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[internet-psych]

Welcome to the Internet

[internet-psych]

Unit 1: Assignment 1

During this assignment, I was introduced to the course. I learned how the course will be structured including when to turn in assignments and how the point system works. I learned how to email Professor Gernsbacher and sent my first email with my course contract. I was given advice to do well in the course by keeping up, working ahead, and working on the course every day. This is very important to me because I want to do well in the class. My goal for this semester is to receive an A in the class and that can only be accomplished by staying on task. However, I did learn that there is a flexibility accommodation built into the course for times when you cannot turn in an assignment on its due date. This is especially helpful for if I get sick or feel overwhelmed from other classes. I am especially grateful for this accommodation because everyone needs a break now and then. I lastly was introduced to all of the 14 units topics and am very excited to work on this course.  

[internet-psych]

Unit 1: Assignment 2

During this assignment, I revisited how to make a discussion post to the canvas site and how important it is to proofread because there is no editing option for discussion posts. I then learned how to embed a URL and a YouTube video into the discussion posts which will be useful for later assignments and potentially other online courses involving posting to discussion boards. I lastly learned how to make a unique screen name which is important for other people to identify you on the internet especially because more and more people are joining and many names are already taken. This screen name should be unique to you instead of being user123. It could include some of your favorite things like your favorite food or a nickname and some numbers and/or special characters. I then created my own unique screen name to be greasylesie9 because 9 is my lucky number and birth date and greasy lesie was my childhood nickname. I then practiced making a discussion board post and embedding a YouTube video and website link so that I will be able to use it on future assignments no problem. I really enjoyed this assignment because I got to share my favorite YouTube video (All Too Well Short Film) and one of my favorite websites (IMDB) which is a fun way to introduce myself to the classmates in my discussion section.

[internet-psych]

Unit 1: Assignment 3

During this assignment, I had learned that past technologies preceding the internets that were very common were feared just as the internet was feared today. Some of these past technologies include pocket calculators, novels, the radio, cable television, ball-point pens, the phonograph, the common eraser, and more. I found it especially interesting that people feared umbrellas of all things. This fear stemmed from horse-drawn cab companies because they had the majority of their business from when it was raining. With umbrellas, they would lose a lot of that business. This was the same for many of the new technologies and especially similar to printing publishers being scared of the internet because it would put them out of business. As we can see, people do use the internet for their news, but printing publishers are still very popular, and the printed newspaper is still widely used. All of the old technologies that were feared and had lies spread about them that they are harmful have shown that they are not harmful but useful. The internet is doing the same. I wonder if in many years a new technology comes along making the internet seem inferior and strikes fear because of it. It would be a very interesting thing to witness.  

[internet-psych]

Unit 1: Assignment 4

During this assignment, I learned how to reply to a discussion board post which is done by hitting the reply button at the bottom of a previous discussion board post. I also learned the best way to respond to another student’s discussion board post which is done by including two or more of a compliment, comment, connection, or question. I then practiced what I had learned by responding to three of the other student’s discussion posts from unit 1: assignment 2. Before responding, I read through all of the discussion posts including Professor Gernsbacher’s and the TAs for the course. I then responded to my classmates Jamie, Lauren, and Kenzie. I liked this assignment to get to know my other classmates and find out what some of their interests are. It was especially cool to find that I had some things in common with other people. This is a great way to make the class seem more personal and intimate.  

[internet-psych]

Unit 1: Assignment 5

In this assignment, I learned about what employers want you to learn in college. The things listed from the documents are important to acquire for a greater likelihood of being hired after finishing your college degree. Of the many things listed, I chose motivation/initiative, computer skills, and organizational skills to develop further through the use of this course. I chose these because I think there is always more to be learned about computer skills even if I am above average at using the computer. This is because the computer is always adapting and updating, and we should to. I then chose motivation/initiative and organizational skills because I tend to get very distracted and can lose sight of why I am doing something. I then learned about 21st century skills that lead to success. These skills are important to be successful in school and in your career which will allow for a more fulfilling life. The three 21st century skills I would like to develop further are critical thinking in cyberspace, reflective thinking, and being an investigative explorer. Critical thinking skills are very important to form judgements and I believe there is always room for improvement especially in cyberspace because I am not used to applying them there. I want to further my reflective thinking skills because at times I forgot to ask why something is which can lead to making incorrect assumptions. I want to become a better investigative explorer because I want to be better at finding information on the internet and knowing which questions to ask to get it. I lastly learned why certain aspects of the course are structured the way that they are and why it is important to pay attention to detail in order to do well in the course. The course is completely internet-based because being able to use the internet properly is beneficial for success in life and follows deadlines because there are always deadlines in the workplace that need to be followed and still allows for mishaps with the one-week extension. I chose the highlighting method to use for paying attention to the details of assignments in order to be successful in the course. This consists of copying and pasting an assignment into word, highlighting after I finish a component of the assignment, and un-highlighting when I go back and check that my assignment fills all of the requirements. It may seem tedious, but it is very helpful when wanting to make sure you have checked every box and can be used for the future as well.

