Course Blog

 

December 9

A student writes ...

I went to class today and was dissapointed that you didn't go over the readings, because it really helps me study for them when you give me the "gist" of what you are looking for. Is there any way you can post a little something on the readings on your course blog??? If so it would be really helpful for me and I would appreciate it immensely.

Brooks looks over the readings for part three:

  • Charles Bachman is an important name to know. Note how he describes the database programmer as a navigator in n-dimensional space.
  • Read the ten points about XML - these are general characteristics of XML that you should know.
  • The Dare Obasanjo article has more detail about XML, but covers the same material as XML in ten points. Note some of the technical details about Unicode and case sensitivity, etc.
  • The Bosak and Bray article is descriptive and you probably can read it easily. Note how they describe RDF and their belief in its ready acceptance.
  • My Orthography paper is full of examples of the problems of written language - a branch of linguistics called "orthography"
  • My paper on Websearch gives my argument that web pages are presentations and not traditional documents.
  • Note that Sullivan describes the death of only _one_ META tag, the META keywords tag. What does he mean by calling it a spam magnet?
  • Cory Doctorow's paper is a rant against metadata. You shouldn't have any trouble reading it.
  • Kelly gives a number of rules about the new, networked economy. What does he mean by 'dumb power' and 'tipping point'?
  • Read Justice Stevens' opinion of CIPA and know what he means by underblocking and overblocking.

 

December 8

A student writes ...

I was wondering what I should be studying for Quiz 3 in terms of writing out coding and such. Should I concentrate on XML, Javascript, and/or Xpath and stylesheets?

Brooks responds ...

I would study the structure of XML data islands - how do they work? I would also know the XPath material. I wouldn't ask you to hand code an XSL stylesheet - there's too much detail that an XML editor could do for you.

 

December 5

A student writes...

Hi Terry, I have another question about grading, specifically about how you round in this class. These three students have looked at your grading scale and properly multiplied their GPA by their percentage. Student A finds her GPA at 3.94, Student B calculates his GPA at 3.95 and Student C calculates his GPA as 3.98. Which of these students would recieve a 4.0 on his/her transcript for INFO100?

Brooks is happy to reply...

I'm pretty generous with stuff like that. Wow! folks getting 3.9s -- I say give them a 4.0!

 

December 1

How do I use the <pre> tag?

The <pre> tag preserves formatting. Therefore if you want to present marked-up content (i.e., an XSLT stylesheet) and not have your browser get confused over the < and the >, use the <pre> tag and escape the angle brackets.

Suppose that I have the following file that I want to load as content on the web:

	<HTML>
	<BODY>
		<H1>Hi Terry</H1>
	</BODY>
	</HTML>

First step:  Escape the < brackets. This means, turn < into &lt; You can do this quickly by using the Search and Replace of Notepad, etc.

After I do that, my file looks like this:

	&lt;HTML>
	&lt;BODY>
		&lt;H1>Hi Terry&lt;/H1>
	&lt;/BODY>
	&lt;/HTML>

Second step:  Now add the <pre> tags to the top and bottom.

After I do that, my file looks like this:

	<pre>
	&lt;HTML>
	&lt;BODY>
		&lt;H1>Hi Terry&lt;/H1>
	&lt;/BODY>
	&lt;/HTML>
	</pre>

Last step  Save this file as .html

 

November 26 [The day before Thanksgiving]

Several students believe that attending class will result in extra credit...

You said to send us an e-mail in order to get extra credit so I am. I would like to get as much extra credit as possible because I need it after last quiz :) But if there is no number, about 6-7 points to last quiz would be nice. Thank You very much.

OK, well while responding to your extra credit opportunity, bad luck seems to dwell on me today and the comcast mail server was too busy and process my previous email. Whether you do get my previous email or not, I would just like to say that I request 10 points added extra to my existing score for the course (out of 100). I hope that this follows through and my request is valid.

You may have been yanking our chains, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to take advantage of your comment. As the case may be, you may take pity on us and decide to award the extra credit...in that case I would hope for a 4.0. But since this is not a perfect world I would appreciate any amount you feel is appropriate. It was a pleasure being here today, have a very happy Thanksgiving.

I'm e-mailing you to tell you that I came to class on Wednesday, November 26, 2003 for the info 100 lecture. You said for us to e-mail you if we want extra credit, and I really do! Can I have the maximum extra credit your giving out? I want a 4.0 and as much of the extra credit possible! Thanks, your class is awesome!

