User talk:DayleCleland

Wiki Exercise #1: Educational Assignment
A topic that I find quite intriguing, which has become an online phenomenon is vlogging. "Vlogging" in its simplest form is the same concept as writing in a blog or "blogging" but in a video format instead or written language. This style allows for more creativity for users to edit video's and create animations etc. instead of just writing an essay style text piece. Over the last 5 years the vlogging format has become extremely popular especially with younger generations. The main way that people distribute these types of videos is through the use of youtube. The growth of the online presence has lead to some vloggers to become idolized and become more popular and more well known than traditional media celebrities. In my opinion, the appeal to vlogging and the appeal for people to watch vlogs is for people to have a glimpse into someone else's life. The chances of ever meeting that person are slim but it allows you to see what it is like to live in another part of the world and what types of issues and struggles these people have in their day to day lives. My favourite vlogger is a man called Casey Neistat. He is most well known for his daring videos such as when he snowboarded through the streets of Manhattan during a severe snow storm. He began his career making shirt films but has started filming daily vlogs in which his audience can see what it is like to live a life in New York City. DayleCleland (discuss • contribs) 13:06, 29 February 2016 (UTC)

Wiki Exercise 1: Formative Feedback
Your post starts off with generalisations but concludes with a good example (although links would be helpful). Try to avoid generalisations, or back up these assertions with statistics. For example, you mention "some vloggers [becoming] idolized" due to viewer numbers. An example of this would help to clarify your argument. The post is unsigned. Please remember to sign all your wiki exercises with 4 tildes, as well as any contributions to talk/discussion pages while working on the main project. Your comments on colleague's talk pages are thoughtful and engage with their content, but would benefit from a greater level of critical engagment

A post of this standard roughly corresponds to the following grade descriptor: Good. Among other things, good entries will make a clear point in a clear way. They will relate concepts to original examples in a straightforward fashion. They will make effective use of the possibilities of the form (including links, as well as perhaps copyright-free videos and images, linked to from Wiki Commons). They may also demonstrate a broader understanding of the module's themes and concerns, and are likely to show evidence of reading and thinking about the subject material. The wiki markup formatting will be very clear. Sprowberry (discuss • contribs) 09:49, 29 February 2016 (UTC)

Wiki Exercise #2: Visibility and Online Footprint
My generation are by far not the pioneers of social media, but they certainly are the ones that have made it so popular. The main reason that social media has become such a goliath is because it has become engrained in our minds and our culture that everything we do must be shared with the hundreds of "friends" that we all have there. You go for a walk in the park? You better believe that I'm going to instagram the leaves on the ground, applying a filter to make the colours look more vibrant and accompany it with a caption of various emoji's describing my feelings. It's your birthday? Be prepared for the tirade of "Happy Birthday mate! We should get together for a few bevys" and other generic birthday greetings from people that you haven't seen since your high school prom two years ago. To be honest, I don't mind it all. I like to imagine Facebook and such as a big main street in a town and as you're walking down, you see all the people that you know and you're just being friendly towards them. For our generation, it's just the same way of staying in touch as our grandparents sent letters back and forth or how in america they send family newsletters at certain points throughout the year keeping all of their friends up to date about how things are going and how little jimmy lost his baby teeth.

In saying all of this, I keep a very limited presence online. Mostly out of a lack of good content. I have mixed feelings towards what should be put online, wherein I feel that a picture of my dinner isn't worth putting on instagram because, whats the point? who would want to see that? What I catch myself thinking like that, I then think well why not? I can literally post anything that I like on here. It doesn't matter in the slightest because I know that people will only look at my picture for a maximum of about 3 seconds before it's forgotten forever. Feeling more confident I will post something and then be somehow embarrassed if it doesn't reach over 11 likes turning the shameful names into beautiful numbers.