[internet-psych]

Unit 1: Assignment 6

In this assignment, I filled in my first review sheet for unit 1. The review sheet asked to list ten of the technologies that were feared prior to the internet that we had discovered in assignment 3. It was interesting to try and recall all of the technologies without looking back at my notes. I was only able to remember five at the time. By completing this assignment, I learned how to save a pdf to my computer and how to fill in a fillable pdf through the Adobe Reader app. I then learned how to submit this pdf file to assignment submission rather than a discussion board. This initial submission is helpful for each time I update my review sheet and submit to an assignment link. I also learned that it is important to download your pdf submission after it has submitted to check that it is the right document and that everything looks right. This is helpful so you don’t lose out on points from doing the work but submitting a faulty file.

[internet-psych]

Learning via the Internet

[internet-psych]

Unit 2: Assignment 1

Internet-based higher education can lead to better mastery, optimize performance, promote critical thinking, deepen memory, and enhance writing skills. Internet-based higher education can lead to better mastery through short and frequent episodes of practice rather than long and less frequent episodes of practice that usually occurs with a non-internet class. It can also optimize performance by allowing students to engage with the course at a time that is best for them. It can then deepen memory by engaging deeper levels of processing through assignments that rely on searching for the information. This aspect of internet-based higher education resonates the most with me because I want to remember the information, I learn for a longer period than just needing it for a test. I want to be able to recall the information weeks after engaging with it. This would mean I truly got the most out of the course. Internet-based higher education can promote critical thinking by sorting through many sources of information to find what information is most useful. Lastly, it can enhance writing skills by allowing for many opportunities to write on assignments which is continuous practice that can also receive feedback from many people rather than just the professor.

[internet-psych]

Unit 2: Assignment 2

During this assignment, I learned two new skills that I found a tutorial from on Pinterest. The first skill was a braided hairstyle that I could use for future weddings and the second was how to restore burnt pans (which did not work). Learning these new skills and practicing them was very fun, but also very beneficial. By learning new skills, you can find different ways to save money instead of finding someone else do something for you. Also, by practicing the skills you learned, you will become better at them because you cannot execute something simply through watching it. I especially learned the importance of this during this assignment from absolutely failing my first attempt at the braid but by the third try it started to look decent and almost professional. This made me reflect on how often I give something up after attempting and failing the first time. Just because something doesn’t work out once does not mean it cannot be fixed.

[internet-psych]

Unit 2: Assignment 3

During this assignment, I read all of my classmate’s discussion posts on which principle of internet-based higher education resonates most with them. It was very interesting to see the varying responses and reasonings from my classmates. I then responded to two of my classmates. The first response was to someone that chose the same principle as me. They had mentioned that from covid and being forced into school online, many of the course structures allowed for open book tests but did not make the questions harder which caused for students to not learn anything once the class was finished. I completely agree with this point. I think an internet course can allow for deeper memory if it is conducted correctly, otherwise there are no benefits. The second response was to someone that chose a different fundamental principle. This person chose optimizing performance as what resonated most with them because they enjoy doing work at a time that works best for them. They mentioned that their motivation is higher in the early afternoon, but they never have a set schedule of when they work on this class. I agree with what they said because I also work at very random times but find that I get the most done in the middle of the day or late at night. I also find that the work I do get done during these times is more thorough than the work that I do at different times in the day which is very interesting, and I am not exactly sure why this is.

[internet-psych]

Unit 2: Assignment 4

During this assignment, I read two articles that discussed the success of Napster and how it changed the music industry by being the first free music streaming type program. I also learned about Udacity, an online institution that hundreds of thousands of students in one class but is still able to provide the necessary education that the students need. This program is very accessible to other people and very cost-effective. It astounded me to learn how many people could be in one class, but I was most astounded by the fact that the cost of attendance of college in general is rising and the colleges listed as providing the best education account for less than a quarter of all college students. I believe that college should be accessible to everyone and that it should not be so expensive. Education in general should not be a privilege that only some can obtain. It would be difficult to move towards this goal, but it should be done if we want to succeed as a country.  