I am delighted to inform you that I was in your class on Wednesday morning, listening to your outstanding lectures and learning the most useful information. I do not know how much extra credit I can get, however, so I'm going to ask for the greatest amount of extra credit I can possibily ask for. I expect to get a 4.0 now in this class, so thanks for this wonderful opportunity.

Brooks comments ...

Sorry, there's no such thing as a free lunch!

 

November 21

A student writes...

I actually have no questions concerning any project. I am inquiring about INFO courses. The material covered in this course has brought information technology to my attention, and actually, it has been quite an anxiety creator. I am in the position where I feel everyone else in this professional world already have ample knowledge of the xMLs and yMLs like how we readily use word processing and the internet. I was wondering if you could point my direction to further increase my proficiency in the xMLs and the yMLs in terms of courses here in the university that is a couple steps up, while keeping in mind my inadequate knowledge of computers and programming as a whole, I feel that CSE 142 is more like 10 steps up from now. Thanks.

Brooks wonders...

That's a good question, to which I really don't know an easy answer. What we are witnessing is the emergence of these new technologies (i.e., the construction and meaning of information) in many fields. For example, you could go to the Art school and find folks who are doing "interaction design" and you could go to the Business School and find folks who are building "e-commerce web sites." There are a lot of academic departments, schools, courses in between. I would suggest that you follow your interests and investigate many different programs. In our course, we touch on so many things that you are probably able to read course descriptions and have some sense of what they are about. Good luck!

 

November 21

Would these folks get in touch with me:

Make-up exams to be picked up: Ruth Gonzalez and Joselyn Bejarin

Second web site: Omar Ghishan, Hanh Mai, Aaron Marks, Jeffrey Merrell, Kenn Miyake, Zoila Sedano, Tina Sinlapasai, Menelik Bekele, and Jeremy Adams.

 

November 11

A student writes...
I am a student from your info 100 class and I am interested in your grading scale, as in what percentage or total points is equal to a 2.0 and 3.0 etc. I have investigated onthe syllabus, but all it says is that the course uses UW grading.

Brooks reminds everyone...

On the Administration page of our course, one finds the following:

The breakdown of your grade for this class is as follows:

30%    Quiz 1 (an in-class quiz on Part One of the course)
  3%    Part One Web Page (grade assigned by your TA)

etc., etc..

Directions: Multiply your percentage points from the quizzes and websites by 4.0. The result is your grade point for this course.

Example: Alice Apple got 25% on quiz 1, 25% on quiz 2, 25% on quiz 3 and got full grades for her three websites (total = 10%). Her percentage points total 85% Multiply .85 by 4.0 and her grade point for the course is 3.4

 

November 10

A note from Yuka Tsukamaki

I've had some students express concern to me about the Part Two web page, and since we don't have class on Tuesday, I wanted to let them know that I will be holding office hours from 3:30-4:30 PM on Monday, the 10th, on the main floor (1st floor) of Mary Gates. I am Section AE.

 

October 31

Will these students send me an e-mail please:

  • Jeremy Adams
  • Peter Chow
  • Thea Medrano
  • Menelik Bekele

 

October 25

A student writes...

I am a student in your INFO 100 class. In these past weeks since fall quarter started I have had many extraordinary things happen in my life. One of note being the start of a new job. I am a sound engineer by trade and thought that this class would be a big help, because while I am quite comfortable behind a sound board, I am less than computer savvy. The skills and knowledge taught in your class are invaluable in my field. My new position as well as a full course load and family obligations have been sucking my time in every direction. I did rather poorly on this first test and the first website evaluation. I understand that you may not care in a class of around one hundred fifty students who slacks off and who excels because the grades often speak for themselves. In my case however, I am highly motivated and concerned for not only my GPA, but my building of knowledge as well. I was hoping to work out some arangement that I could take the next two evaluations as my grade or only count this one as half or something. I would hate to have to drop this class on account just grades. I would be happy to meet with you, or just a simple no would be understood, whatever you feel is prudent.

Brooks replies...

No.

 

October 25

A student writes...

