Surfing Experience

No, this is not about surfing the waves for some insane reason because if you know me, I hate the ocean even if I love the beach.

Anyway, this is about an activity for COMPMED. This is all about my internet surfing experience.

Slow PC, slow internet and don't forget about the Dans Guardian. Those were downsides of internet surfing here in school.

I was just surfing through Multiply and my Blogger, and the PC took too long to respond, maybe because everyone else was using the internet.

Earlier today, I tried to type in the terms "Color wheel" and "Mickey Mouse" over at Google and it took me by surprise that images of those things were banned. BANNED! Why in the world will they ban Mickey Mouse and the Color Wheel?? The terms "Porn" came in. Crazy, ey? It just made me realize that the internet was so nasty than what it really seems to look like.

Those were pretty much my problems while surfing the internet.

There were positive things anyway, I got to check my mail, I got to check my Multiply site and even get to update my Blogger (Yes, I'll be passing this to my Professor and posting it as my blog entry as well). These are just a few things that I can check out of my list for the day.

That, I believe, sums up my experience, for this day alone. :)

interwebz.

Unlike many of the other teenagers that belong to my generation, I did not have the privilege of using the internet in class at school. In elementary, our computer teacher only focused on teaching us how to play simple point-and-click educational games that taught us how to type and generally how to interact with the unit. Eventually, we worked on using document processing, presentation making and electronic spreadsheet software but the farthest we ever went was basic programming and html formatting for websites that we could view without logging onto the internet.

However, because I belonged to a fairly well-to-do family that gave us the means to explore the many possibilities modern technology has to offer, I was introduced to the internet in my final year of elementary. I emulated my older brother and spent some time in chat rooms, talking to older foreigners who found it hard to believe how young I really was. Again, unlike some of my peers that have had traumatizing experiences with mean people or even pedophiles, the people that I met were generally nice and friendly.

When I had ventured to surfing the internet, I began by posting a WANTED: PEN PAL on a child-friendly website. I met a girl from this country that I would eventually become good friends with. Incidentally, she was the one that encouraged me to start blogging five years ago. I have been sharing my thoughts on cyberspace on and off (mostly off) ever since.

While I still enjoy blogging occasionally, the service that I am undeniably addicted to is the social networking sites. I can spend hours on end on these sites just talking to my friends (especially those I don’t see anymore) and – as much as I am ashamed to say it – anonymously stalk people I’m interested in.

Using the internet is a good way to pass time but more importantly, many people rely on it to keep them connected to long-lost friends or to even meet new people. Nonetheless, I still believe that the availability and convenience of the internet stops us from exerting the extra effort to find time for the people that matter to us and maybe even the opportunity to explore and venture out to worlds unknown to actually socialize and mingle in real life.

Mig's INTERNOT experience

Today is July 21, 2008. My entire class schedule was spent at the New Lab and fortunately, our activity for COMPMED class is to search the Internet and look for hindrances that stop me from doing my research. I’ll use the my experience today as an example

For our first class today which was COMPART, we had to do color schemes for Adobe Photoshop. We had to look for a black and white picture on the internet, I searched Spongebob Squarepants as my model, the funny thing is when I selected my first picture, Dans Guardian was activated citing that it was inappropriate and contained pornography, meaning I couldn’t download the picture of Spongebob. I looked for another one which looked a lot like the first and it was approved. It's funny at first but gets kinda annoying everytime you search for school related information at our lab. My intentions are all good, I want to pass but the school might be a little too defensive with the firewall.

Second one was during Scriptv class, I was writing my script and I needed to get a saved document on my e-mail. It only contained 37kb but it took me at least 15 minutes to download. Maybe a glitch on the internet or a bad server connection. Oh well...

I have nothing against the school New Lab. I appreciate having the firewall but sometimes, simple things that are needed for class should not be blocked. The internet is a very excellent tool when used correctly, the only thing that I notice, even when I’m not in school is the pop ups, what do people who send virus to us get? They destroy our computers and then what? Some say it’s the anti virus companies who put it, okay, right, good job I guess.

Anyways, the only thing I search for in the internet when I get home is sports news. Everyday, for 15 minutes I would check scores from all kinds of sports and I would sign off. I also enjoy the occasional chat with my friends and relatives abroad. So to sum it all up, I love the Internet!

Jed's Internet Experience

I started with opening my Multiply homepage and check messages. I asked this film guy where I can purchase a DVD copy of the indie film his group made. I sent a message to this guy two nights ago, and I received a reply earlier. Sending him a message through the internet was very convenient instead of looking for his cell phone/landline number and office address then go there. I used my Multiply site to communicate with other people plus I also checked the events that happened with my friends while I was still here in Laguna. It was my way of being updated, catching up to whatever they are doing, being aware of the conditions of everybody. There is a class today so I left the party earlier and they stayed up late.
Being a fan of tattoo art makes me want to make my own design. I admire their style because it is different from the traditional art. Browsing for pictures of tattoo styles gives me more ideas and tips on how I can make my own thing by mixing different designs in one canvas. Some sites are being blocked by Dans Guardian because other tattoos are done on genitals and other sensitive parts of the body. Those parts are considered pornography by Dans Guardian.
Right now, I am also chatting with my long lost family friend. I haven’t seen her for years. We were still young and small when we saw each other. Now, through Yahoo Messenger, we were able to catch up and plan to have lunch or may be dinner.

Internet Usage Experience in DLSC

After surfing for a few minutes one realizes that there are certain sites, which the regular DLSC student would go to, that are blocked by the school’s internet safety system, Dan’s Guardian. Though the safety system not only prevents sites with malicious content but also sites that “Dan” would consider pointless and not connected to educational content; So one could say that safety here is not only for pornographic or violent material, but for sites and applications that encourage distraction from studying or research such as social connectivity sites much like Facebook or Friendster.
The school’s primary purpose for internet usage is to facilitate and allow to students to conduct internet research for school papers and projects, as well to check email. I understand the school’s blockage of pornographic material or violent content, as these would go against moral issues that the school upholds as well as the school not having any medical or psychological courses that may deal with these topics. The problem I see is the prevention of social connectivity sites, because with the advancements made in internet connectivity, students not only connect with email but with several methods as well.
My usual routine when connecting to the internet, I would open up three tabs. In each of these tabs I go through the usual sites that I frequently visit. The first being my Multiply account, this helps me with viewing whatever my friends and relatives are up to or any announcements that might be necessary. I also use multiply to display my online portfolio, as I am into photography and arts, it helps me show clients and potential clients current and previous works. The second would be Facebook, this is much like multiply but with a more complex and intimate connectivity with peers, I use this to have a more updated relationship with my peers as it contains status updates, event invites and announcements. Some would refer to this as an online community gazette. Unfortunately Dan’s Guardian blocks this and prevents access, listing it as a banned site. The third tab would contain my email account for internet correspondence. After checking these I would then change each tab to message forums that I frequent that keep me updated with current events in society and my hobby and part time profession, which is photography.
I could only hope that social connectivity sites be allowed in school, as some students who prefer using the school’s internet, for those who do not have connections at home or at their dorm, be allowed. Even if they’re only unblocked at certain times to allow students to connect with their peers, as email these days isn’t as instant as it used to be.