Please read Becoming Net Savvy and comment below. This is due November 28.
Wake Forest University
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13 Responses to “Discussion #4-Becoming Net Savvy”
I thought that the article was very interesting, espeically with regard to its commentary on the changing emphasis of education (from the agricultural society that heavily relied upon “knowing how” to the industrial society that emphasizes “knowing what” to the most important and vital education to society: knowing why). I think it is interesting how education changes in step with technology, that society’s purpose and emphasis changes and matures as its technology grows and adapts. I am not surprised that only 2% of students surveyed say they begin their search in a library database, because it is so common to just type in google.com and at least do some reserach there before going to more authoritative sources. I do believe it is the nature of our generation to do so. I have been researching topics “for fun” online (like white holes, black holes and other random information) for years, before I had access to the more reliable information in our library. To me, the increasing availability of information has sparked my curiousity, but I see the author’s point that we need to be “net savvy” in order to differentiate between reliable, authoritaive sources and biased and/or incorrect information. This increase of information and its free availability to the masses mean that we need to learn to discern between what sources can and cannot be relied upon to create a truly educated society.
In today’s world it is vital that people know how to properly utilize the resources around them. It is interesting how many people access information through sites such as google or wikepedia yet a very small percentage start their research by using databases, even though so much money is spent on attaining access to the journals. In the article it is interesting how it makes mention of how little of the information searches succeed even though there is so much information out there and new information is constantly being added. If everyone knew how to properly search for what they needed learning and research would be far more productive. The article is also efficient in the way it is written because the majority of the writing is questions, some of which are not completely answers and leave the reader to reflect on the relationship between growing sources of information, learning, and people themselves.
If there is a single defining factor of the 20th Century, it would no doubt be the advent of technology. Within the last forty years, the face of technological advances dramatically with the invention of the computer and the internet. The fact that over two and half billion google searches are “performed each month” is startling.
Therefore, the modern individual must see the “need” to be knowledgeable of the internet: both its advantages and dangers. The contemporary man can simply not survive apart from a basic understanding of all the internet has to offer. From search engines to publishing materials, to research data, the world wide web is changing education, the work field, and domestic life. For example, WebMD has been aiding the modern mother care for her children in the present age. Hence, Oblinger has put forth a convincing article persuading readers to become familiar and comfortable with the new epoch of online advances - the next generation will be partly defined by the web’s expanding influence.
I find the article very interesting because it exposes me to new ideas and also to how quickly and widely the internet is making the world a small global village. It is also making work easier and difficult because now individual want to “know why” and not only restrict their information to how. Some of the figures in this article is mind blowing and only reaffirms the growing importance of internet literacy.It is also interesting how students first search for research are not the different databases
The article also talks about the huge task place on librarians, help desk officials on educating people on how to become internet savvy and how to choose credible work present on the internet
The next generation would be greatly influenced by the internet even more that it is today. They would be able to do more than research, network and meet people from different parts of the world and i believe that it would be perceived as both good and bad.
I liked how the article touched on respecting intellectual property and using information ethically. This is important because the Internet has almost zero review filters and is largely unregulated, at least in the United States, for content. Also has the article mentioned, once information is on the Internet it may be impossible to completely erase. It is for all these reasons that society must become net savvy and because technology rapidly changes being net savvy is a constant process. The Internet is a great tool, but individuals, businesses, and society must be careful in their use and application of such powerful technology. If we do not think and know-how, know-what, know-who, and know-why before engaging in the use of Internet technology, there is the potential for some problematic consequences, some of which, are already occuring
I don’t think I fully recognized the capabilities that the internet holds until I entered this class. As part of the technological generation it is assumed that we are “net savvy” but the reality is that to use the internet to its greatest ability there is much to learn. With the rapid changing of internet websites and content it is a daunting task to keep up with the cutting edge technology. The work place is already heavily dependent on the web and we can no longer just learn the classics, calculus and other subjects in school but it is vital that we are at the top of our game when it comes to technology.
