I am so happy that Anne-Marie Gordon has decided to start a blog. I greatly value her knowledge and perspective.
Today – she blogs about Twitter – a web 2.0 app that I felt safe ignoring – until now. Darn. It really does have an educational use after all. Twittering in Outer Space
No wonder space aliens are portrayed with giant brains. People of the future are just going to need more brain space to keep up. What’s the next step after “twittering” – the Vulcan Mind Meld?
Librarian’s Lament has generated a few comments here – and many on LM_NET. I need to work these responses into a new post. Someday when there is time… I need to retire or take a sabbatical.
Anyway – just wanted to add some fuel to the fire. If you have not seen the video EPIC 2014 – you should take the time to watch it. Here is the filter friendly version in case your filter blocks the first link as mine does.
This video will make you think about what might happen if people lose their ability to think critically. Yes – there is a lot of wonderful thinking and discussion going on in this new world of the Read/Write Web. But there are dangers…. Our students need the skills to navigate this new world of information. I am thinking about it every day. Banning Web 2.0 sites and banning Google is NOT the answer. I suspect that changing databases & library catalogs to be more user-friendly is part of the solution. As school librarians, creating meaningful and memorable lessons on how to use & evaluate all kinds of information (google-based or otherwise)definitely IS the answer. Now – if I can just get some thinking/planning time!!
I rencently posted this lament on LM_NET listserv.
I am feeling very depressed about our student’s lack of critical thinking with regard to information found on the web. I am correcting the works cited lists for our 10th grade globalization research papers. In spite of spending time teaching and doing activities using our wonderful databases (Gale’s Student Resource Center, Gale Opposing Viewpoints, and EBSCO) – students STILL persist in getting the vast majority of their information from Google et al.
In spite of 2 years of teaching how to determine a site’s reliability – the students continue to turn in lists of sources that are of marginal use, or – worse yet – completely unreliable. I truly worry about how our students will ever grow up to be thoughtful, accountable citizens if they continually accept blindly the first 10 results that show up on Google. And yes – I know our mission is to teach them to be competent users of information in all forms. I don’t expect them to get everything from databases. Google is a wonderful tool – but it is only 1 tool. I DO spend significant time teaching how to determine the reliability of the sites they locate via Google. And yet…..
Here is what I have seen today:
Research Topic: Future technological advances in the military
Web site:
The American Chemist and the War’s Problems at
This is a copy of a journal article written in 1916!
Research Topic: The future of Nuclear Power in the United States.
Web site:
Advantages of Nuclear Power
Who is the author of the site? It states his name – but gives no information about him. Does putting and M.D. after his name make him an expert? The parent site appears to post random articles.
Research Topic: High Definition Television – the Effects of this technology on the future
Web site:
Dolan: High Def on DBS
This page is a short paragraph on KeepMedia. At the end of the paragraph it says:
“Read the rest of this article by subscribing to Premium Access! Or, buy just this article for $2.00”
How I wish I could add “Or – GO TO YOUR FRIENDLY LIBRARIAN, who will get it for you at no charge to you – either from a database or by requesting it to be faxed as part of our interlibrary loan service.”
The rest of the websites on this student’s list were all advertisements for High Definition TV. Nothing at all from a database or from some sort of objective website.
SIGH!!!!! I am not sure what I am looking for here. Perhaps just a kindred soul who is struggling with these same issues. Perhaps some sort of activity that will make the importance of website evaluation SINK IN. I do gather these kind of sites as examples for the following year. The kids all chuckle about them – but then bounce along their merry way – not willing to take the time to look deeply at where the “information” is coming from. Is it a maturation thing? Although my seniors
certainly did not cover themselves with honor when asked to do a web evaluation activity this year. See the following:
Thanks for “listening”. Keep checking back. I am sure there will be more to come as I continue grading works cited lists.
Just a quick update to Are You Internet Savvy?
Here is the latest example of the hazards of the information highway. I’ll bet you never realized that Isaac Newton invented the “beer bong!”
Sir Isaac Newton Resource Page
The site was discovered by a student researching famous scientists. Luckily – the “information” was ludicrous enough that she soon caught on that it was bogus. It would be great to use with students – except that some of the language is a bit “beyond the pale!”
See also recently added information at the end of this post.
Our seniors recently completed a website evaluation activity.
Sadly, 50 out of 64 of them thought the following site was reliable, and an excellent source of information for reports. Sigh…….
As adults, you will probably realize pretty quickly that the site is a hoax – based on a number of factors. However – there is one definitive piece of proof. Can you figure out what that is?
If you would like to see how you stack up with our seniors- go to the website evaluation activity and see what you think about a variety of different websites. Our seniors averaged about 70%. You can check your answers with the answer key.
This web activity is part of a larger assignment that I give to our seniors at the start of their first research project. To see the whole activity – just go to the following web site: Introduction to Research
And did you know? An old favorite is up and running again!
DreamTech International [CLONES–R–US]
Also – this was just posted on LM_NET
“(Los Angeles) A website designed to accompany an upcoming film about human cloning has prompted complaints from opponents of the technology who think the site is for an actual human cloning operation, Reuters reported. Lion’s Gate Films will release “The Godsend” on Friday and created GodsendInstitute.org, a faux site for a human cloning business,
as a unique promotional tie-in; the site does not mention its connection to the film. Reuters reported that one posting on the website PetitionStop.com read, “The work being done by The Godsend Institute …is out of control and needs to be stopped.” Tom Ortenberg, president of film releasing for Lions Gate Entertainment, remarked to Reuters that, “Almost everyone who goes to the site thinks it’s real, but by the time they leave, most have figured it’s fiction. Some even applaud it.”