enriching and smooth-sailing. =)
::
.:Audacious blogged on 10:38 AM:.
::
Reflections of experience evaluating the three websites
Wow, I am done with the evaluation of three websites...! This time round, it was much more tedious as I have to evaluate three websites as compared to my previous practical where I have to evaluate only one website. However, I always keep in mind that practice makes perfect and I will put my evaluation skills to test again. This practical worksheet has allowed me to have ample practice on evaluation of websites. I just want to say it again; it isn't easy as one may think...! There are eight criteria to follow when evaluating a website. In the world, there are no perfect websites. There are bound to have website which is lacking in presentation of information, website which is lacking in usability and many more. Hence, this practical comes in useful to point out the various flaws of the website and commenting the good points of the websites which I feel that other websites can follow them as role models. Through my entire experience, I still find that the coverage of the site is the hardest to evaluate as I have to read up on every single bit of information on the site and understand what they are trying to say. In addition, I have to know the depth of coverage which I find is rather difficult as you need to have a rich pool of knowledge in that particular subject to be able to know how deep the information is covered in the site. I am still not at that caliber yet. As for usability, I found out that every site has fulfilled this criterion well with the usage of hyperlinks. This is essential to navigate users around the site to facilitate the retrieval of information.
Usually, I will surf website which loads fast and has a presentable homepage. The homepage will play a important role in introducing the gist of the site and giving people the first impression of the site. Whether users will stay at the site will most probably depend on how the homepage is presented.
Overall, I have come to realise that evaluation of websites isn't as hard as one may think if you have ample practices. As you practice more, the criteria on the evaluation of websites will unknowingly form a habit in you as you surf websites. This will be useful as when you surf websites, you tend to pick websites that is worth surfing from how much criteria the website has fulfilled. This is one useful lesson I have learnt upon my completion of the four evaluations of websites.
::
.:Audacious blogged on 9:26 AM:.
...
::
Evaluation of Smithsonian Institute's Website http://www.si.edu/:
Commendable Points:
- Rating: 9/10.
- This website is very comprehensive. It covers content ranging from historical to entertainment facts.
- The purpose of the site is well-stated under the 'About Smithsonian' link. There is also a statistic which states the number of people who went to the Smithsonian museums.
- It has many hyperlinks arranged neatly which guide users around the site easily. This increase the accesibility of the site.
- The relevant use of pictures support and illustrate the headings well and perhaps may even say for the content.
- There is also a FAQ section which answers users' doubts.
- There is a search engine tool at the top right corner of the page for users to search for keywords relating to the site.
- Organized layout.
- It is catered to international users as there are many languages that suits to users' needs. This ensures opportunities for everyone to view the website.
- Use of colours like green which is soothing to eyes.
- Consistent in font size and type.
- Entertainment: There is an online store where users can purchase historical artifects and toys. In addtion, movie tickets are sold too.
- Lastly, historical facts can never change hence, the accuracy of the information on the website is perfect.
The downside of the website:
- The font size is too small.
- At one glance, it is rather overwhelming.
- Content is lengthy, however useful to researchers who have passion in historical knowledge.
- Hyperlinks are arranged too closely.
- The content of the site is rather biased as the historical facts are more focused on the Americans.
::
.:Audacious blogged on 4:33 PM:.
...
::
Reflection of experience evaluating one website
Finally, I am done...! It was a rather tedious task evaluating a website. It was no easy. There are eight criteria to follow when evaluating a website. If the nine criteria are fulfilled well, it is a commendable site and people would want to surf the site. However, there is no perfect website in the world. There are bound to have flaws in every site. Hence, this is when evaluation plays an important role in pointing out the flaws and stating the good points of the site. Among all the criteria, I find the 'coverage' criteria hardest to describe. It is because I have to review almost every page of the site and it can be quite tiring. Since the website I am evaluating is a medical site, all the information are naturally linked to medical facts which I am interested in and most importantly, they must not be outdated. Fortunately, there are many hyperlinks which aid me in describing the 'coverage' criteria. Hyperlinks play an important role in navigating us around the site. In addition to hyperlinks, the information in the site are arranged in paragraphs for easy reading. Overall, I find that all the criteria are equally as important and no one should be overlooked. For example, the loading time of the site must not be too long and this can be prevented by adding less pictures and using more text. This criteria should not be neglected as there are impatient people around the world. I find the template useful in guiding me to rate a website. To conclude, it was a tiring but satisfying experience...!
