Before:
I've never really thought about the
way I search the web for information. I would normally just type in what I was
looking for and hope I got some results. I stay on my trusted web sites because
I know the information there will be valid. It's not hard to hop on Wikipedia
and add some information that isn't true. I spend a lot of time on the internet
and run into false information all the time. But I thought I could usually spot
it right away. On April fools I do not turn my computer on because I know
that all my favorite sites will have false information listed for fun. Since I have
quite a bit of computer background I usually look at the links and judge whether
it’s a good site or a bad one before I even click on it. I know the old trial
and error method very well. I have to reinstall windows fairly often for
customers when they don’t pay attention to what they are clicking.
After:
Since doing the MAPping activity I think
that I may need to re-evaluate the searching process. I used Google search for
most everything. The information in the activity opened my eyes to the fact
that many search engines do not list the full address. This contradicts my theory
of checking the address because there plainly just not all there. Sites like
.edu, .ac , .sch, .k12 are most defiantly the ones to look for. After doing the
activity, I found that most of those sites are credible. When you're on a site
look for the author, if he or she is a Dr. or PHD you can research there name.
From that you can see what university there at, and that should let you know if
they have credibility. Victorian Robots was the site I viewed, and it is
obviously a joke. When searching for Victorian Robots it's not plainly stated that
these sites are for fun. If a student was looking up information for a research
paper they might even believe the information presented here. The pictures
provided on the website look to be somewhat real. Until you click on the links,
you may never know that the information is truly false.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, this was a really
informative activity and will help me in farther searches. It's not that the
information on the internet is not true. It’s the fact that anyone can put
stuff on the internet. When researching a paper students are so driven to get a
good grade they might not always check the site there on. This will lead to
confusion and false information. After doing this activity I hope I can help my
students make better choices when doing papers for me. Given that more books
can be found online, and Wikipedia are just so easy to search, I hope that I
can convince them to dig a little deeper. I myself will be digging a little
deeper next time I have a research paper. Looking at the full web address,
checking the author and checking the information found with other information
will be my new method of web searching.
Hey Brek,
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way. I thought I had always been careful enough when I do research on the internet (and probably am compared to the general public), but this activity really brought a lot of things to light regarding website credibility and false information. Since you mentioned teaching these things to students, it might be a good idea to let them check out these "false" sites and see who actually believes them first before teaching them the same thing we are learning now.
This is Karissa, by the way. I didn't realize blogger put my nickname as my display name on default..?
ReplyDeleteBrek
ReplyDeleteI will admit that I done the same thing. I usuallt just typed what I was looking for into a search engine and hoped for some results. I also done the Victorian Robots and now that I kow the information is not verifiable I think back and tell myself that I was stupid for thinking it was real. I will have to agree with Karissa that it would be a great learning experience to let the students experiment first.
Wesley Baird
Brek,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. I never gave much thought to the way I was searching the internet before this exercise. I found out that I was VERY internet illiterate! Hopefully, now I will remember to really research a site before I take it as credible. I think teaching the students this lesson by the same means as we did it would probably help a lot too.
Stacy McCleskey
Brek,great job! and I like the fact that you found room for improvement after doing the Mapping activity. It is good to know that you can find what you need when you need it. But it is great to know that you can always improve and increase in knowledge. I wish that I could get around on the computer with your ease and I pray that some day I can consider myself an expert in researching. But as of today I'm still a little shakey when it comes to using the computer. This lesson has been a great source of information as you pointed out in your conclusion and I do appreciate the professor for her efforts in making us effective learners. I wish you well as you embark on your career as a teacher.
ReplyDeleteAndrea Grimes 2-9-12.
Well…after reading your posts over the MAPping activity I discovered that we have a lot of the same findings. I only use Google because I know it will get me where I need to go and it’s reliable. Wikipedia is a joke of a website for information and everything else that it offers. I also noticed that after my searching I found that the sch., edu., are much more supported sites. I am thankful that we had to do this assignment because it has truly opened my eyes about the World Wide Web and how unsecured it is. We must take all the precautions we can in order to keep ourselves safe.
ReplyDelete-Sarah Moss
I didn't really expand on my Internet literacy like you guys did with this assignment, but I do agree with alot of your observations. I also think it's funny that some websites change their content on April fools day; it happened to me a couple years ago when I first started using wikipedia and forgot what day it was. Anyways good job on your blog.
ReplyDelete