At the end of the day, social media and what we out on it doesn't matter in the slightest. We're all just here on earth to have some fun and try not to die too young. DayleCleland (discuss • contribs) 16:56, 23 February 2016 (UTC)

=Comments on wiki exercise #2
when you mentioned imagining facebook as a sort of virtual street or town i agree with that in a way, although i dont believe facebook or other forms of social media to be an extension of normal social interaction in the 'real world' as such. i have a very distinct explanation of that in my head, but basically you don't communicate yourself publicly on facebook like you would face to face with people. there are certain new conventions you have to follow. sometimes online conventions transfer over to the 'real world' such as people saying, 'lol' or using hashtags. that has to stop. when you mention getting over a like threshold, facebook appears to become like a sort of popularity contest. the people who are most visible on it are the most hungry for positive attention. their profils are not protected so as many people as possible have access to view them. they post their snapchat and phone number and other social media accounts so they can hoover up more likes, subscribes and followers like an enormous ego driven monster. I'm perhaps being very cynical but i do believe most people( including myself) are pretty desperate for at least a few likes when they post, even if they wont admit it. MrRobot 321 (discuss • contribs) 11:27, 26 February 2016 (UTC)

I really enjoyed reading your opinion on this topic, what you describe is almost like a hyperinflation of social currency, where our constant overuses of all of these social media outlets hasn’t really left room for any genuine sentiment among the traditional social clichés. However, while I do feel that you make some very salient points, I believe there is still some value in the shared experience that we can enjoy if we engage with these mediums earnestly .Who we share our lives with, and by extension, who’s lives we agree to share in are also important considerations when thinking of the value of social media. That being said, I feel there is a prevalence of placing too much importance on your ‘online self’. You mention the relative meaninglessness of social media in the grand scheme, and I agree with you, but I think the consideration of social media as a social tool is more apt than simply disregarding it usefulness. Your metaphor of a Facebook being our generations Main Street, where the emphasis is on maintaining social contracts particularly rings true. Blackflagdog (discuss • contribs) 11:13, 4 March 2016 (UTC)

Wiki Exercise #3: Information Overload!
The internet was created to share information from one place to another of from one person to another. Our society thrives on information whether it be current events, tabloid gossip or scholarly material, information is a fundamental part of living. Through the invention of websites such as Wikipedia, Wikibooks etc. the wealth of knowledge that can be drawn from is unimaginably large due to the dominance of technology in the 21st century. When it comes to researching a certain topic ,whether it be for recreational or educational purposes, wading through all of the information available to you can seem to be a herculean task but if tackled in the correct way it isn't too difficult.

When researching a topic (like we all are for our wiki-projects), finding relevant information can be difficult and trying to sift through countless journal articles to find what you're looking for is a nightmare. Personally, I find the easiest way of dealing with this is to write stuff down in the physical world. I find it very difficult to concentrate on notes and information if too much of it is on screen as my brain sort of disconnects from the content and makes it difficult for me to concentrate. Firstly, make a list of all the information that you need to research and find out more about. By doing this I relieve myself of having to remember what I still have to research whilst trying to absorb lots of information. from my list I can work my way through recommended readings etc. and find out the needed content and makes noes on them. The complied notes can all be consolidated and then transformed into a cohesive and knowledgeable assignment. I feel having a plan helps keep the brain from wandering and keeps me focused on the task at hand. furthermore, having a distinct set of topics to focus on acts as a way to not get lost in the sea of information that the internet has to offer. For example if I was to look at the Wikipedia page for The Oscars within a couple of click I could find myself looking at a comprehensive list of every movie that Marlon Brando had ever starred in.

Distraction is the number one enemy for many people trying to research or write essays (as students we know this to be true) and it really can be a plague for productivity. One minute I'm researching the views of Karl Marx on the mode of production and the next minute I'm watching a YouTube video about 6 things I missed in the latest Batman Vs Superman trailer. A useful tool I use is an extension for google chrome called Block Site. This extension allows you to enter the websites which you are most likely to visit to procrastinate and blocks them out for a selected amount of time i.e. until you meet your deadline.