::
.:Audacious blogged on 12:12 PM:.
...
::
In this pratical, I have learnt to use a new search facility, which is the Meta Search Engine. This search engine gives me results from Yahoo, Google, MSN and Ask.com, whereby I would not get repetitive websites. Under the Meta Search Engine, I have chosen metacrawler. I find it very specifc in its searches as compared to Yahoo and Google. It is nice discovering a new search facility in this lesson.
I have used Yahoo and Google for a long time and I just trust them for producing relevant results although sometimes the number of results given is quite huge.
Ranking on the effectiveness of the three search facilities: Google(Most effective), Meta Search Engine and Yahoo.
::
.:Audacious blogged on 6:02 PM:.
::
http://www.singhealth.com.sg/HealthMatters/LetsConquerCancer/NewCancerTreatments/Purpose: Information
Description: This link provides me with the information on the latest treatments on certain types of cancer. These treatments include molecular targeted therapy, intensity modulated radiotherapy, Stereotactic radiosugery and interventional radiology. They are proven more effective and, cost-effective for some. There is at least some breakthrough in the treatment of cancer.
http://www.cancergame.org/Purpose: Entertainment
Description: As the name of the link implies, this website host a cancer-fighting game which I completed in just a few minutes. There are four stages to this game. In each stage, you are a T-cell (a lymphocyte which fights foreign molecules in our body) and you are supposed to eliminate all the foreign cancer cells. As the stage progresses, there are more cancer cells to fight. There is also a time limit to each stage. Once the time runs out, your T-cell will run out of ammunitions to kill the cancer cells and game over. Although this game is simple, it ultimately serves the purpose of entertaining people and educating us slightly.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/357813.stmPurpose: News
Description: This news is regarding on the breakthrough of lung cancer. Scientists have discovered a way to detect lung cancer early so that the cancer can be treated early.
::
.:Audacious blogged on 5:56 PM:.
...
::
This week, I am focusing my research on the treatment of cancer. My research skills are improving from every UIR practical lesson. This means that I take lesser time to research on my topic as well as being able to grab on to better websites which provided me with the information I needed. In addition, I had learnt how to classify the various types of websites (eg. personal, information, entertainment etc.) and being much more able to differentiate between these websites compared to last practical lesson. However, my research was not always smooth-sailing. I found many irrelavant websites although my keywords were right and sometimes, I have to make use of the advance search to get what I wanted. As usual, I am relying on Yahoo and Google to aid in my research. I am just too excited that my 'harvest' is building up...!
::
.:Audacious blogged on 2:13 PM:.
::
Here are more of my findings on the development of cancer. This week, I focusses more on the treatment of cancer. Do spend some time and browse the websites given below. :)
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/15/health/webmd/main2186141.shtmlPurpose: News
The news is on 15th Nov 2006, which is a recent news. This news states that obesity may lower the chance of colon caner survival and was taken from 'Journal of the National Cancer Institute'. Researchers have proven the reliability of the news after conducting some research on cancer patients' BMI (Body Mass Index) and came to a conclusion that patient who are obese tend to suffer from colon cancer.
http://www.cancer-prevention.netPurpose: Personal
This website provides 11 effective strategies to defend against cancer. In addition, they provide some ways to detect whether you have certain types of cancer (eg. Candida overgrowth, fungus-related cancer). I categorise this website as personal is because all the information is not evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, which means that they might not be factual. In addition, the author of this website takes information from other sources to compile into a website of his own.
http://www.funtrivia.com/ql.cfm?cat=10657Purpose: Entertainment
This website provides quizzes to test on your knowledge of cancer. All the quizzes are rated with different difficulties, and if you are good enough, you may attempt the harder level. At the end of the quiz, your score will be displayed. There are also crossword puzzles to put your knowledge to test!
http://goodhealing.wholefoodfarmacy.com/2005/Purpose: Business
This website advertises food products and supplements. These food products can actually substitute a healthy raw food snack for the not so healthy stuff you may be eating now. Guess what? This company sells organic coffee where the beans have been infused with the extracts from 4 mushrooms! This means that you can be enjoying your coffee and on the same time, absorbing the nutrients that mushrooms can provide. It is proven that mushroom can have anti-cancerous effect.
::
.:Audacious blogged on 2:02 PM:.
...