I have to admit that, before taking this class, I really underestimated the power of a library. I also underestimated the power of internet. I believed the internet to be stronger than the library, but now I have realized that they both have their strengths and weaknesses. I think this class has definitely made me more “net savvy” and has helped to realize the amount of junk on the internet, but also the amount of extremely useful programs and information. But more importantly, this class has taught me how to use these programs and information.
Ultimately the article summed up part of what this class is attempting to help us accomplish: getting out of the Google or Wikipedia mentality and realize that there is a massive amount of useful information out their if you can find the find search methods and look in the right places. I was shocked at some of the statistics posted, most notably, the fact that something like only two percent of all college papers used the university library resources when citing their sources. I also found it very interesting when the authors discussed the cut and paste mentality and how that may potentially be a bad thing, which I’ve thought about before, but not in serious depth. Overall, I guess the thing to take away is that with the use of computers and the Internet, it is important to not only be computer savvy, but computer smart.
The article’s main point was that in today’s age of technology, information is increasing so rapidly that one must continue to learn new skills in order not to fall behind. The fact that in 2010 technological information is expected to double every 72 hours is a staggering number, and that it is the responsibility of society to make sure that youth’s are receiving education on how to use such a valuable tool as the internet. I considered myself somewhat net savvy before entering this class, yet I am now shocked by the tools the internet offers in order to make finding relevant information easier, and I believe these tools need to be shared with everyone in this expanding internet culture.
I found this article to be very interesting. Its main point is to emphasize that knowledge is the most powerful thing we can gain in our lifetime, but it can also be one of the most dangerous. Gaining as much knowledge isn’t a task we are assigned to or a burden placed on our shoulders; it should be a goal of every single person. While gaining information is very important, gaining the right information is even more important. The internet has become so convoluted with people and companies trying to make capital gains that sometimes the best or correct information is hard to find. Although it may seem ancient, the library is still the best place to find the best information. In addition to its books, libraries have very in depth and informative databases.
This article centers around the fact that information is constantly being published and new ideas and news are constantly being updated in today’s world thanks to the power of technology. This class has been very useful to me in becoming net savvy and has taught me how to find the proper programs and use these programs in order to keep up with the knowledge and information of today. There are so many programs that people are unaware of that can help people in their research attempts, and even research strategies to help people use these programs. The fact that only 2 percent of college students use databases as a first source for research is very surprising and just further proves the fact that people are unaware of the power of resources at hand.
I’m not sure that I understand what Oblinger is referring to when she mentions biases of search engines. What sorts of biases could Google or Yahoo have which would impede or affect our ability to search properly? I also don’t believe that she is giving enough moral credit where it is due. She makes it sound like we’re in or are headed towards a point where everyone will be plagiarizing. I feel like for one thing students as a whole know better, and for another that plagiarism isn’t something that students can easily get away with. So I really don’t think that plagiarism will be a problem any time soon. A lot of what this article says was sort of obvious to me, and considering that I am relatively confident in searching for information online, I didn’t feel like it applied to me. It wasn’t until the point where Excel and PowerPoint were brought up that I sort of felt uneasy. I don’t know all the ins and outs of either of those programs nearly as well as I should
I found this article very interesting and accurate. I have often wondered what life would be like before the Internet. Today, if I or one of my friends want to know something, no matter how trivial, we can simply “google” it. (It is very interesting to me that this is a verb now.) But as the article addresses, do we always care to research whether the information is accurate or not? The answer is sadly no. I also appreciated how the article addressed my project topic for this class, intellectual property. This concept of ethical use and sharing of information has become a very gray area since the birth of the Internet. I agree that becoming Internet savvy is a life long process because the Internet is not a static being. It grows exponentially every day, as the statistics in the article point out, therefore we must be able to adapt and grow with it as well.