I'm an international student and my English skills still not very good, so I'm going to take English classes to improve it, I've chosen CSE100 since I thought it will not need good English skills because it's a CS course, but I discovered that it needs. Since in the first part there were a lot of readings and they were really difficult for me, although I understood all the lectures very well and also all the labs, as a result of that I think I didn't do very well in the questions about the readings in the exam! but I really want to do well in this course since I like it very much and I learn a lot from it, would you please advice me what can I do in the next two parts so that I can do well in the exams?

Brooks advises...

I would suggest that you form a study group with other students in your lab section. Sit around and discuss the meaning of the articles, etc.

 

October 20

A student writes ...

I am confused as to who actually suggested hypertext. In Tim Berners-Lee's The World Wide Web, he says "Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is an example of a Web specification that has allowed for considerable flexibility. HTML sets very little restrictions as to what you can and cannot publish to the Web." But then it is Nelson who defines what hypertext is. Would it be a safe assumption to say that Nelson was the first to suggest it as his article was written before Tim Berners-Lee's?

Brooks decides ...

As far as I'm concerned, Nelson proposed 'hypertext' before the World Wide Web came along. I consider HTML as a presentation technology used primarily on the Web.

 

October 18

A student writes ...

I'm a little confused in lectures and I can't seem to follow along very well. I'm new to computers and HTML and it's just really hard for me to follow along. I don't even understand what all the codes mean that we are using for our webpage, I just kind of copy them onto mine. I've read the readings and even some of that stuff is confusing! If I go over the readings again this weekend and study the questions you asked us to answer on your homepage from the readings, will I be okay for the exam? Is are there questions from lectures and/or anything else I should try to understand? Do you have any suggestions for me to try to understand everything before the exam?

Brooks observes...

I would suggest that you read the readings again, take notes, summarize the main points, examine the lecture material and consider the emphases that I give material. Don't worry about understanding all the codes of HTML, etc. You'll discover that you'll never be able to know everything about information technology. Play with the perl programs and begin your own process of discovery.

 

October 17

A student writes ...

I was wondering if you wanted us to know the specific authors and their writings. Will you be asking questions like..."What did Bush say in his/her article about _________? Did you want us know to SPECIFICS or a general idea of the concepts?

Brooks responds...

Given that the exam is "fill in the blank" and "true or false" then it would seem that you're going to need to know specifics. For example: Who suggested "hypertext"? Who philosophized about the "Memex" machine?

 

October 15

In class today, there were some questions about setting up your homepage with links to the part one web page. Here's some suggestions:

Suppose that you have two web pages: One web page is home.htm and the other one is partOneWeb.htm. Both of these web pages reside in the same subdirectory in your directory on the UW's UNIX computers.

You want to set a link on home.htm that targets your partOneWeb.htm page.

Edit your home.htm page by adding:

	<a href="partOneWeb.htm">My Part One Web Exercises</a>

Save your work. Now point your browser at your homepage and click on your link. Your Part One Web page should pop up.

 

October 7

A student writes...

Not to be one of THOSE students who speak to correct the teacher to bring attention and glory upon himself, but I just wanted to say, after all the importance you enlightened us about McLuhan, that you might want to edit the McLuhan section in the blog... the medium is NOT merely manipulation of tissues with the hand or an instrument for therapeutic purposes...

 

Marshall McLuhan

The McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology

"Novelist Tom Wolfe said that he sounded like, “the most important thinker since Newton, Darwin, Freud, Einstein, and Pavlov … the oracle of modern times.” Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau offered, “I think that some of his intuitions were those of a genius.” His turns of phrase and aphorisms — most importantly, “The medium is the message,” and “global village” — are embedded deeply within the psyche of Western culture. And yet this intellectual giant, who informed our society of the effects of television, the nature of advertising, and, over forty years ago, predicted the changes we have seen with the Internet came from humble beginnings."

  • The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man, 1962
  • Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, 1964
  • The Medium is the Massage, 1967
  • The Global Village: Transformations in World Life and Media in the 21st Century, 1988
  • etc., etc., etc.

 

October 3

A student writes ...

I'm starting to work on the first part of my webpage and have a question regarding the screenshots.
Do the images have to be cropped as shown in the example? I was planning to just PrintScrn the whole terminal window each time and save those. I certainly won't mind cropping the images if resizing/cropping images is one of the objectives of the exercise.

Brooks suggests ...

Crop your images.

