Don’s 632 Blog

In class yesterday we broke into groups and discussed our LoTi scores and how we could reach the goal. Most of our scores were low For both of us in our groups, our goal was “Exploration”. We have both experienced the reluctance of students to use any technology on a voluntary basis on the college level. Technology use that is mandatory for a class is sometimes complained about because it is extra work. At times the problem is a lack of technology at a school, or the difficulty in finding good software programs.

I read an article about how to do a web search with savvy.  It had some good tips to use, but I had already been informed of some of tips by a librarian here at Del Tech. The first tip was to have a clear idea of what you are looking for.  I tell my students in chemistry class that when they are solving a problem they must know what they are looking for or they will not be able to find it.  Having a clear idea of what you are looking for will help you word the search better.  In other words, don’t just try something.  The second tip was to use specific search criteria.  I have used this in the past by using Google Scholar.  It mentioned some others that I was not aware of.  The third tip was to use a specialized search engine.  The fourth tip was to just continue to practice.  The more you do searches, the better you will become at it.

A second article had to do with schools and online social networking.  These so-called social network sites such as MySpace and Facebook can be real problems for schools.  Young people seem to always want to be communicating with some one electronically. The problem is that many are making bad choices.  Many are giving out personal information that they should not make public.  There is a lack of parental involvement with this use of social networking.  Many parents do not know what their children are making public, and worse, many do not care.  It is an unfortunate fact that sexual predators always are lurking at these sites.  It is almost impossible for schools to curtail the use of these sites at the schools.