Reflections

I can’t believe that the course is over and this will be my final post to my weblog. I started this subject as a seventeen year old, straight out of high school who thought that to pass the course I needed to study in order to remember what was said in the lectures. Instead I found that the course is really an interactive approach to learning.

The lectures mainly consisted of a history of how communication has developed over the past four hundred years (since the introduction of the printing press), but in particular we focused on communication in the digital age. I think this approach is good because it explains how technology developed into what it is now and how it is used today.

However, unlike high school where we learnt to remember facts, this course made us put theory into practice. I liked the idea of combining the theory from the lectures and textbook with actual hands on experience through the creation of a weblog and the weekly tutorial tasks. I would never have set up a weblog if it hadn’t been for this course.

The same is true for other topics covered. Instead of reading about digital photography or what 3-D chat rooms are, we actually took photos and manipulated them, visited a 3-D chat room and spoke to its inhabitants. We even practiced on and learnt more about Microsoft Word and Excel by completing various exercises, as well as looking at a variety of different search engines, how they work and how to use them effectively to sort through the numerous websites out there in cyberspace.

I had some trouble in keeping up with the course requirements of maintaining a weblog. It seemed that the more I learnt, the more I realized I didn’t know. We looked at so many aspects of communication that I spent most of my time thinking about what everything meant and how it affects my life, so that it was difficult to fully understand each concept before we moved on to the next. This made it difficult to write the weblog entries, as they required me to give my opinion on what we studied, and sometimes I hadn’t fully developed an opinion on the topic at the time.

The most intense part of the course, apart from studying for the final exam, would have been the assignment topic. I was initially going to write on computer games, but I couldn’t quite come up with a specific approach, so I chose to write on Virtual Reality (VR), instead. But as I researched VR, I found out so much information that it became difficult to remain specific about that subject.

The main difference I noticed between this subject and those I took in high school is that in high school we were taught what to think, whereas in this course we are taught how to think. The course has encouraged me to consider issues that I never thought of before. As a result it has changed the way I view the world in which we live.

Thanks to everyone who has viewed my blog site, I hope you enjoyed reading about my course. 123 we are there now, see you soon.

Week 12

The final week of lectures and tutorials looked primarily at free and open source software, and creative commons, followed by a revision of the course lectures.

I knew that there are a number of free software programs available on the internet, but it seems that there are free alternatives for just about everything.

Proprietary available software (stuff you have to pay for) is protected by copyright and can only be used in a certain way (defined by the manufacturer) and cannot be altered in any way, or shared with others. Copyleft (free and open source) software can be altered by the user and passed onto others.

Creative Commons allows the authors of free software to license their products, thus giving them some legal protection and rights as the original creator.

Week 11

This week’s lecture looked at Cyberpolitics and a tutorial exercise was done using Microsoft Excel.

During the lecture we saw that there is a digital divide in the world today. Not everyone has a computer or access to the internet. This leads into the question of what is On-line Democracy? Is cyberdemocracy the rule of the majority of current users of the technology or the idealistic view of representing all possible users?

We also looked at how computer hackers started off by trying to make free telephone calls in the 1960’s, which lead to hackers trying to break into other computer systems for the fun and intellectual challenge of it.

In the tutorial task we were required to explore spreadsheets. This was not a task that I felt comfortable with. I have used Excel before in maths assignments at high school, but it always took a long time to complete, especially when I had to create graphs for the first time.

I didn’t have any problems with exercises 1 to 3 as I had previous experience in entering data, making up formulas and creating graphs. But I had not used the Macro function before and had difficulties trying to use it at first. I think it can be a valuable tool when presenting documents that require certain aspects to be separated.

Week 10

This week's lecture was given by Debra Beattie who talked about her involvement in the kids helpline website, and the possibility of providing counselling over the Internet. She also showed her online documentary "the wrong crowd" which is about a young girl growing up in Queensland from the 1950's onwards. This documentary can be viewed on http://www.abc.net.au/wrongcrowd/ We then watched the rest of David Cronenberg's 1999 film eXistenZ.

