Teaching Internet Literacy (chapt. 5)

Chapter 5 explores the Internet as a tool for researching and evaluating information. As an educator, it is important to see the power of the web in assisting us in our lesson construction and presentation as well as in helping our students navigate through the overwhelmingly large body of information available with only the click of a button. Search engines, something our generation has become familiar with, are an imperative resource in navigating through the web. Sites like Google, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, and Ask, are among the most popular and widely used search engines available worldwide. From reading this chapter, I learned that Google's success in becoming the "dominant search engine in the world" came about because of more than its ability to produce relevant websites. By organizing search results by more than simply matches of keywords, and instead ranking websites' relevance by how often it is cross-referenced across the web, Google was able to create a database that acts more like a community member, familiar with reputations and applicability, than a disconnected technological tool. When I search the web, I flip flop between a few search engines: Google, Yahoo!, and MSN. While I used Yahoo! as my homepage, I often find myself pulling up Google for web searches. This makes me wonder, What is your preferred search engine? Do you use more than one? Why do you prefer one over another?

The text then discusses the importance of teaching students how to conduct effective Internet searches. Because the Internet is a massive body of information, it is likely that amongst the relevant search results, many irrelevant or inappropriate website will be yielded as well. The text notes that the Internet cannot tell who is preforming the search, and so it will produce a multitude of sites applicable for many different audiences. It then becomes our job, as teachers, to comb through these results and pick out the ones that work for our students. This can be a burdensome task, one that many teachers may not be able, or willing, to partake in. The text alludes to "smarter" search engines that are being developed to customize searches and summarize & organize that websites content materials. Is anyone familiar with any of these systems? If so, which ones? How do they work?

Lastly, I was interested in the ways plagiarism is expanding as a result of the ease in accessibility of the Internet. Students may plagiarize in a number of different ways, either explicitly searching out and handing in the work of someone else, including well-stated words or phrases they've found on the web, or simply forgetting to cite. Either way, it's still plagiarism, all the same. Sites like Turnitin.com help teachers and students alike to check their work and identify copied text. The book identifies ways to prevent plagiarism, but I am curious how you would work to combat plagiarism in your own classroom. How would you handle the work of a student who has plagiarized? What ideas do you have in preventing plagiarism? Are there any resources you are aware of that can help in this battle?

Finally, I want to include a picture of a Google search reflecting the importance of grammar. You may have seen this image before, but as a pre-service English teacher, I find it hilarious - hope you do too!