Since starting my graduate courses in Library Science, I have been using facebook. However, I am barely getting familiar with the wide array of useful materials available. One good website I found and would like to recommend is the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. As a future librarian, I think this will be a useful site to visit because it talks about recently challenged books and gives advice on how to challenge book challenges. The latest postings to the site deal with the recent attempts to ban graphic novels from libraries. The postings include links to videos and blog interviews. On the website, I watched a video entitled “Top 10 Banned and Challenged books for 2009,” which identified the reasons why each book was challenged. It was also interesting to find that I have read many of the books listed and would highly recommend them to others including age appropriate students. I feel that this is a good website for students to find good books that they will be attracted to read since they are viewed as “challenged books.” The site may also assist parents in understanding intellectual freedom. Parents can also learn about challenged books and thus help their own children in deciding whether to read it or not, while respecting the intellectual freedom of others.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Exploring Wikipedia
After browsing several topics on Wikipedia including the border wall and politicians, I finally decided on the two articles I would write about. Living in South Texas many of our students research The Rio Grande Valley. The article on Wikipedia seems fine but many population and percentage information is stated without citations. There is even a note on top of the page stating that the “article needs additional citations for verification.” In fact, I wouldn’t allow my students to use any Wikipedia article that had that type of notification. I also browsed through several TV series, movies, and books. I would allow my students to use the article based on “Looking for Alaska,” which mentions characters, plot, and even discusses the controversy without taking sides. I would also like to share an article I found while researching the accuracy of Wikipedia. The article mentions 3 main topics that are prone to inaccurate or biased information such as politicians, celebrities, and fantasists.
Rio grande valley. (2010) In Wikipedia, Retrieved September 20, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Grande_Valley
Looking for Alaska. (2010) In Wikipedia, Retrieved September 20, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looking_for_Alaska
McLaughlin, M. (2008). Falling exam passes blamed on wikipedia 'littered with inaccuracies'. The Scotsman, Retrieved September 20, 2010, from http://news.scotsman.com/education/Falling-exam--passes-blamed.4209408.jp
Monday, September 6, 2010
References:
What is the definition of a 'gateway'? (2010). Answers.com. Retrieved (2010, September 6) from http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_definition_of_a_'gateway'
Bare bones 101: A basic tutorial on searching the web. (2006). Usc beaufort library. Retrieved (2010, September 6) from http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/bones.shtml
Bare bones 101: A basic tutorial on searching the web. (2006). Usc beaufort library. Retrieved (2010, September 6) from http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/bones.shtml
Databases die and are reincarnated as a part of other databases...
To my surprise databases such as Excite are no longer alive but may still function as products taken over by Yahoo and Ask.com. As I searched through Excite I noticed that at the top on the page, right next to the search button, there is a label that reads "Results from: Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Ask." This is because the original site does not exist and therefore uses the indexes of other search engines. The reincarnation process just goes on and on. For example, Excite started off as a very popular database which was eventually bought out by Ask Jeeves who later partnered with Teoma and ended up alone redirecting to Ask.com. It almost sounds like a love triangle. Similar stories revolve around other databases such as AlltheWeb, Alta Vista, and Ask Jeeves. If some of these databases were the best of its kind at a particular time, it makes me wonder if current popular databases such as Google and Yahoo will ever be replaced by newer models. I can not imagine that happening! I think that if such databases continue to grow in strength by keeping up with their resources, speed, and features, then they should be irreplaceable.
Bare Bones offers additional tutorials. Most of the ones I browsed such as those directed to Search Engine Watch seemed overwhelming and complicated. I think that the tutorial provided by The University of South California was simple and beneficial. The chart found under recommended search engines were very interesting and useful in further analyzing various search engines.
Google and Yahoo are different?
Before I compare and contrast let me make it clear that I have used both of these search engines for years with out any preference. I simply use whatever is readily available. My home computer's homepage is yahoo, therefore, that is what I am more familiar with.
Compare: Yahoo and Google are search engines. Both were created by Stanford Graduates, Yahoo being the first created. They both allow symbols such as quotations and other Boolean type searches.
Contrast: Apperantly, Google is the largest search engine and has other aspects that set it apart from other search engines such as Yahoo. For example, Google provides cached copies of pages that no longer exist and therefore are unavailble through other search engines. The "I'm feeling lucky" feature also assists in directing you to the exact website of what you are searching for.
Yahoo started as a subject directory but then partnered with Google to present a combination of a directory and the broadness of a search engine. Like Google it is easy to use but does not provide additional features such as "cached copies" or the "I'm feeling lucky" search option. However, it does provide breaking news.
