Wing Lok’s/Veronica’s Virtual Keeper
1) a discussion of the effectiveness of the various communication means we used for you to get information on your partner. (1 paragraph)
In the first stage of the meeting process, the effectiveness of the web presentation ( exchanging websites ) is a good starter to get to know something about someone I never met, but it is still not enough. Information given was too basic(favorite things, likes and dislikes etc.., it needs to be more in depth). In the second stage, Second Life is more effective than the website, because we are able to chat with one another virtually. In the third stage, the effectiveness of Facebook a bit more effective than Second Life as means of communication( setting up meetings to discuss about the assignment.) This is because my partner and I use and check Facebook more often than Second Life. We don’t regularly use Second Life unless being told/ask to. In the last stage, communicating face-to-face physically was more effective than Facebook, because this way, we got things done a lot quicker. It takes longer to get something done when sending messages virtually back and forth. By going through the process step by step, I realized that it becomes more effective as I went through each mode of communication by the way it was organized.
2) I asked at the beginning of the process for you to keep a diary of each encounter.
Now is time to look at these entry and for you to tell me the differences between these different media. Tell me what worked, what did not work and how all this compared to meeting the person in real life. (1 paragraph)
Diary entries:
Entry #1:
Feb/2/2009
Search on the Web!
The website exchange give information, but I still feel like it wasn’t enough. It’s a good starter though for this exercise.
Entry #2:
Feb/26/2009
Let’s meet on Second Life!
We have met each other’s virtual self! Second Life was somewhat difficult to contact my partner, because since she does not check Second Life often like I do, it takes longer for us to read the offline messages. Sometimes we check so late, that we’re suppose to meet on that day, and we weren’t able to, so we postpone the meetings to a later time.
Entry #3:
Feb/28/1009
Facebook Encounter!
We have finally found each other on Facebook, and this is also the first day we communicated through this method of communication. I have to say, it’s a bit better than Second Life, because both of us use/check it more often than Second Life. We only go on Second Life when being asked to, so it gets different getting offline messages through each other.
Entry #4:
Mar/31/2009
Face-to-Face at last!
We have finally met our physical forms. It was a little awkward at first, because I never spoken to or met my partner in person before, and this is the first time talking to her. We got along and worked well together when we were documenting our virtual keeper exchange on Second Life.
From my experience while doing this exercise, all four worked successfully when they work together in the way it was organized. Web presentation is a good starter to get to know someone, but it’s not enough information. Second Life is a good starter to communicate person-to-person virtually, but lacks convenience, because both of us rarely check our accounts on Second Life. The problem with this mode of communication is that sometimes we read our offline messages too late, that we have to postpone the meeting dates. Facebook is a bit more convenient than Second Life, because we check it more often, and we never had to postpone meetings when using it. Physical relationship was convenient and effective, because unlike the previous modes, we were able to finish tasks a lot faster since we were face-to-face. The problem with this mode is it got a little awkward to talk to my partner, because I never met/talked to her before. It became challenging talking to her as myself, but it was easier when talking to her virtually.
3) Tell me whether this exercise confirmed what you wrote in your digital native entry about your favorite mode of communication. Explain why. (1 paragraph)
This exercise have not identified my favorite mode of communication, from what I wrote in my digital native entries. This is because each mode have advantages and disadvantages, and is effective and ineffective in different ways, even though from what I wrote sounds like meeting face-to-face is my favorite mode. Web presentation for example is a good starter, but not enough information. Second Life allows us to chat with one another, but is an ineffective social network website, because both of us don’t use it often. Facebook is effective for getting messages through to one another, because we check our accounts often, and we didn’t postpone any meetings. It’s inefficient, because it gets things done slower when sending messages back and forth. Physical relationship is effective for getting things done faster, but it was awkward communicating with my partner. As I mentioned before, the exercise is successful when working with all four modes together in the way it was organized.
4) Tell me what design situation you can see the different modes of communication be appropriate for. The modes being (web presentation, virtual worlds, physical relationship). (1 paragraph)
The design situation in web presentations are mostly suitable for initiating information of the other partner through their websites. This is helpful for the first stage of the meeting process, because you want to get to know a little about them first before contacting them in any way. The design situation in Second Life is appropriate for initiating the first conversation (talking to the partner for the first time, but virtually), getting comfortable talking to them. The design situation in Facebook is appropriate for receiving and sending messages on time, because both of us check our accounts quite often. The design situation in physical relationship is appropriate for getting things done quicker, because we are face-to-face, we are able to transfer information directly instead of waiting for replies on Facebook or Second Life.
My Gift to Alexis Crumb(my partner, Nastashia Hyam’s Second Life avatar) was exchanged virtually:
My gift to Alexis Crumb is a Snow Globe of memories of her 2 weeks trip in Europe one year with her school. I liked how she thought of sitting on the globe, as if she was in Europe.