Select the crop icon. Place you cursor in the upper left hand corner of the desired area to be cropped. Drag the cursor to demarcate an area. Go to Edit and select Cut. Then go to File and select to start a new document and paste your cropped area into the new document.

 

October 2

A student writes...

So far in my lab section I have completed all of the assignments that Charles (my TA) has walked us through, however I have no understanding of what I have done....ie most of our lab work has been copying your work from the course web site. For example, to create the HTML file the instructions were to copy and paste your example into notepad add a line that said <img src="mypicture.jpg"> and then save and move to the file we had created in Dante. I am quite fluent in the world of copy and paste however the code in your example means nothing to me and if asked to "create a simple HTML file" on my own (like on a quiz) I would only know what I had memorized from the screen. Is this something that should have been explained? The same process was followed when we created our subdirectory in Dante. I did ask Charles what the objective of the HTML page assigment was- learning how to do simple manipulations and move files around, or actually learn to create an HTML file- and he didnt know what to tell me so I thought I would follow up with you for some clarification.

Brooks opines ...

Well, you have to understand that this is still your first lab and being a little overwhelmed is natural. Here we are at the beginning of the class and there is a certain amount of "set up" that has to be done: Creating a web page for yourself, using FTP, using the img tag, etc.
We will be covering HTML, but not at any great depth. You can see what a skimpy job I'm going to do by pointing your browser at http://www.ischool.washington.edu/tabrooks/100/Autumn2003/PartTwo/HyperTextMarkupLanguage.htm
If this seems inadequate to you, and you want to understand each tag, then best go to the bookstore and get yourself some book such as (I'm making this up) "The beginner's guide to HTML", etc. There are lots of books like that.
On the other hand, just accept all this new stuff as new stuff that you now have a chance to play with. Why not make 50 web pages and link them all together? Charles could show you how to do that. And after such an exercise, you would know the <html> tag like the back of your hand. Bingo! at that point, it wouldn't matter if I asked to write an html page on the quiz or not, because you would know it cold.

A student writes...

I'm computer illiterate and this is the 1st computer class I've ever taken so I'm very nervous. I just wanted to understand today's lecture a bit more, here's some of the things I'm not clear on:
1)"Is there an appropriate (best? natural?) form of information?"
My guess is that there are many different appropriate forms/vessels of information for different purposes. But I didn't catch the conclusion to that one so I'm not sure. Plus, what do you mean by "natural?" or "best?"
2)"What's the relationship between an oral myth and its written form?"
I didn't catch this one. Is it that written form is concrete and oral myth has the flexibility to change? What would be considered "oral myth?"
3)What is "eXtensible Markup Language?" Is it the bridge between content and presentation? Is that a computer or Info term?

Brooks pontificates...

Don't worry about being computer illiterate. That is a matter of degree. In many ways I'm computer illiterate too. So join me and we'll learn together.
As to the form of information. My view is that information has a private source (i.e., inside my head) and is only manifested by some concrete transmission device in the "real" world. Examples of such devices would be words, music, pictures, etc. You didn't catch the conclusion because there wasn't one.
Oral myths take as many forms as there are speakers, because each person is putting the commonly held myth into concrete verbal form. A written form is merely the same process where the words are written down. Its single advantage is that written expression lasts longer than verbal expression. An example is the book Moby Dick by Herman Melville. We can read it still today although all verbal expressions by Melville have been lost (as far as I know).
XML - Extensible Markup Language - is a technology for constructing information. We're going to do a section on XML and you're going to get a chance to play with it. Exciting, no?

 

October 1

rickima@u.washington.edu asks the question is the quizes based on the reading guide questions?, and the answer is that the quizzes are based on (1) the lectures, (2) the readings, (3) the labs, and (4) the web site. The reading guide questions help you focus on some points in the readings.

 

September 30

We're off and running!

Ben Brigham's group has a web page of lab notes and exercises.

Tomorrow we're going to start our first lecture on the two fundamental problems of information technology.

 

September 10
Some students have e-mailed about the textbook. If I were a student, I'd wait until the first day of class. Terry will discuss the textbook and the role it plays in the class.

Some students are interested in jumping from one lab section to another. Might be hard to do! At the first class, Terry will bring a signup sheet for those folks who want to add the course, change a section, etc. However, if all the lab section are maxed out - adding and jumping around might be hard to do.