What Have You Learned? Assignment #4

We are talking about search engines and search techniques this weeks, and it is interesting to know that if you just experience things and take time to look into them you can learn how to maneuver around with them and manipulate your way through.  This is how I figured out how to use a search engine.  I started using a computer in the year of 1988.  I don't remember the first time that I got on the Internet but I do know that my children will never know not having the Internet.  Learning how to conduct a search while taking computer classes does help a lot.  I love to be able to do a search on the Internet.  I think it is pretty neat that you can type in a word and all of these different things pop up.  Like look at the activity we just did.  Really?  A Tree Octopus.  OK, a Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus to be exact.  Who thinks of these things?  People would really believe them though.  Especially, since most people know octopus's can not live outside of the water.

I never really thought about the things that we looked at before.  We looked at finding the author, publisher,  the reason and I never really thought about those things before unless I was really looking for a article for a research paper.  This has made me ever so more knowledgeable about looking to see if the website is legit or not.  I am definitely going to be looking into the websites for more creditability instead of just counting them as creditable.  I want to be able to use as much technology as is available to me within the schools that I teach in, I know that I am not always going to have access, depending on what the budget of the school is.  I am still about the good ole pen and paper method, since I am going to be a math teacher.  That makes a difference also since learning pen and paper style has always helped me.  I am definitely going to keep an eye out for the legitimate sites.

Keeping all these things in mind, I will keep in mind to check and double check the legitimacy of the websites that I look at for educational purposes as well as personal use, unless I know for sure that they are legit.  It is very easy to become lazy and not look and just assume that what is stated on the site is true but we all know that sites like Wikipedia can be edited by anyone to be changed.  It is very simple to do and you can put anything that you want to on that site whether it is a lie or not.  You have to be very careful in what you put into your teaching strategy's, because your students need to trust you and learn from you.

(Zapato, 2007)