Technology Assisted collaborative communications

Introduction

Netiquette is a social convention adopted by internet users on the web that help interact over networks ranging from mailing to blogs and forums and live chat. Since the internet has changed rapidly, its netiquette does too, the need for a sense of netiquette arises mostly when sending or distributing e-mail, chatting or posting comments. To some point, the practice of netiquette relies on accepting how e-mail, chatting or other aspects of the internet work or is practiced.

For example, on an email discussion list – not everyone may have seen past message- it’s considered polite to quote from a message you’re replying to, so your response has context. It is considered that to keep quotes short and relevant. Web based forum, on the other hand where the original messages are visible to all, quoting is unnecessary.

Netiquette is a term referring to a good behaviour while connected to the internet below is some good and bad examples of netiquette while using the internet facilities.
Good Examples:

Requesting permission for images and extra intellectual rights from the author and owners.
Using proper grammar and spelling
Not Using someone else’s identity such as name and pretending to be someone else
Not posting something illegal
Not using abusive and threatening language.
Not post racist comments
Not trying to capture personal information about someone

Bad Examples:

Trying to be someone else and using their personal information and their identity
Using foul language in a message or in a live chat
Posting comments on racism
To gather private information about someone

Netiquette is communicating clearly online; this helps students with their learning as it gives the students a guide on how to speak or type in a message or to people using online communication tools such as Facebook, Skype or Windows live Messenger. This helped me to attempt my assignment one as it was a group assignment we had to use online communication tools in order to communicate. We clearly used appropriate language to communicate and sent brief short message emails to each of the group members. As a group we used appropriate behaviour to communicate with each other and it helped us into attempting assignment one it helped us to keep quotes short and relevant and easy to read.

Throughout this module we had to attempt Assignment one; and in order to do that we had to communicate we each other as it was a group assignment. As we didn’t have time to communicate all the time due to other modules and other coursework and not everyone in our group was doing the same modules, we had to communicate by online communication using Skype, Facebook and Windows live messenger. We used mainly Skype as we were able to communicate as a group and not individual. Using online communication was an advantage for us as a group this is because we communicated anywhere, we didn’t have to discuss everything face to face or coming to the university and discussing the work, we discussed it over Skype and other online communication in order to help each other out for the group assignment and how to attempt each part. Blackboard was also used; it was used in order get in touch with the lecturer we posted comments in the discussion forum as a group or individual to get help with the assignments and other work relating to the lecturer.

Online communications are used to be reserved for emails sent to co-workers and bosses. Today, however, emails and online conferences and other different methods kinds of online communications have not only become widely accepted, but often preferred to other methods. Online communications can offer several advantages and disadvantages. There is convenience; users don’t need to wait in for the other person to be available in order to get the message to them, they can just send an email. Today for better communications, we can avail the facilities of e-mail, we can chat for hours. There are plenty messenger tools in present, these services it has become easy to start a friendship where users can share their thoughts. Advantages of Instant messaging is; users are able to send message in real time, free to use, having to have a proper face to face conversation without making a large bill and users are able to chat to more than one person at the same time.

However there are disadvantages in using online communications. Some people decide to send viruses via email and in the processing infecting the user computers. Virus email can be difficult in order to be detected especially to someone with a very little knowledge of computer viruses and how they work. It’s not only emails that are the downside of online communications there are more such Instant messaging, the downside of instant messaging is that viruses can be sent via files, needs internet connection and computer and last of you don’t who you are really talking too.
As technology progresses and the world has become more reliant up on internet functions online learning has gained popularity and functionality. I personally can say it has benefited me, as it enables me to access it 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I am able to have the ability to read and re read lectures, discussion, explanations and comments. Each student has their personal way of learning some can learn visually and others do better when they “learn by doing”. As online learning has benefited me I can study the lectures and materials of the modules on my own time or whenever I have the access to a computer or to the internet, it allows me to work at my own pace when learning modules. As I can choose when I want to work on my studies, I am more likely to devote my full attention to the task and not be distracted to comprehend to the lesson. One of greatest things about online learning is that I can learn anywhere this is a benefit to me as I can learn even in the comfort of my own home; this can save me countless hours of transits. Instead of enduring a boring and often a stressful- rush to get to class at a horrible hour of the morning, I can use these hours for actual learning. Normally I often have more one on one interaction with my lecturers as correspondence through email is essential as my lecturers will know more about me and they way I learn and needs than a student they see two or three times a week in their lecturers.

Online learning has not benefited me in this course; this is because in all of my modules it is required that we attend lectures and tutorials so for that we don’t miss out in anything important. Throughout the course, I’ve tried learning some things online, but it was a fail. It was only clear if the lecturer explained it, there was no point learning it online or any other way as it wasn’t clear enough. Online learning is a benefit in some of the modules but for this modules is not, when the work is set is required we practice it there and there so therefore there is no need to learn something online. Online learning does benefit some students in the course as for them they think it’s better to learn in this method, but for some it’s the other way around they think it’s better to attend lectures and tutorials to learn the module.

Reference:

Netiquette:

Erin Hoffman. (2005). what is netiquette. Available: http://www.wisegeek.com/contest/what-is-netiquette.htm. Last accessed 28th March 2011.

Wendy Grossman. (2010). what is netiquette. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/guides/about-netiquette. Last accessed 4th April 2011.

Advantages and disadvantages:

Jayashree Pakhare. (2006). Advantages and Disadvantages of Internet. Available: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/advantages-disadvantages-internet.html. Last accessed 4 April 2011.