This week’s tutorial task was to write a job application letter using Microsoft Word. I thought that this would be an easy task as I have been using Word for a number of years and I am familiar with most of the basic functions.

During the course of writing the letter I found that the by carrying out the minor changes in each draft of the letter enhanced its appearance. Even the simplest function of changing the Bachelor of Arts degree into Bold and Griffith University into Italics made the letter look better.

Although I have used these and functions numerous times before, I had not used the Mail Merge toolbar before. This is obviously a valuable function to be used when sending out a draft letter to numerous recipients, and one function that I will be using in the future.

While I have used many of the basic function a number of times in the past there are a number of functions in word that I am unaware of and would benefit from exploring their uses in the future.

Academic Essay

Virtual Reality is a Reality

Advances in Virtual Reality (VR) technology provide individuals with the opportunity to live in a computer generated world. How this effects the society in which we live in depends upon how VR is used within it.

Initially the term ‘Virtual Reality’ referred to the user being completely immersed in an artificial computer generated three-dimensional environment (Beier, 2004). However VR has diverged into a number of different directions.

According to Heim (1997) there are seven different directions in which VR is developing: Simulation which requires a high standard of computer graphics and 3-D sound; Interaction which lets the user control the environment in some manner; Artificiality meaning that everything about the ‘virtual world’ has been designed and created; Immersion which is the development of hardware and software - such as a head-mounted display (HMD) and glove - allowing the user interact with the ‘virtual world’; Telepresence which lets the user access and control a robotic presence at a distant location; Full-body immersion that requires the user to wear a full-body suit equipped with a visor and a number of sensors; and Networked communications which allows users to communicate directly with others through a network of computers.

While VR has developed in different directions, all have in common the separation of mind from the body (Cooney, 2004). While the body stays in the real world the mind – through VR technology – is free to explore and interact with the VR world. The concept of dualism of the mind and body proposed by Descartes in the seventeenth century proposes that the body is constrained by the physical laws of nature while the mind is free to think and choose (Weston, Burton, & Kowalski, 2006). VR technology has taken Cartesian thinking into the ‘real’ world.

Reported as being one of the most successful computer games ever to be developed SIMS (http://www.thesimis.ea.com/) requires players to create their own world complete with characters designed by the user. It was the first computer game that does not require a player to win in order to finish the game. Instead players learn to create and manipulate a virtual world.

This idea has been built upon further through the development of interactive internet sites such as Second Life (http://www.secondlife.com) and Active Worlds (http://www.activeworlds.com/) which allow users to enter a VR world through their desktop computers in order to interact with other users. Second Life is a 3-D virtual world in which the residents build their own virtual homes, go to virtual work, buy sell and trade with other residents, and even earn virtual money (which can be converted into real currency), Second Life started in 2003 and now inhabited by over 6.2 million people.

Desktop VR allows uses to interact with a virtual environment without being immersed in it, and is one of three categories that all VR systems fall into (Bilawchuk, 2004). The others being Video Mapping VR which uses cameras to track and capture images of the user into a computer program, and Immersive VR which uses HMD and a data-glove. Bilawchuk states that “When the user cannot distinguish between what is real and what is not, then immersive VR has succeeded.”

The standard immersive VR that all developers try to emulate is the Holodeck from Star Trek. The Holo-Dek centre in Hampton, New Hampshire USA has built a video gaming centre with sixteen, 73inch screens (Christensen, 2004). However the University of Warwick developed a Cybersphere in order to bring Star Trek’s Holodeck closer to reality (“Cybersphere Brings Star…, 2000). The system consisted of a 3.5m diameter translucent sphere supported on a ring of bearings which allows the user inside to walk in any direction. The sphere is then backlight with a projector.

