Practicum 5-Ashley

So it's been a really long while since I posted an update on my practicum project. I am going to use this post to talk about my third site that I am looking at for specialized information sites. This one I thought was perfect to talk about for today since we finally got snow!! I am also going to Aspen over winter break for some skiing/boarding with family and friends. This site I have mostly been reading instructions and animated videos posted by the professionals, or people that run the site, on tricks that I want to learn. The instructions are step by step and really well laid out, and there are animated cartoon type pictures next to it showing the position you should be in. The video is animated and you can slow it down, pause it, etc. but I don't know how effective it is because it is animated and not a real person on an actual half pipe. People on this site learn mainly from the site itself, similar to the poker site, rather than people posting their own videos on how to do something. Anyone can participate in the forums and give their two cents but I follow the instructors since they can explain it better and clearer most of the time and provide other resources for me to look at. Anyway, I think I am learning how to do some of these things, but I don't think I will know until I actually go out and try it, which I obviously haven't been able to yet. I think that's going to be really hard because it's not like the knitting site where I can watch a video of someone knitting and follow along or the poker site where I can be playing and referring to the tip sheet at the same time. It's going to be interesting to see if I can actually remember and do what the instructors do and say. Something more practical on this site I've been looking at is just different gear and boards. I have a couple Burton snowboards, and a Ride (I used to compete, so I use them for different things), and I have been looking at the forums on what people consider to be the best boards for racing, tricks, etc. since that changes all the time and its been a while since I have gotten a new board or even just like snowpants, boots, jackets, everything. It was interesting to read about that but the forum was mostly people talking about preferences with no real solid arguments or information or resources to back up what they are saying. A lot of times when people start with a certain brand, they stick to it and are convinced its the best. So some of it is helpful especially on places to go to find this gear but I also ignore a lot of it too based on other information either the site provides or that I've gotten from some where else.