»internet«

Since obiviously nobody takes the story of Opac and me serious (Marie called my relationship a "running gag" ... excuse me?!) I'll cut it short. My requests got lost - just like that and the lady at the counter actually dared to imply that it might be my fault since first of all I didn't pay and then on top I put them in the right but actually wrong box. I was brought up to be a good girl so I smiled at her and filled in all these ******-*******-requests anew. Now I get the wonderful opportunity to wait ..... and wait ..... and wait until eventually I get the books.

Meanwhile I read some other books. In particular a thesis on Interface-Design for a Web-Based Learning System. It was written here in Weimar by Ulf Schubert in 2001 and might actually free me from reading all these learning and teaching theories myself.

Web-based learning systems were developed to support traditional learning environments such as in schools or universities. They are based on the ideas of self-managed learning and learning in groups. Due to their avaibility as an online-source, it is up to the learning individual to decide on when to study, where to study as well as on how and what to study. The idea of group learning is made possible by the fact that several users can be online and connected to the system at the same time and by the use of communication systems like chats or forums or blogs (yippieh!).
N. Döring is quoted (and I'm trying my best to translate into English): "In all internet-services the user can be information-recipient as well as information-producer, he/she can passively watch or become active, thus proving implicit and social learning to be regular side-effects of regular internet-use." (Döring, N.: Lernen mit dem Internet, S.319)

Since the internet offers such a wide range of information, the user has to learn to differentiate critical what could be useful to him/her. This goes in accordance with the theory of cognitivism which constructed the idea of discovering learning: being driven by curiosity and personal interests the learning individual tries to find his/her own solutions to interesting questions by looking for relevant information independantly. To learn like this can not be forced from outside but relies on an intrinsic motivation which of course is the best foundation to gain intensive and lasting knowledge.

Yes! That's what I'm doing here.
But, actually, in the moment, I really don't care: Basketball is calling..... Yippieh!

Scientists are impressed by the features of Google Earth to visualize data. Unlike standard geographical information systems (GIS) the web tool is easy to implement and convenient to use. Google Earth maps satellite images onto a virtual globe. Users may zoom in and out to their need and fun. Manfred Dworschak reports in Der Spiegel (31.7.2006) about options for scientists to present their research data in a new way, for instance by combining maps with population densities, disease outbreaks (on a continent's scale) or floods (on a regional or local scale), to name a few ideas.

Often acclaimed, now picked up again by Christopher Schrader in Süddeutsche Zeitung (24.2.2006): The sex industry is a major player for technological breakthroughs. Starting with book printing, photography, video recorders, DVDs, and now and in future videocasts or video phones got a major boost by their use for adult content. Honestly, the sex-sells again-message of the article is all but new.

Saul Hansell and John Markoff write about hardware and computer centers used by Google (NY Times, 3.7.2006). It's nothing off the shelf, but tailor-made for Google's needs -- we would have already thought that. However, Google is according to an analyst the fourth biggest maker of servers, behind Dell, HP and IBM. Even more, Google invested in "technologies it designed to reduce its ravenous need for electricity. These computers in turn use software developed with advanced tools that Google also designed itself. There are signs that Google is even preparing to create its own custom microchips," write the authors.

"Google will mit dem US-Handyhersteller Motorola Internetinhalte auf Mobiltelefone bringen. "Das Google-Logo wird zunächst in den kommenden drei Jahren auf dem Display von Motorola-Handys eingebunden und mit einem Klick erreichbar sein", sagte Google-Europa-Chef Nikesh Arora dem Handelsblatt."
[via heise online - Google kooperiert mit Motorola bei Internetinhalten fürs Handy]

Creative Commons is a licencing system to spread copyrighted work on the Internet. http://www.creativecommons.org
"Creative Commons may not prevent theft, but it does allow owners to define the terms on which their content can be used. It also makes it harder for offenders to claim that they ignore the rules because they don't understand them," writes John Sutherland in his article for the Guardian (16.1.2006). He talked to Lawrence Lessig, the man behind the idea.

Interessanter Beitrag zur Web 2.0-Diskussion aus der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung
http://www.nzz.ch/2006/01/13/em/articleDHFG7.html

Ein Wesensmerkmal des Web 2.0, auf den auch der Begriff des Read-/Write-Web verweist, hat mit sozialen Aspekten, mit der Techniknutzung, zu tun. Es geht um die Interaktivität. Einen "Distributionsapparat in einen Kommunikationsapparat zu verwandeln" hat schon Bert Brecht gefordert, zu Beginn der dreissiger Jahre, als das Radio noch zum Nachdenken anregte. Seither sind Dialogfähigkeit, Interaktivität, Partizipation unverzichtbare Textbausteine jeglicher Form von kritischer Medientheorie.

Bloggen heißt eben nicht nur eigene Texte, Erlebnisse, Erfahrungen niederzuschreiben, sonderen auch Teil eines neuen, virtuellen Netzwerks mit Blogeinträgen, Kommentaren und Diskussionen zu sein.

Insbesondere seit dem Aufkommen von Weblogs gibt es im Web möglicherweise bereits mehr Schreiber als Leser. Technorati, eine Suchmaschine, die sich auf das Durchforsten von Blogs spezialisiert hat, beobachtet gemäss eigenen Angaben 24,7 Millionen Websites. Täglich würden 70,000 neue Blogs eröffnet, täglich würden 700,000 neue Blog-Beiträge publiziert. Das ist die Blogosphere, das ist der "Triumph der Amateure", ein Slogan, mit dem der deutsche Blogger Wolfgang Sommergut etwas Wesentliches von Web 2.0 treffend beschreibt.

Schönes Fazit am Ende: Web 2.0 ist doch nur Web 1.0.

The Guardian (27.3.2006) praises the European particle research facility Cern for its achievements, recall the World Wide Web as a sideline, and much more interesting results to come. The next generation particle accelerator LHC is nearing completion, and scientists are heading for answers on the nature of mass or hidden dimensions in space-time. With dozens of countries collaborating, the site in Switzerland is a nucleus for eminent international research and networking. "Even the US abandoned a bid to build a rival," writes the Guardian.

I mean it is so obvious but still I was not sure if media or a web application in my case could actually help businesses to cross borders. It sure can! :-)

"Technology has permeated every aspect of organizations and has fundamentally redefined the meaning of work. Technology has simultaneously shrunk the world and expanded the boundaries of the organization. Businesses are able to effectively manage local businesses at the global level, and employees are able to participate in teambased work environments without ever leaving home."

[p.67 in: Gerald R. Ferris, M.Ronald Buckley, Donald B. Fedo. Human Resources Management - Perspectives, Context, Functions, and Outcomes. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2002. 4th edition]

zuvor lizenzpflichtige java entwicklungsumgebung gibts jetzt 4free:

1. http://www.mactechnews.de/
2. http://developers.sun.com/jscreator/

Java Studio Creator 2 kostenlos zum Herunterladen
Ein Leser hat uns drauf aufmerksam gemacht, dass Sun seine zuvor kostenplfichtige Entwicklungsumgebung Java Studio Creator in der neuen Version 2 als kostenlosen Download anbietet. Mit Java Studio Creator lassen sich Web-Server- und Browser-Anwendungen auf Basis von Java und AJAX (JavaScript) mit Hilfe von JavaServer Faces per Drag-and-Drop entwickeln. Nach einer kostenlosen Registrierung bei Suns Developer Network steht einem das auf NetBeans 4.1 basierenden Java Studio Creator 2 inklusive Sun Java System Application Server 8.1 zum Herunterladen bereit.