Although it seems that VR development is for the benefit of computer gamers and the entertainment industry, VR is now being extensively used as a training tool in various industries. The U.S. Air Force uses immersion VR into train its pilots. The computers generate information in a cockpit simulator in much the same way the pilot would experience in a real plane (Heim, 1997). And studies show that surgeons who have had VR training show improved Operating Room performance (Seymour et al., 2002). There was also a study done by Christine Youngblut of Virtual Reality and Education Laboratory, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina USA in 1997 that suggests that “Existing data does suggest that this technology (VR) offers significant, positive support for education.”

Another system that should be mentioned is that of Augmented Reality. This works through augmented eyewear that has a display system built into them. Clark (2003) uses the example of using augmented reality when looking for a library. The user enters the word library and puts on the glasses, as he looks around he sees a building with a big green arrow above it, flashing and pointing. As he looks down he sees a series of small arrows on the ground leading to the library. The augmented reality allows the user to see both the real world and to see images from a virtual world super imposed over the top of it.

So where does VR go from here? Currently users of this technology do so willingly. They can access VR worlds through their desktop computers. They can put on HMD and data gloves, or even full body suits. And while all of these technologies keep advancing over time, the next step is the use of implants with a computer controlling stimuli directly to the brain. This would give the user a VR experience that would be indistinguishable from real life, as in the film The Matrix. The film draws parallels to Plato’s Cave (Cooney, 2004) in that the goal of both stories is to liberate the mind from a virtual reality to a true reality. In both stories the ‘prisoners’ who live in a VR are unaware of it until they are liberated, at which point they can’t understand the true nature of reality.

Loosing one’s way in the real world is one aspect of VR that is detrimental to the individual who becomes immersed in it. People are using VR to create a new life for themselves in cyberspace through desktop VR like Second Life. They are using immersive VR to help develop skills such as those required by surgeons and pilots. Video games are using VR to make them more realistic. The more VR technology advances the more accessible it will become and more people will use it for longer. This may well help our culture to advance as long as we retain the option to look away from the cave wall and into the fire.


References

Beier, K. P. (2004). Virtual Reality: A short Introduction. Retrieved May 9, 2007, from http://www-vrl.umich.edu/intro/index.html

Bilawchuk, M. (2004). Virtual Reality. Retrieved May 9, 2007, from http://www.bilawchuk.com/mark/technology.html

Bell, D., Loader, B. D., Pleace, N. & Schuler, D. (Eds.). (2004). Cyberculture: The Key Concepts. London: Routledge.

Christensen, B. (2004). Holo-Dek - A Unique Real-World Virtual Venue. Retrieved May 10, 2007, from http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=272

Clark, A. (2003). Natural-Born Cyborgs: Minds, Technologies, and the Future of Human Intelligence. New York: Oxford University Press.

Cooney, B. (2004). Posthumanity: Thinking philosophically about the Future. Lanham, Maryland: Rowan & Littlefield.

Cybersphere Brings Star Trek’s Holodeck Closer to Reality. (2000). Retrieved May 10, 2007, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/10/001022202243.htm

Heim, M. H. (1997). Heidegger and McLuhan and the essence of Virtual Reality. In R. C. Scharff, V. Dusek (Eds.), Philosophy of Technology: The Technological Condition (pp.546-554). Melbourne, Australia: Blackwell Publishing.

McKie, D. (1994). Virtual Reality fakes the Future: Cybersex, lies and Computer Games. In L. Green, & R. Guinery (Eds.), Framing Technology: Society, choice & change (pp.15-25). St Leonards, Australia: Allen & Unwin.

Seymour, N. E., Gallagher, A. G., Roman, S. A., O’Brien, M. K., Bansal, V. K., Andersen, D. K., et al. (2002). Virtual Reality Training Improves Operating Room Performance: Results of a Randomized, Double-Blinded Study. Retrieved May 9, 2007, from http://www.annalsofsurgery.com/pt/re/annos/abstract.00000658-200210000-00008.htm

Western, D., Burton, L., Kowalski R. (2006). Psychology: Australian and New Zealand edition. Milton, Australia: John Wiley & Sons Australia.