Wiki Exercise 4
Since it's inception, the Internet has been a wealth of knowledge beneficial for the further development of learning. However, some drawbacks of the web is that it can be very one sided where people can read information but have no way to collaborate and add additional information that could be beneficial to the document. This drawback led to the rise of websites using more user-generated content, these types of sites are coined as web 2.0. David Gauntlet describes the web 2.0 as ‘harnessing the collective abilities of the members of an online network, to make an especially powerful resource or service.' Through this want for more collaborative networks, websites like Wikipedia and Wikibooks were born. These types of sites allow the users to collaborate across the platform to create projects and books about certain topics. This allows the project to have many different sources of information rather than one, allowing for a greater pool of knowledge to be accessed.

That being said, the process of using this type of online resource does not come without its problems.

Wikibooks is terrible for group work and collaboration. As a website for displaying the information as a 'book' is very good however, even if the layout is very basic. The interface that users have to use to discuss their sections of work and collaborate on sections is a mess. The layout is set out in such a way that it is necessary to use some types of coding language to use headings and to format effectively. To an experienced or even slightly experienced person familiar with programming this should not be a problem, but for the casual computer like many others, and myself formatting your work seems like a very difficult task. Due to this issue, the discussion section of the group work can become very messy and dis-organised making it extremely difficult to read and follow the ideas that have to be discussed. When it comes to the discussion of topics, due to the complexity of the formatting process, one user can ask a question to the group and it can be completely missed or lost in the page.

In an academic setting, I found the use of usernames on the website to be quite restrictive in the sense that you don't know who you are working with in real life. In previous group tasks, the use of social media messenger apps such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp have been very useful as you can clearly see the persons name and what they are saying where it can be replied to and read very easily. However, with Wikibooks, the post will just sit there waiting to be read rather than being in a conversation type format where you are notified of additions to the page. Further problems with the communication aspect of the Wikibooks projects are to do with the notification system that they have in place. When trying to reply to a post, it is very complicated for the novice computer user and if done incorrectly there is no way that the person is notified leading to missed communications.

Personally, the Wikibooks project was very informative as the product at the end contains a lot of useful information. However, the system used to create the book seems like almost too much hassle to try and navigate and master to even warrant the project in the first place.

Marker’s Feedback on Wikibook Project Work
You demonstrated a good level of engagement and initiative to ensure that group work took place in a timely fashion, but failed to respond to peers' posts on wiki exercises. When the brief comes in multiple parts, make sure you fulfill all the criteria. After the initial prompts, your contributions became primarily territory grabbing and there is a lack of a true collaboration within the larger project. While the content is largely accurate in its description, there is a reliance on anecdote in the exercises, which would have been improved through greater integration of module themes and evidence of secondary reading.

Content (weighted 20%)

 * Your contribution to the book page gives a satisfactory brief overview of the subject under discussion in your chosen themed chapter. There is a fair range of concepts associated with your subject, and an effort to deliver critical definitions. There is evidence that you draw from relevant literature and scholarship, however your own critical voice in the building of a robust argument is slightly lost, perhaps due to a variable depth of understanding the subject matter or over reliance on rote learning. The primary and secondary sources you found about the chapter’s themes cover a somewhat circumscribed range and depth of subject matter.

Understanding (weighted 30%)

 * Reading and research:
 * evidence of critical engagement with set materials, although some ideas and procedures more securely grasped than others
 * evidence of independent reading of somewhat circumscribed range of appropriate academic and peer-reviewed material
 * Argument and analysis:
 * well-articulated and well-supported argument featuring variable depth of understanding
 * satisfactory level of evidence of critical thinking (through taking a position in relation to key ideas from the module, and supporting this position in discussion);
 * satisfactory level of evidence of relational thinking (through making connections between key ideas from the module and wider literature, and supporting these connections in discussion);
 * evidence of variable independent critical ability

Engagement (weighted 50%)

 * Evidence from contributions to both editing and discussion of content to a variable standard (i.e. volume and breadth of activity as evidenced through contribs)
 * Satisfactory engagement with and learning from other Wikipedians about the task of writing/editing content for a Wikibook
 * Reflexive, creative and fairly well-managed use of discussion pages using deployment of somewhat limited judgement relating to key issues, concepts or procedures

Overall Mark % available on Succeed

FMSU9A4marker (discuss • contribs) 14:44, 3 May 2016 (UTC)