Chapter Five Journal Post

Summary 

     This chapter talks about how the internet is becoming our major way of getting and reporting information. While students of the past just needed to be able to read and write to be consider literate, we now must have a a new form of literacy - Digital and information literacy - which focuses ona  students ability to locate, gather, and organize the information they find on the internet. With this they must also obtain media literacy which is how they analyze, evaluate, and communicate the information in different ways (pg 100-101). 

     While many believe those in college and in high school are superior when it comes to technology, many are not considered media literate because they don't use all the skills with it. These students rely on Google or other search engine websites rather than government based websites or research databases (pg 101). This is not something that I'm surprised by. Being both a college and high school student, I use Google for all of my papers. Rarely do I go to any government run website. I type it into Google and look at the first thing it tells me to look at. This is something that I have been trying to change by looking closer into the subject matter and exploring the website it gives me.

     It then speaks of e-Books/Readers. Not many student-aged children read books anymore. They are on the computer reading books on their Kindle or iPad. This is not just students who read online though, it is also everyday adults. No one leaves the house without their electronic devices anymore, so they have hundreds of books at their finger-tips rather than carrying a large, "heavy", chunky book in their bag; they have a series on their phone in their pocket. Research is being done as to how this type of reading is affecting the children's want to read (pg101-102). I honestly think it helps build a child's desire to read. I know I read non-stop now since I received my iPad.

     Following this the book talks about search engines and how they work. This is something that I have known, so I skimmed it. Thus leading us to how students and teachers should conduct online research. I found out about Google's Search Education. I think it is the coolest thing I have ever heard of. It has lessons plans based on NETS-S, Common Core, and American Association, which helps not only the students in seeing what these test are looking for, but also the teacher when it comes to teaching these subjects (pg 105). The site also has puzzles that challenge the student to discover information through research. This will be something I use in my class as a bell-work activity.

     The text then talks about electronic note-taking. This is something that i personally disagree with because I think the more you write something the more you remember it. I believe you should copy by hand first, then if you wish to type it up, feel free too. I understand students use it so they have the notes whenever they need it, I just don't agree with it (pg 106).

      There are three types of searches: free-text - which looks at the tittle, keywords, and description; keyword/exact match - which finds what you type in and only what you type in; and finally Boolean - which searches with terms "and" "or" and "not" (pg 109-110). With that we also talk about how to evaluate informaion through: misinformation, malinformation, mess-up information, and mostly useless information. Then there are controls: censorship, filtering software, partitions, labels, and critical reading. All of these things together can help tell if a website's information can be used in a paper or project (pg 113-114).

     There are five things that should always be kept in mind though when looking into a website though: Accuracy, Authority, Objectivity, Currency, and Coverage (pg 115). "Who is telling the story, and why are they to be trust? Why are they telling the world this, and how long ago was it? Does it cover all sides to a point?" Are all questions people should ask themselves when they look into a website. Teachers should also look into copyrights, Creative Commons, plagiaris, and over-all cheating. These are all massive offensives and could end in fines if not done properly (pg 118-119). 

Focus Question

2) What are search engines and how do they work?

     Search engines are part of a web sites or tool bar that let you get information from all across the Internet. It is a type of software program that works through networks on diffferent computers that find thousands of entries that match your search in a matter of seconds through the help of keywords (pg103-104)

Tech Tools 5.2 Page 109

Customizing Your Web Browser with iGoogle

      iGoogle is another form of social media, much in a way like Google+. However having an iGoogle account for the simple use of teaching doesn't sound like a bad idea. You can add gadgets which is a tyoe of data-managing software used to customize many other social media sites, even one like this. Their intended purpose is to help the person incharge of the page give information in a more organized way. If there is a gadget for Google-a-Day, I would get one right away. Speaking of which: 

This is a video describing what Google-a-Day is and how you can link it with Google+.

Resources:
Google. (Producer) (2012, June 12). The new A Google A Day on Google+ is here YouTube. [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mpPK0aktC-Y&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DmpPK0aktC-Y

Textbook- Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.