Youngblut, C. (1998). Educational uses of Virtual Reality Technology. Institute for Defense Analyses, 76-77. Retrieved May 9, 2007, from http://www.hitl.washington.edu/scivw/youngblut-edvr/D2128.pdf

Week 9

This week we looked at Cyberpunk, which is Cybernetics (the study of communication, command and control of organisms) combined with Punk (a form of anti-establishment rock music).

The film “Matrix” is considered to be in the cyberpunk genre. The machines rule in the future world with the humans living in a virtual realty world created and controlled by the machines. A small group of “Punks” reject their virtual world and try to have the human race wake up to reality.

This is one of the themes of cyberpunk, in that technological knowledge brings with it an awareness of society’s problems. This means that we can either view a utopian society as one that embraces technology as the answer to all of life’s problems, or one that rejects technology in favour of getting back to nature.

Another theme of cyberpunk deals with how the type of the city we live in can determine how people live their lives, with the city being regarded as living machine, a cyborg. It is created by humans for humans to live, and therefore it is constructed from living human tissue within a mechanical structure.

How humans communicate with each other has changed with advances in technology. Mass communication in the past has been made up of a relatively small number of senders of information to a large number of receivers. The internet has changed that so that anyone can send information out to the masses on a world wide basis.

Week 8

As part of this week’s tutorial task I took a tour on a 3-D chat room. I looked at “Active World” (http://www.activeworlds.com/) which is a virtual reality world. It was totally different from using MSN messenger which I have used in the past to have conversations only with my friends, and blocking out any unknown visitors.

In Active World I can join in on (or start) conversations with others (which is also in text form) by walking up to a character and saying “hello”. Active World allows you to see how many people are logged in, by looking around and seeing how many characters there are present.

During my visit to Active World I made the mistake of saying that I was a first time visitor to the site and everyone had a great time by responding with “LOL”. So I walked of and read a paper and listened to music, which are other features not available on MSN messenger.

After experiencing chat rooms in both 3-D and IM program environments, I feel much more comfortable using a format where I know the people that I’m speaking to, which in my case is MSN messenger. I do not like the idea of starting conversations with total strangers over the internet and would never go into an IM program which is open to anyone to join in. It’s as if I’m sending a message off into outer-space and waiting for a reply from an unknown creature, but that’s what Active World is, a way that total strangers can meet and talk to each other.

By using the 3-D format, Active World invites you into another world (a virtual reality) where you are free to move around in, explore and to socialize with others. It’s as if everyone lives in the same neighborhood which makes it much easier to socialize with others.

Week 7

This week’s lecture looked at video games. I watched the youtube clip “Nintendo Sixty FOOOOOOOOOOUR” again at home and remembered what it was like at our house on Christmas morning, although my little brother was never as bad as that kid in the clip. But it does show how video games have taken over in the toy market.

I’ve seen how computer game technology has developed over the last few years by being fortunate to receive computer games as Christmas presents like the youtube kid. For Christmas or birthdays my brother and I have received: a Sega, Nintendo Sixty-Four console, a Sony Game-Boy, an X-Box, and a Nintendo WII.

All of the above games that I’ve played (including Arcade games) all have a set of rules that have to be followed and a mission to complete (i.e. a way to win the game). Academics call this “Ludology” and the theory is that games are simply games that are there to be played.

However some games also tell a story and the player needs to follow the story in order to complete the game. I remember playing “Toy Story” on the Sega when I was around seven or eight years old and the game followed the movie storyline all the way through. The study of games that tell a story is known as “Narratology”, and while it may appear that computer games have been moving away from ludology towards narratology, the reality is that computer games are a combination of both.

Week 5

The fist half of the lecture this week looked at the history of the Internet. We learnt that the Internet started with bulletin boards acting as web sites, and telephone handsets were used to link computers. Recently I saw a Cat Stevens music video (Majikat) and was surprised to see that in 1976 "Less than one thousand people were connected to a thing called 'The Internet'."