::
Finally, I am done with finding the 4 websites and a discussion forum regarding to cancer. Initially, I thought it would be an easy process and I could finish my searches in half an hour perhaps? It was when I was done with my research and realised 2 hours is up. It was a tiring experience I assure. However, at the end of the day after I have gotten the information I wanted, there was a sense of satisfaction. From this UIR lesson, I have learnt that using the internet to search for information is actually easy, provided that you are using the right and trusted search engines and typing in the correct keywords on what you are searching on. Here, I would recommend using Yahoo, Google and Wikipedia. Personally, I frequent Yahoo more than the rest. I do not know why but I just find this website attractive with news updated daily, and often give me the links I wanted. This is when my trust in this search engine builds up. Of course, I believe that everyone has their own preferences. I do find Wikipedia a very useful search engine too as I can find in-depth information on my topic. However, some people may find the information given is too much for them and they may tend to go for Yahoo and Google to find other links which may have information in lesser elaboration.
::
.:Audacious blogged on 7:09 PM:.
::
Hi, it has been a long time since I last updated my blog. Currently, I am doing research on the development of cancer which includes the causes, effects, symptoms and cure for cancer. The reason for me choosing this topic to research on is because I am a biology student and my interest in cells motivated me to discover more on tumor cell, which in other words means cancer cells. Cancer is definitly fatal, if it is left untreated. However, as the saying goes, 'Prevention is better than cure', it is never too late to adjust our lifestyle to a healthier one so that cancer cells will not have a chance to take over our body. Here, I shall include 4 links regarding cancer and a discussion forum site where people share their views on cancer.
http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=119This website basically organizes some of the various causes of cancer like age, carcinogens, diet and etc, in point forms. The causes are briefly elaborated.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/prevention-genetics-causes/causesThis website shows the various causes of cancer with headings like food, genetics, and tobacco. Under each heading, there are various links which will elaborate on each cause. For example under tobacco, there will be links which will describe more information on tobacco to give us have a better understanding on tobacco.
http://www.medicinenet.com/cancer_causes/article.htmThis website gives a good and brief introduction on cancer. From this link, we can move on and find out the various causes of different cancers, for example under the cause: sunlight, we can know that over exposure to sunlight will cause skin cancer. Under smoking, we will know that smoking causes oral and respiratory-related cancers. There are also preventions on various types of cancers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer#Origins_of_cancerThis website is by far the most elaborated website as compared to the others. In this website, you can find almost all aspects of cancer (causes, effects, symptoms and etc) and what is interesting is that there is even the history of cancer.
And...this is the discussion forum which I have mentioned earlier.
http://cancer.about.com/mpboards.htmThis is the discussion forum on cancer. This forum basically discusses almost all aspects of cancers. There are also interesting posts regarding the treatment of cancer. Your doubts on cancer can be cleared in this forum.
::
.:Audacious blogged on 6:17 PM:.
...
::
http://www.youtube.comI rated this website as 4 stars is because one can easily search for their favourite videos clips to watch. In addtion, we can also share our videos with our friends or even the world! It's very simple to use. You just have to type in the name of the video and its done...! One bad thing about this website which I did not give it a 5-stars is that we have to wait for the buffering of the videos. Sometimes..it can be frustrating to watch a video which is very lag and I believe everyone will face this problem.
http://www.gamefaqs.comThis is a website specially for hardcore gamers like me. In this website, you can find many tips, cheats and even the walkthrough regarding on a particular game. If you find difficulties in any games, this website is the best remedy for you..!
::
.:Audacious blogged on 5:35 PM:.
::
Hi! I am Han Yang. This is my very first time creating my own blog. Feeling excited? Definitly..! Let me give a brief introduction of myself...and hope that doesn't bore everyone. I am from Tampines Secondary School. My CCA is badminton, however not in the school team due to my average skills. There is nothing special about my school, except for an old tree which symbolises my school. I love my school, especially the bonding and cohesiveness among students. Why do I choose biomedical science ? It's because I like Biology and the name 'biomedical science' sounds rather cool to me. Another reason is that I aspire to be a doctor. However, I don't think it's possible for a poly student like me to enter the medical faculty in the University. Chances are very slim... For now, I just want to focus on my studies and hope that my diploma is a stepping stone to my desired University. Alright, so much on my studies. My hobbies are playing computer games especially DOTA, which is a well-known game in the world, badminton, reading gamefaqs and the list goes on... I have a family of four including me. I have a younger brother and apperantly, we share the same hobbies. So...that's all about me and I do look forward to posting more information in my blog...
::
.:Audacious blogged on 5:09 PM:.
...
