Helen Schweitz gave this answer to the question “how do you know what text is a link”:

Links will, more often than not, appear a different color (this can be specified in the HTML or Cascading Style Sheets). Also, when the cursor moves over a link it will let you know that that it is a hyperlink by changing the image of the cursor (typically to a hand). This is convenient when images are links (if the border has been = 0) so when you move the mouse over the normal-looking image the cursor will change. ALSO, the destination of the hyperlink will appear in the status bar, unless this function has been disabled in the code of the page (html) using javascript or other coding.

I’d like to be able to have a styled web page as a resource.
Right now, the only way to do this is with inline styles which stink!
I’d like to be able to have a [styles] folder in the Files area where I could keep my stylesheets and where Moodle would look to auto link to any stylesheet contained there when using an uploaded web page resource.

Issues with Moodle.

• unable to upload graphic image into a html input area like teachers can.
• contrast with M.T where it’s easy.

Currently Moodle is very MS Word centric. That is, most all of the activities assume that student input will be via a ‘file’, ie a Word file. Only Journal and Forum of the general purpose activites allow direct HTML input. Also, there seems to be no way that stdeunts can easily incorporate graphics images as part of their journal entry (as opposed to a separate file upload) — the assignment activity having no direct input. Forum will allow a ‘file’ to be attached but this is ancillary to the main input and not part of it. Using the image function in a Journal entry merely allows one to point to a URL contains the image. So if I am looking for a graphic that the student has generated I have to teach him/her how to save that graphic in web format, save in their web space, form a working URL to the image and then paste it in. Contrast this to what the faculty can do when creating a Journal description - on clicking on the Image button they have access to their ‘files’ area and can upload a graphic image and then easily link to it and change it’s parameters. I’d really like to be able for students to do this too. They can already upload MS Word files or ZIP files - why can’t they have general access to their files area?

Contrast this with Moveable Type blog where uploading and incorporating a graphic into the student’s response is merely a matter of uploading, & the copying and pasting the html code which is generated for you.

from Poynteronline

[note cool Change article Text size: try clicking on each of these…]

“While information can be found quickly and easily using tools such as Google, the problem is often not a lack of content, but rather the volumes of stale and questionable content. Determining the accuracy and sourcing of search results is a challenge for any journalist, oftentimes negating the time saved by using the Internet.”

Class excercise

Day in the life of a spammer:

• start at cyberjournalist.net
  browse in J-Blogroll to find:
  • A Day in the Life of a Spammer
    What does the author of this blog compare spamming to?

(note how the address of the link appears in the bottom of the browser when you hover over the link - do I want to click on this link??)

• Article in Ecommerce with the same title
  How much can a spammer expect to earn for a big email ‘campaign’ (240 million emails)?

• Now use google to find the same search term
  How many articles on the first page are links to the Ecommerce article?
  [Note: print this article is a good way of reading it sans adverts]
  Take a look at how ‘facts’ can get distorted - how much does the poster to Broadbandreports.com news (and who is he/she??) claim that spammers make per 240 millions emails? Compare this with what the original article was saying.

How many articles (and what were they) on the first two google pages were:

• blog entries talking about the article?
• discussion forums with comments?
• lengthy commentary or summary of the orginal article
• other

Create a table like this :

Where in the google listing was the article itself?

Which other page did you find the most useful?

Alternatives to Reflex Googling:

directed searching & browsing

• Problem: find suitable web resources for project topic
• First thing: establish theme to address, eg how important is Open Source? Is the O.S movement a threat to Microsoft?
  (preliminary define what Open Source is. Use Glossary)
• Narrower problem: where to start, what search terms to use.
• Additional problem - we want latest up-to-date stuff, not info that’s out of date.

Alternatives:

1. Google ‘open source’.
   results don’t answer the question you started with
2. narrow search term. But what search term to use - you want to use a term that discovers something useful. Chicken & egg situation.
3. start with a site that condenses or reports on Info Tech news or topics. Some examples:
   • WebReference Update newsletter archive
     This is an excellent source for starting to find relevant stuff.
     [Search through the browser page (with Ctrl-F) for “Open Source” - which links do you think would useful & which not? Now follow 2 of the links to their sourcee & save the URLs. Go back to this page and search for a term from your own project.]
   • Tomalak’s Realm is another useful starting point but it’s a bit more tedious to find things here. There’s a list of useful topics on the home page, but it seems that you just have to browse through the links to find what you’re looking for.
   • I’d like you to subscribe to one or both of the email newsletters which are sourced from these sites. Create a new email folder and after you get your first newsletter message create a filter that moves it into the mailbox.
   • Wired news and magazine is an excellent source of easy to comprehend articles. The links from within this site are almost always a source of top material.
   • Clay Shirky’s Writings About the Internet
     Thoughtful pieces about various topics concerning the internet.

There are 25 students which makes 7 groups of 3 and 1 group of 4 - 8 altogether.
I think I’ll have first second & third choices of topics.
4 sets of topics with 2 groups doing the same topic.

1. Digital Music. Has iTunes killed the CD or is the future in Digital Music?
   Legitimacy of Kazaa. Problems with spyware. Can the recording industry cope?
2. Spam. Legitimate business practice or hateful nuisance?
   Also other related issues such as phishing & fraud
3. Future of the Internet. Anarchy or evolution?
   Viruses, worms, etc Voice over IP, home access methods, security issues, role of Microsoft
4. Google - search engine supreme or big brother waiting to pounce?
   Privacy issues could be covered here. Gmail and privacy.
5. Blogs - web publishing for the rest of us or just fluff?
6. The new economy - can you make money on the web or is it a dangerous myth?

Groups can suggest other topics.

Total number of pages 6? Consistent design.

• Introduction page
• 3 themes (individual author on each)
• glossary of terms defined - links to major use in text
• annotated web references/bibliography

Decide ‘home’ site to house the common pages.
Q - could an access control list be arranged to allow others in the group write access?

For the web homework set some more difficult questions to answer in class time.

I posted a reminder for Monday’s classwork in the Announcements and To-Dos forum (to which everyone is subscribed) and, glory be, got a reply from Andrew Wall. Crystal Marshall (T.A) then replied to this and then Andrew Hickman gave some very useful advice.

So, things are starting to take off ….