The second half of the lecture concentrated on Virtual Reality (VR). VR uses computer technology (and interfaces) to manipulate the five senses (i.e sight, sound, taste, touch & smell) into fooling the brain to make a person think that they are in a different environment than what they actually are. The future applications of VR are interesting and something that I could explore further in my essay topic.

This weeks tutorial task was to collect photos that represent the ideas of: friends, high-tech, news, summer, unconventional and university life. I took the photos using a Fuji 9.1MP digital FinePix camera model s9500. The photograph that I have selected are as follows:

Friends - This photo was taken of the Gloria Jean's coffee shop in Surfers Paradise. It symbolises a place were friends go to meet and chat over a cup of coffee.

High-tech - The most developing technology today occurs in communications. The mobile phone tower is used to represent communication technology.

News - This photo of a community news board demonstrates how news is spread at its most basic level in a neighbourhood.

Summer - The Australian culture centres around life at beach in Summer. This photo taken at Burleigh Heads represents the typical Australian Summer.

Unconventional - The normal convention for house numbers is to be attached the right way up on a letterbox, fence, or dwelling. This house at Mermaid Beach does not follow the normal convention, and has its house numbers hanging upside down.

University life - Undergraduate courses require an enormous amount of time using a personal computer. The Internet is used to research information as well as a tool for communications between the student and the university. This photograph of a computer on the learning@griffith website portrays this.

Week 4

This weeks lecture was scheduled to be on the "History of the Internet" followed by part two of the screening of "Alphaville". Instead we had guest speakers from a Public Relations firm, one of whom is a graduate of Griffith University. She spoke about her experiences at Uni, how to network and make contacts in the real world and her daily activities in Public Relations.

Many of what was said didn't really apply to me because I'm not doing a Journalism degree. However it did give me an insight into the life of a PR person and some useful advice to keep in mind during and after Uni, such as the importance of: dressing appropriately, and how we present ourselves to others.

We did get to watch the second half of Jean-Luc Goddard's 1965 film "Alphaville" which continued on from the previous lecture. The film follows the theme of French new wave cinema (which we looked at in week 2 when we viewed Chris Marker's "La Jetee"), and also combines elements of science fiction. The film is set in a futuristic society on another planet controlled by a computer system, Alpha 60, which outlawed all human emotions and individual forms of expression.

The movie was in French with English subtitles and I didn't really like the voice of the computer Alpha 60, because of this I lost interest in the film from time to time and as a result I couldn't follow the plot. However I watched the film again in Google Video and found that it made more sense to me the second time round.

Alphaville

This weeks tutorial tasks were: search the library catalogue through the University website and find 3 academic articles which relate to the essay topic of our choice; complete a Scavenger Hunt by using a search engine other than Google; and answer a series of questions about search engines.

Normally I would use the search engine Google almost exclusively, so it was interesting to use other search engines. To complete the Scavenger Hunt I used the following search engines:

• IceRocket; http://www.icerocket.com
• A9; http://www.a9.com
• Yahoo; http://www.yahoo.com/
• Ask Jeeves; http://www.askjeeves.com/
• AllTheWeb; http://www.alltheweb.com/
• HotBot; http://www.hotbot.com/
• AltaVista; http://www.altavista.com/

Most of the search engines were similar in aspects, but I am more familiar with Google and will continue to use it more than anything else.

Scavenger Hunt

Q. What is the weight of the world's biggest pumpkin?

A. The heaviest pumpkin ever grown to date was by Ron Wallace from Rhode Island on October 7 2006 and weighed a massive 681.3 Kg. (http://www.pumpkinnook.com/giants/record.htm)

Q. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Grant Hackett?
A. The best way to contact Grant Hackett would be through his agent Lisa Stallard of International Quarterback. ph: 07 3252 2311 email:lisa@iqsport.com.au (http://www.speakerdirect.com.au/Default.aspx?)

