Practical 8 & 9 Reflection

a. Update your blog with magical pictures of your Dream Holiday destinations

b. Which evaluation criteria did you used to evaluate the multimedia websites for you dream holiday? Why?

c. Why did you choose to go to your Dream Holiday destination

My dream holiday destination is full of thrill, fun, danger and risks. Well, what is fun without danger or risks in the first place? It's a unique place which offers a lot of sports and I think that not many people would even want to go there. Whistler is no doubt the place where I want to be going.

View of whistler from whistler mountain

Whistler mountain as seen from Nita Lake in summer

A year ago, my brother introduced me into the world of mountain biking. Since then, I've been active in this by regularly having bike outings with him and other people whom I've met through riding. Through this, I have a closer bond with him and we often talk about our problems and the hectic days that we went through together while riding.

As such, he usually buys DVDs about mountain biking and one of my all time favourites is Collective: Seasons. Seasons is a film that follows 7 of the world's top mountain bikers through the course of 4 seasons of one year. The film explores what it means to be a full time rider as told through the lives of downhill racers, slopestyle competitors and big mountain freeriders. The moment the movie was showing, I was captivated throughout. The movie had immense landscapes and mother nature took the toll on me because it made me engaged to the movie.

Whistler bike park waiting area

A rider doing a drop in Whistler Bike Park (a very steep one)

Above is the last segment of Collective: Seasons which is my most favourite as it was very enjoyable just by watching and it made me want to be part of it. I highly recommend you to watch it. The segment shows 7 riders riding together. Not all of the riders have the same riding styles but nonetheless it was a very smooth clip and the riders get to show their skills and most of all, have fun.

After researching, I found out that the venue for this segment was shot at the Karate Monkey Section in Whistler Bike Park. Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the Southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Over 2 million people visit Whistler annually primarily for alpine skiing and mountain biking.

However, going there would cost you some money. Money will go to flying tickets, accommodations, personal expenses. You'll also have to purchase passes to be able to enter the bike park. The passes alone would cost around $150.

And so, the website I used is www.enjoywhistler.com/. It's a website which features a lot of information and the things that Whistler offers.

And now the evaluation criterias that I chose and why:

Purpose - I found the website through searching for packages for a Whistler trip. It became quite clear to me that the website's main aim is to market the accommodations available in Whistler. Almost all packages had different hotels in them and I would safely say that its main aim is to market accommodations.

Accuracy - The website is maintained by an organization aimed to provide the best accommodations towards the people going there. The website provides a lot of activities done at Whistler, packages, transportation and even has a restaurant guide so I have no doubt about its accuracy.

Coverage - For those who are at a lost as to what or where Whistler is, this is the website to go to. A person may have no clue, but after viewing the site, it shows the activities, accommodations there, packages and this can really help someone. It also covers the various mountains informations and stats like the temperature and trail map.

Accessibility - This website is easily accessible to anyone as it requires no registration to view the whole web page.

Presentation and Management - As Whistler have different activities on different seasons, there's two options; summer and winter. Through clicking, there's a wide array of activities offered and shown which is really neat and user friendly. Visitors would not get lost through viewing this site.

Practical 7 Reflection

a. Which criteria did you use to evaluate Stomp.com? Why did you choose this criteria? What lessons have you learnt from this activity?
Purpose - To me, the purpose of this website is quite clear; to provide fast and random news to the local community. To me, I feel that teenagers out there don't really bother much about news like current affairs. We are more into those small news like gossips and rumors. This website is seen as a great platform for youths out there to spend their time reading and watching interesting news and on-goings.

Currency - The website is updated regularly and the discussion forums are up to date. Current news are present in the home pages while others require searching.

Accessibility - This website is easily accessible to everyone. Recent news about the 'girl' being groped by a few men reached out to others like the blink of an eye. It became quite the talk of the town. More news about this issue began to surface and details were shown. But, to post comments, one has to register for an account. This is good as not any random person can post crude comments. Also, a person maybe blocked for rude comments which is good as the younger generations should not be exposed to this absurdity.

I have learnt that news in general spread very fast as there are many channels for us to feed them in. Even gossip or rumors are concerned too. But sometimes, we can't believe what we have read, as it might not be the whole truth.

b. How do you feel about sharing your views through Wiki?
It's really easy for me because I just have to log in and just post information. All the information are listed in just 1 page and this is more convenient towards me. Also, it can help me understand easier.

Practical 6 Reflection

a. Do you think it is more effective to search the invisible web(databases) than using search engines, meta search or subject directories? Why?
Personally, I feel that it's a no because after using the databases, I found no relevant information regarding my topic. Databases are designed to offer an organized mechanism for storing, managing and retrieving information. Most of the searches or articles that appeared were of no help to me. But these articles are highly reliable and can be trusted because they are maintained by the goverment or others.

b. Will you use the invisible web(databases) for research in your own respective Diplomas? Why?
No because I prefer using search engines or directories as these sites offer more valid information to me. For some databases, it requires log-ins but search engines and directories don't. So it is more convenient and the search hits are of more relevance to me.

c. What have you learnt from your wiki experience during this practical?
I learnt that we can openly share our own research to others. From there, this account of sharing helps others in learning more about our research topic and patches up the loop holes. Through this we learn more by collaborating with each other.

Practical 4 & 5 Reflection

a. What benefits do you get when using different search facilities to search for resources related to your topic?
Well, after researching, I found out that different search facilities has different strengths and weaknesses. For the meta search engine, I chose metacrawler and for the subject directory, I chose Google directory. For the meta search engines, it saves the user from having to use multiple search engines separately because it combines the results from several search engines and I also found that my search results are more comprehensive. For subject directories, you basically narrow down your search topic through categories. It helps by saving the researcher's time. And I also found out that it's good for finding general information.

b. How do you feel about using site feeds in your blog?
It helps to open another portal to help you in broading the information of your research topic thus it helps. Through this, we can learn more and share information with others.

c. What do you like best about collaborating on Wiki with other students who share similar research topic as you?
We get to share information with each other and help to broaden our knowledge about our specific topic. It also helps us to develop more questions regarding our topic and leads us to knowing MORE about it.

Practical 3 Reflection

a. Were you impressed by google's search functions/features? Why?
Personally, I was impressed because after a few years using google as a search engine, I never really took a greater look into this website. I was taking advantage of this website but never really look in depth into it. By just using astericks, AND, OR could easily affect the hits or search results. This can help me by being accurate with my searches.

b. How do you feel about participation in discussion forum? Is it helpful for your research? Do you feel anxious about talking to others you do not know?
I felt happy that I contributed something and answered a stranger's question regarding my research topic. It was a win-win situation for both of us as he gets some answers and I get to learn more about my research topic. From there, even more discussions would happen and other forumers might join too in aiding us if they have other valid information or answers. I felt a little anxious as it was my first time. But nonetheless, I overcomed it and posted my views.

c. Why must you do citation and bibliography?
We do citations to acknowledge the source of information. It also allows the reader to follow and find the original source. Inadequate citations may lead to the thinking of plagiarism. Bibliography represents the research that you have DONE in preparation for writing and offers the readers suggestions for further reading/researching on the topic.