Blog #1

Many of us have been told throughout our lives that "we learn something new everyday." I believe learning is a continuous process of acquiring information. Someone who is information literate takes that acquired information a step further, applies it to a situation, and evaluates the source of the information. An easy way and perhaps the most popular is to acquire information from the internet, which has an abundance of resources. Can we rely on the information we receive from the internet? This is an important question that is often overlooked when searching for information. Here are some easy steps to pinpoint the validity of the information. First, you should break down the parts of a web address by looking at the domain name (.com or .org) and checking to see if there is a personal subdirectory that uses these symbols (~ and %). Next, you should check the relationships of the internal and external links on that website by using the link command from http://www.altavista.com/. Then, an investigation of the author should be done because anyone can publish information on the internet. Last of all, you should determine the purpose of the information such as to sell products/services, advocate ideas, entertain or present information. This process is described in Alan November's book "Empowering Students with Technology."

I have been impressed with the whole process of searching for information on the internet. Activities in class made me realize that I didn't look at information objectively on the internet. We all use the internet in some way; therefore, the techniques I have learned are an invaluable tool. I plan to use them for my personal and educational use. My personal goal is to share with teachers, family and friends the importance of checking the validity of a website and to feel confidant in the information obtained. My educational goal is to teach my students the skills needed to search for reliable information.