Q. What is the length of a giraffe's tongue?
A. The average length of a giraffe's tongue is between 46cm-50cm.
(http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-giraffe.html)

Q. How would you define the word 'ontology'? In your own words what does it really mean?
A.Ontology is the philosophical study of existence. (http://epress.unu.edu.au/info_systems/mobile_devices/ch03s03.html)

Q. What was David Cronenberg's first feature film?
A. David Cronenberg's first feature film was 'Shivers' (1975). (http://www.salon.com/people/bc/1999/11/30/cronenberg/)

Q. When was the original 'Hacker's Manifesto' written?
A. The original 'Hacker's Manifesto' was written on January 8, 1986.(http://www.mala.bc.ca/~soules/media112/hacker.htm)

Q. Why do all phone numbers in Hollywood films start with '555'?
A. The main reason most Hollywood telephone numbers begin with the prefix 555 is to prevent the accidental use of real telephone numbers as there have been many reported incidents of people calling the numbers used in films.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_telephone_number)

Q. What is the cheapest form of travel from Crete to Rhodes?
A. The cheapest form of travel between Crete and Rhodes is ferry.
(http://www.greektravel.com/islands.htm)

Q. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1965?
A. The song top of the Australian Pop Charts was "I'll Never Find Another You" by The Seekers.
(http://www.onmc.iinet.net.au/topspot/1965.htm)

Q. Which Brisbane band includes Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vocals?
A. The Brisbane band that has Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vocals is The Black Assassins.
(http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/toxicoh/blackas.htm)

Search engines:

Q. What is a search engine?
A. A search engine is a program that searches web pages for documents and provides a list of the documents where the keywords can be found. (smartbizconnection.com/advertising_glossary_index.htm)

Q. How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the Internet?
A. Search engines rank sites based on the number of times the key word appears in a text or heading, and the number of other sites they are linked to.
(http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/misc/searchworks.html)

Q. Who, or what, makes one page (that you might get in your search results) more useful than another one, so that it is put at the top of your search results?
A. The order of the search results is determined by a ranking algorithm which looks at where the keywords are placed in a text, i.e. A website with the keyword in a heading is ranked higher than if the keyword was found in the body of a text.
(http://www.pandia.com/marketing101/index.html)

Q. What are some of your favourite search engines? Why do you like one more than others?
A. My favourite search engine is Google, mainly because I am more familiar with it than others. I find it easy to use and can generally find what I am looking for in the first few pages.

Q. Can you find some current news stories about search engines?
A. The following websites contain news articles related to search engines:

• http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=1854.php
• http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article1736454.ece
• http://www.mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=6306
• http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/C65F6EA7852E002DCC2572CF00212836

Week 3

This week's lecture focused on the history of the computer and the tutorial task was to talk about personal experiences with communication technologies. It was interesting to see how the computer developed. I didn't know that Englishman Charles Babbage invented the first computer in the 19th century, or how another Englishman, Alan Turing, developed it further as a tool to be used to break German "Enigma" codes during World War II.

While I am aware that Apple Computers and Microsoft are the biggest companies producing computers and software, I wasn't aware of how these companies started, or that Bill Gates's success came from selling and operating system to IBM at $50 per computer.

Today almost every home has a personal computer and it has become an almost necessary element in every day life. I have had a PC for at least 15 years and have been connected to the Internet for over 5 years. I use the Internet mainly as a "library" for research of school assignments and would not have been able to complete High school without it. Today I find that I am using it more of a way of communicating, particularly with the university.

The two main communication devices I use are mobile-phone text messaging and the Internet. I have only accessed the Internet to communicate with relatives and friends by using MSN Messenger and sending emails. I have never talked to people that I didn't know through chat rooms due to the obvious dangers associated with talking to and meeting with strangers. While the Internet is a convenient way to communicate with others I prefer to talk with my friends in person where I can see them face to face (but of course we all text each other to arrange when and where to meet).

