E-mail has become so commonplace that it is hard to imagine getting along without it. Each year, Americans send and receive well over 6.8 trillion e-mail messages – approximately 2.2 billion messages each day – compared with just 293 million pieces of traditional first class mail. Roughly two thirds of American workers use e-mail as part of their daily routine and the average office worker will send and receive between 60 and 200 e-mail messages each day. Therefore, it is no surprise that knowledge of this essential tool is invaluable in the new world of technology.
After linking to the Keirsey Temperament Sorter II and completing their online questionnaire, I discovered that my temperament tended to be "rational". As such, I was categorized to be a good problem solver, very goal oriented and disciplined. Moreover, they praised my type as a rare commodity in this world: comprising only 5-10% of the population. Upon introspection, I would have to support the accuracy of this quiz since I do exhibit such characteristics, and- yes, I do consider myself to be a rare and unique individual! =)
Next, I summarized my results in a Microsoft Word document and sent it as an attachment in an e-mail message. I currently have two e-mail accounts and used my University of Alberta WebMail account in this specific case. I use this WebMail account for all my school and business related activities, while my MSN Hotmail account is reserved for commercial and other internet-related interactions (where mail volume and spam levels tend to be higher).
According to Patrick Crispen's Roadmap96, I am connected to the internet via Level Three Connectivity. At home, my computer is "directly wired into the Internet using high-speed lines, and is on-line twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week". In the past, I have also used American On-Line (AOL) which is an example of Level One Connectivity.
Being the first module in the course, it was no surprise that the tasks at hand were relatively straightforward and instructions were easy to follow. Being a university student, it is hard not to be familiar with the basic capabilities of e-mail and its applications. At the University of Alberta, most correspondences between student groups, large classes, and friends are done via e-mail. As a result, I had no difficulties completing this module. The important lesson to be learned here is that communication skills are vital when communicating solely in text. I believe our ability to do this was tested when we were asked to title our attachment and add a subject heading to our e-mail. It was clear from the large amount of anxiety and discussion of this topic in the Help Forum that the task was more complex than it first appeared. After a little bit of adjustment time, I think everyone caught-on quite nicely.
I found Patrick Crispen's tutorial on internet connectivity very informative (and entertaining!). I suppose it is of no surprise that the internet has evolved and grown in new directions since he wrote the article in 1996. I, too, remember the days of connecting to the internet through an external 28.8 kbps modem, and using TelNet to send and receive e-mails. I only began to use a high-speed connection at home in this past year; previously, the big concern for me was the price. But, as new technologies become available, and more and more people get involved with the trends, who knows what the shape of cyberspace will look like in the future...
Last updated: April 7, 2005