T171 ECA - Module 3 Exercise 1
Module 3 Exercise 1
The objective of Exercise 1 was to visit two sites and write a summary of their content, my reactions to the site and speculations for the future. Once done this was posted to the tutor group conference for comment by other group members.
This exercise helped me to develop several study skills. Firstly in the normal course of events I wouldn't write reviews of sites I have visited. This exercise forced me to use "clear thinking" and "effective reading" skills to evaluate the sites. Secondly, through the discussion stage my groupworking skills and use of Netiquette learnt on other OU courses were sharpened up.
Site: Amazon
Summary: This is the UK specific site of Amazon.com - www.amazon.co.uk. Amazon is a well established with many country specific sites but I am only reviewing the UK site in this article. Amazon.co.uk is an on-line commerce site offering a wide variety of books, CDs, videos, DVD's, software, etc. for sale on-line. The site itself is easy to navigate divided into categories covering the different merchandise i.e. books and CD's are separate categories. There is a good search facility where the user can search by category, title, author etc. The account setup is one of the easiest I have met on an eCommerce site and allows for "One Click Ordering".
Reactions: My reactions to Amazon are extremely positive having bought many items from them over the past few years, in fact both set books for T171 were acquired from here. Often the prices offered by Amazon are significantly cheaper than my local bookshops even when postage has been added. Usually once an order is place the item is received the next day however if the item is out of stock every effort is made to acquire it and they sent regular emails about the order status and the user can check the order status by going online to their personal account details. Most items available on the site have reviews which have been submitted by users of those items thus giving an idea of what to expect. Amazon is particular good if your are looking for a not so popular item that the local bookshop wouldn't stock anyway. However a visit to with a visit to Amazon you are not able to thumb through the pages as you can in the local bookshop. Where Amazon wins hands down over the local bookshop is cost and speed of delivery and their ability to supply any book on the site even if there is a delay due to reprinting.
Speculations: The local bookshop and video outlet will continue due to convenience, personal service and peoples perceived security problems with ordering on-line.
Site: What is ?
Summary: What Is is a wealth of information relevant to the field of Information Technology (IT) of which the Internet is part. It is in fact an on-line database/encyclopaedia of IT with an alphabetical index and search facilities. Navigation is executed by selecting the index letter of your item of interest i.e. for TCP/IP select "T". When you arrive at you page of interest you will find plenty of links within the page that can be followed for further explanation of technical terms or related topics. Dependant on subject their may be links to external sites i.e. TCP/IP page gives links to RFC's (Request For Change) documents.
Reactions: I am regular user of this site and find it to be a very useful jumping off point when researching IT topics, I have used it extensively on other OU courses. It is a well laid out and easy to navigate site with an excellent site search facility. The information contained on the site is unreferenced for the most part and the authors' of the articles are rarely mentioned. I have always found it reliable, accurate and up to date with current developments in what is a rapidly changing field.
Speculations: Where this site really scores over books is the fact that it is constantly updated with the latest developments. With the pace of change within the IT industry printed material soon becomes dated. This site and several like it will always be more up to date than printed material as this needs to be edited, printed and distributed and all the costs that that involves.