Week 2

This weeks lecture focused on how broadcast media forms (i.e. newspapers, radio and television) rapidly expanded during the twentieth century. Which lead to theoretical studies in media such as: Communication Studies (USA) which looked at how public opinions and perceptions could be shaped by media reporting; Media Studies (UK) that demonstrates how audiences can interpret the message of a text differently from how the reporter intended; and Culture Studies (Europe) which argues that filmmakers produce images that are realistic in order to position the the viewer to accept the ideologies present in the film. Finally there was a discussion in new wave cinema that uses inexpensive methods such as using hand held cameras (camcorders) to tell a complex story.

During the lecture Chris Marker's 1962 science fiction movie "La Jetee" was shown. The short film (27 min) is created entirely through a montage of black and white still photographic images with the exception of one motion picture shot. There is no spoken dialogue between characters, leaving the story to be told through the use of narration (French with English subtitles).

The film is set in Paris, France after the breakout of World War III which has left the surface of the Earth radioactive forcing the survivors to live underground. The prisoners are subjected to a series of experiments by scientists which lead to either their madness or death.

The story revolves mainly around a male prisoner who is chosen for a time travel experiment in which he is to journey into another time to collect supplies such as food and medicine which would help to ensure the survival of the human race.

The man's recurring memory from his childhood, is of a woman during a disturbing event at an airport terminal where a man dies. This makes him the obvious candidate for the experiment. Because the effects of living in another time would be too much on the human mind however it is explained in the film that "If they were able to conceive or dream another time, perhaps they would be able able to live in it." During the film the man travels backwards and forwards in time where he meets the woman of his childhood memory. Eventually it is revealed that his memory of witnessing a man die as a child is actually the moment of his own death.

Through a Google search I was able to watch the movie again, but this time narrated in English. Click here to watch the full length version of "La Jetee" in English without subtitles.

On the weekend I hired out Terry Gilliam's 1995 film "12 Monkeys" which follows an almost identical plot to "La Jetee" with a boy witnessing the death of his future self at an airport. The major difference being that in "12 Monkeys" the man only time travelled from the present to the past, whereas in "La Jetee" the man time travels into the future as well as the past where he receives help to rebuild civilization.

After viewing both movies I found it interesting that a film such as "La Jetee" which used very simple production techniques to create the story was able to explore a more complex storyline than the major Hollywood production "12 Monkeys" which had "state of the art" equipment at their disposal.

La Jetee

Week 1: Introducing "Are we there yet?"

Hi, my name is Kathryn, I am 17 years old and will turn 18 in May (I can't wait). It is so frustrating being 17, you not a child anymore but your not considered to be an adult, I work part time at a convenience store five nights a week but by law I can't sell cigarettes.

I am an Arts student at Griffith University-Gold Coast with my main interest being Digetal Video. Like most people I was nervous about my first week at uni. Although I eventually managed to find my way to all my classes, the venue was changed for one of my subjects (Psychology) without me being aware of it and I found myself in a Law lecture, talk about being nervous and confused. The biggest difference from High School I have noticed is the amount of hours you have to spend reading the course material.

One of the courses I am currently enrolled in is "1501ART New Communication Technologies". So far in the course we have looked at the history of communication technologies from Morse's code and the telephone to ipods, weblogs and the Internet. I can't possibly imagine a life without all the technologies that we have available to us today. Just think if it took only fifty years to go from the invention of the telephone to the creation of the television what new communication technologies will be present fifty years into the future from now.

One of the requirements of this course is to create and maintain a weekly weblog, which is why http://www.123arewethereyet.blogspot.com/ has been created. The title of this weblog - Are we there yet? - was chosen because just like going on a long journey, this weblog will reflect my progress through this course.

Over the next 12 weeks I will be adding weekly posts about information covered in the lectures and the tutorials as well as my own personal thoughts on what's been covered in the course so far. I will also be including links to sites that can be used for the essay research as well as links to other student's weblog.