Chapter 5

                                      
1)      What are search engines and how do they work? 

• Search engines, amazingly fast but not always well-understood tools, enable teachers and students to access online information by locating Web pages that have been linked to its database. 
• Online information searching is also know as "Web information research and retrieval" and involves knowing how to locate and analyze information from the internet. 
• Teachers often benefit from using specialized search resources that narrow the focus of their searches to more educationally relevant materials. 
• Electronic note taking offers teachers and students new ways to record and save the information they locate online.                          

Tech Tool  5.1  Photo and Audio Resources on the Web
      So, how cool is LibriVox. I just love this! When I have more time I would love to play around with this. I did look up Thomas Hardy's "Jude the Obscure " and listened for about a minute. And, if I had even more time, I would volunteer to read. Hopefully, next summer I will get the opportunity. I would like to get my daughters involved as well : )
 
Summary: As always, there is a plethora of useful information. I found it interesting, that in an ETS pilot study of 1,400 college students and high school seniors, few demonstrated strong information and media skills (Educational Testing Service,2004)

• Only  52 percent judged the objectivity of a group of websites correctly
• Only 35 percent successfully narrowed an overly broad Internet search
• Only 12 percent constructed a presentation slide (PowerPoint) using directly relevant points

 Another interesting fact, it has been estimated that "less than half the searchable Web is fully searchable in Google." All this time, I thought Google had all the answers...   LoL        

I like the idea of electronic note taking NoteStar. I either print out pages, or try and copy information down on a piece of paper. Another one they mention is a commercial software program for either Mac or PC computers called Office OneNote 2007.

Google has all kinds of tools, the one I'm looking forward to, is Google for Educators
I also like the idea of the Google books Library Project

I wondered if the Boolean Search was pertinent information because I didn't quite understand it.

I found that their are safety measures that parents and schools can use on their computers to keep children from seeing and or reading inappropriate content.

When using the computer, one has to keep in mind that there is a ton of misinformation  malinformation, messed-up information, and mostly useless information. So, remember to consider the five criteria: accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage.