Week 7: Tagging, Folksonomies & Technorati: del.icio.us

This weeks learning 2.0 assignment was to check out blog tags, on del.icio.us.  I must say I was not extremely impressed.  It seems that my bookmarks bar can do just about the same thing.  However, it can not tell me other popular sites according to me interests etc.  I honestly feel overwhelmed with all of this web-mania.  I think it has some good points.  I just don't think I would have the time to luck into it that much, in real life.

Journal Entry for Activity 2, Information Literacy

I choose to study about scenario number one which reads.

"You notice your nieces and nephews watch a lot of violent television and play a lot of violent video games.  You also noticed a change in their behavior.  You want to say something to your siblinb, but you aren't sure what to say.  You are interested in learning how violence on television affects a child's behavior"

What do you already know about the scenario you selected?

I have heard that their is a correlation between television violence, and violence done by children.

What are you uncertain about?

I am uncertain how much television viewing, causes violent behavior.  What the target ages are.  What type of violent media, TV, movies, video games?  

What are some of the specific questions that you have about the issue?

What are some  studies concerning violence and media?  How do you know if a child's violence is due to media or other factors?  Which type of media is most likely to cause violence?  How is violence most often displayed?

What do you need to know to understand the issue better?

What is the recommended maximum viewing of TV of children of different ages?  What types of shows are my nieces/nephews watching? 

KEY WORDS for searching:  Violence, television, video games, media

Reflection of Example:

I could not believe the example of the cell phones popping popcorn.  I must admit when I first saw it, I believed it.  I did not know a website like snoops exist.  I think that is a great example of indirect advertising.  I really did not think it was that funny, like the man on CNN who created the videos claimed.  After seeing all the clips it does make me wonder about radio waves and cell phone usage.  It might be helpful to read an academic journal article on the subject.

Week 6: Web 2.0 Play Happy valentines!!

I made this valentine from the generator blog.  I could not figure out how to save the animation anyway, it was super fun.  Happy valentines day Madelyn & Sawyer!!

Information Literacy Assignment

Activity 1

How important is the skill of information literacy?

Information literacy is the ability to both find and utilize information.  I think this skill is extremely important.  We have so much information at our fingertips, if we can find it.  Being able to sift through all of this information is power, because of the time we save, and the information we gain.

Why is it important to understand that there are various types of information that can found in different ways, using different tools?

I think this is important because each different source, location, has some definite benefits.  For example a library has books, encyclopedias, magazines, scholarly journal.  An added bonus is a reference librarian is usually available to help you in the search, if you are still learning like I am.  In addition libraries usually pay for subscriptions to specialized online research such as electronic journals etc.  

Another huge source for information is the internet.  So much free information is given on the internet.  However, it is skill to be able to find information that you need.  By researching search engines we can greatly improve our success at finding information on the web.  I recently studied the search engine Dogpile, and I was amazed at the tips and tricks I learned just by researching on Dogpiles home page.  In Utah, we have a huge resource it is the search engine PIONEER, that anyone who is a citizen of Utah can use.  This search engine includes many databases for scholarly journals.  If you have kids in school, I am sure they can tell you all about it.  The internet is great because it is so accessible.

Why is it important to have good searching skills?

So you can get results.  Find relevant results that help you find the information you need quickly.  So you fully understand what different sources have to offer, so you can find the source(s) that best fits your query.  As I said above, if you have good searching skills, you find the results you need in a timely manner.  I have known people to say, the internet has so much information, if only I could find what I am looking for.  I do not think information literacy is something you are born with, it takes time and development to acquire this talent.

Week 5: Web 2.0 SKYPE

If any of you out there do not know about SKYPE, I highly recommend it if you have family out of the area.  It is so much fun.  It is basically a free video phone.  My sister is going to be in Hawaii this summer, so I think we can stay in contact :D

Week 4: Web 2.0 Wiki Wiki Wow

This week we are learning about Wiki's.  Wiki are databases that users create.  The most famous being Wikipedia.  I did not know how many wiki pages are out their.  Last semester our instructional design class created our own wiki pages on instructional design theories.  It was a lot easier than I imagined it to be.