[internet-psych]

Unit 2: Assignment 5

During this assignment, I learned how to access a password protected file which by no surprise is very particular about details. I then discovered who my chat group members are and reached out to them to decide when we should meet for the next unit to hold our one-hour chat group. I am in The HTML's: Group Q. After getting in contact with them, we made a text group chat for an easier communication system and to introduce ourselves to one another. We will be meeting next week on Friday the 11th at 2;00pm. I then learned how to participate in a chat group by using my laptop or my phone, that one member needs to be using the browser chrome in order to save the chat transcript, to continue the chat if someone does not show up by fifteen minutes after the agreed time, and that all chats need to be at least one hour to get the full number of points. Kevin is responsible for setting up the chat space and I am responsible for using the browser chrome for our first chat.

[internet-psych]

Unit 2: Assignment 6

During this assignment, I filled in my course review which included units 1 and 2. All of the units will be included in each of the course reviews because repetition is important for enhancing and broadening learning. I also read through the course term project instructions to know what is required. There are two options: The whole course option or the paper option. The whole course focuses on explaining and reflecting on everything that was learned during the entirety of the course while the paper option involves choosing a topic from the course and doing a deep dive of research on that topic. Both options require a project medium to present the term project on which can be anything from Tumblr to PowerPoint to a Word document. At this point in time, I began to conceptualize what I wanted to do for the term project and had settled on doing the whole course option for sure. Obviously, I ended up deciding to do a six-days-a-week journal detailing the course.

[internet-psych]

Educating via the Internet

[internet-psych]

Unit 3: Assignment 1

During this unit I learned about challenges colleges and college students face today. Some of the challenges that college students face are traditional lectures are not effective in teaching content successfully because most students do not learn from seeing/hearing, in-person structured lectures do not allow students to work at their own pace and can move either too fast or too slow for some students, higher education is resistant in adopting technology into their courses making it more difficult for students who have grown up on technology, higher education is not accessible and the rising cost of books are too expensive for most college students which forces them to find other means of using the textbook or not acquiring one at all. Although all of these are challenges, the challenge that most affects me is the cost of higher education which has been continually rising in the past years. I am scared to be in debt when I am finished with school. Also, many people don’t have the money to receive higher education in the first place even with loans because of how costly it can be. People like me should not have to make accommodations around higher education.

[internet-psych]

Unit 3: Assignment 2

A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies which can help to generalize the results to a larger population and inconsistencies can be found. Random assignment assigns participants to different groups randomly to reduce research bias and increase validity of the results. Effect size is the difference between two groups to show the significance of the results. I then learned the 12 key findings of the U.S. Department of Education’s (2010) report which include: Interpretations of the advantage of online learning over face-to-face instruction should take into consideration the fact that online and face-to-face conditions generally differ on multiple dimensions, including the amount of time that learners spend on task, effect sizes were larger for studies in which the online instruction was collaborative or instructor-directed rather than studies where online learners worked independently, many of the variations in the way in which different studies implemented online learning did not affect student learning outcomes significantly, the effectiveness of online learning approaches appears quite broad across different learner types, the effectiveness of online learning approaches appears quite broad across different content, effect sizes were larger for studies in which the online and face-to-face conditions varied in terms of curriculum materials and aspects of instructional approach in addition to the medium of instruction, blended and purely online learning conditions implemented within a single study generally result in similar student learning outcomes, frequent online quizzes do not appear to influence the amount that students learn in online classes, online learning can be enhanced by giving learners control of their interactions with media and by prompting learner reflection, providing instruction to large groups of students appears less successful than providing instruction that requires each individual learner to operate on the material independently, and extensive use of video does not appear to enhance the amount that students learn in online classes. I then chose to interpret the key finding "extensive use of video does not appear to enhance the amount that students learn in online classes” which means that using additional videos as a learning strategy does not increase how much students learn in online classes compared to other routes of additional work such as frequent homework assignments. By saying that excess videos are not as effective as other learning strategies, it can be inferred that other learning strategies do enhance the amount students learn in the online class without the addition of these other learning strategies excluding watching excess videos. This is because when completing things such as homework assignments, students are required to contemplate and work with the information being taught rather than just watch it. I completely agree with this finding because I have always done better in classes that I have had to think more about the material and work interactively with it instead of just watching videos.