Hello, everyone!
I was relieved to see that for some of you trying out a new method of searching the Web also produced mixed feelings of initial confusion and uncertainty followed by a sense of achievement.
Sandra's three questions in the assignment for this week made me redefine my idea of searching the Web as another activity where the outcome will depend not only on the way we do it, but also on the goal we set. And in that respect, the headline at the top of suggested NoodleTools page makes if very clear what we should keep in mind: trying to 'combine the best search' with our 'information need' that we have to define first. Otherwise the Web will be a place we very easily get carried away with too many things in too many places. The abundance is impressive, but it is ‘narrowing down’ that actually matters. In other words, Web searching by using less tiresome random scrolling and, instead, more clicking on different filtering options and search criteria.
In future I am definitely going to include this topic while discussing the World Wide Web with my students, as I know that to most of them, comptuer savvy as they are, Google is the most obvious choice. (They will occasionally combine it with Google Scholar, if specifically asked to do so.) Besides, I particularly liked the Magnifiying Glass quiz that Deborah created on the Technology Tip of the Month page, as it helped me visualize the difference that a Web search strategy can make! Using Boolean operators would be much easier for my students to grasp, as they are skilled at writing spreadsheet formulae and doing programming. Still, I am convinced that even I could learn to use some of them. Having a collection of search engines other than Google will prove invaluable for finding resources to be used in our courses, both for myself and the students.
Of course, it is very easy to get set in one’s own ways and hard to give up old habits. I am only beginning to develop my browsing strategies, and trying out new methods also implies learning how not to continue with our present Web search habits which, satisfactory as they may be, definitely need some improving.
The fact that I did manage to find what I had set out to find in the first place was a boost to my self-efficacy and information literacy perception.
I hope you have experienced the same rewarding feeling and appreciate the improved (if not an entirely new) competency we have acquired.
Best regards,
Andreja
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Hello Andreja,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I want to tell you that I agree with you when you say at the beginning of the post about the mixed feelings that we had when trying out this new tools for searching information on the web. It makes a big difference now that we have more choices and it will help us a lot in our teaching.
Second of all, I have to say that it is true that it takes some time to get rid of our old habits, but now we can start to make the difference and share this information with our colleagues and students in our institutions.
Cristian Meléndez
HI Andreja,
ReplyDeleteWhatever the feeling we have about web searching we cannot escape from it.The world wide web is part of our personal and professional lives.Consequently, web searching skills have to be learnt as we learn driving a car.The difference here stands on the fact that if we can improve our driving through practice very fast, for web searching long time practice does not necessarily go with efficiency.Because it's hard to get rid of bad habit, google.com is the easy way out.Moreover,for a teacher telling others especially students that he/she doesn't know how to search the web is tough.
Now that I have some tips and strategies from this program,I feel more equiped to include web searching in my course as you intend to do.These skills are definitely a must have for us and our students Essential for their and our lifelong learning.
Thank you for your insightful reflections
Hassina
Dear Andrija,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it's not easy to kick a habit and to integrate new innovative search methods or exploring new discipline-specific portals or sites.
My students learn English as a foreign language and everytime they have a task that involves searching the internet they get frustrated. Often they find materials with hard vocabulary that they cannot manage. I am going to explore 'kids' sites such as Kidsclick.
We are gaining new valuable insights in this course.
Ahmad
Ahmad