Monday, June 9, 2008

Module 1 Tasks - Task A

And now for my next trick...

Telnet

Firstly, I had no idea that Telnet existed - until this week. Initially, I had some difficulty accessing Telnet (actually, this is an understatement!). I followed the instructions in Module 1 to the letter but, as nothing appeared like magic (as I am so used this happening when accessing the internet) I quickly went into frustration mode.
So, after trying again, I scrolled through our discussion boards until I found some help – thanks to Gino for being brave enough to post the question in the first place (as I in catch-up mode I have the benefit of others’ experience) and especially Zeak for the excellent Vista/Telnet demo... .The Telnet interface was usable, but from my point of view not particularly intuitive...we are spoilt these days.

The email from Deakin University is now in my inbox (hurrah!) and this task showed me that developments in interface usability and accessibility have come a long way and as current users, we should be grateful.

We can spend more time ‘doing’ than ‘enabling ourselves to do’.

Concept 23 states that the internet “...lessens the recognition of differences between humans and computers...”. In contrast, using Telnet it was very obvious to me I was interacting with a machine, using a tool for a specific use.

The other important lesson learned was don’t be afraid to ask for help – my course-mates are very helpful and this reflects the community nature of the internet generally i.e initially, someone has to figure out how to do things and people are more than willing to share.

More soon ; )

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