My Personal Conclusion: There are more differences than similarities between both of these popular search engines. I believe that Google is more equipped to provide the best searches and has better features. However, I find the Yahoo homepage more appealing because it provides the latest headlines and interesting photographs. At times, this feature has been a downfall in the sense that I have become distracted by such headlines. I think that I should stick with Yahoo when conducting random searches and then switch to Google when working on serious assignments. What do you prefer and why?
Compare: Yahoo and Google are search engines. Both were created by Stanford Graduates, Yahoo being the first created. They both allow symbols such as quotations and other Boolean type searches.
Contrast: Apperantly, Google is the largest search engine and has other aspects that set it apart from other search engines such as Yahoo. For example, Google provides cached copies of pages that no longer exist and therefore are unavailble through other search engines. The "I'm feeling lucky" feature also assists in directing you to the exact website of what you are searching for.
Yahoo started as a subject directory but then partnered with Google to present a combination of a directory and the broadness of a search engine. Like Google it is easy to use but does not provide additional features such as "cached copies" or the "I'm feeling lucky" search option. However, it does provide breaking news.
My Personal Conclusion: There are more differences than similarities between both of these popular search engines. I believe that Google is more equipped to provide the best searches and has better features. However, I find the Yahoo homepage more appealing because it provides the latest headlines and interesting photographs. At times, this feature has been a downfall in the sense that I have become distracted by such headlines. I think that I should stick with Yahoo when conducting random searches and then switch to Google when working on serious assignments. What do you prefer and why?
Having trouble finding what you need?
I will be bookmarking:
Metasearchers: Clusty, Dogpile
Search Engines (other than the popular): Ask, Gigablast
Subject Directories: Looksmart, Netscape
Gateways: Digital Librarian,Virtual Library
Subject Specific Databases: Educator's Reference Desk, Expedia
Is this for real?
After following the prompts to search for "The White House" I discovered how even the most serious of subjects can be used as a hoax. That is why it is so important to verify the information obtained and to make appropriate searches. First lets discuss the steps to verify the information obtained. You can start by reading the web address and taking notice of the directory and domain name. For example, the official White House web page's address ends in the domain name of .gov which marks it as an official governmental or military site. The hoax site ends in the domain name of .org which are usually host pages. Such pages that end with .org could be from creditable non-profit organizations but one must look for verification. In finding such verification, one must consider the author or publisher of the site, contact information, and update notifications.
The way you conduct your search will also affect the types of results you get. The more specific you are in your keywords the better your results will be. You can also use signs as + to ensure the inclusion of each word, the minus sign to exclude specific words, and quotation marks are just a few suggestions to employ when conducting searches. Such suggestions can even be combined. I tried this by simply searching for "astros" in which the Houston Astros were first to appear in my results. I then combined the suggestions by typing in "astros" +astronomy -baseball. This resulted in scientific results without the trace of baseball. Personally, I was not aware that using the + or - sign was even accepted in searches prior to reading Bare Bones. However, in LS 560 I was informed that if we included "quotation marks" around our keyword or phrase we would end up with a more defined search. I have used such a suggestion when looking for articles and song lyrics. Using Boolean searching, you can even include words such as and, or, and not. Such words should be in all caps and may require the use of quotations and/or parenthesis. Another search suggestion that I will certainly benefit from is field searching. This is when you specify the title, domain, host, link, or image you are searching for. For example, while searching for information on teaching strategies I can specify that I want all results to be from a educational source. Therefore, my search would look something like this: domain:edu AND "teaching strategies." These kinds of suggestions will definitely refine your searches. What search ideas have you tried?
The way you conduct your search will also affect the types of results you get. The more specific you are in your keywords the better your results will be. You can also use signs as + to ensure the inclusion of each word, the minus sign to exclude specific words, and quotation marks are just a few suggestions to employ when conducting searches. Such suggestions can even be combined. I tried this by simply searching for "astros" in which the Houston Astros were first to appear in my results. I then combined the suggestions by typing in "astros" +astronomy -baseball. This resulted in scientific results without the trace of baseball. Personally, I was not aware that using the + or - sign was even accepted in searches prior to reading Bare Bones. However, in LS 560 I was informed that if we included "quotation marks" around our keyword or phrase we would end up with a more defined search. I have used such a suggestion when looking for articles and song lyrics. Using Boolean searching, you can even include words such as and, or, and not. Such words should be in all caps and may require the use of quotations and/or parenthesis. Another search suggestion that I will certainly benefit from is field searching. This is when you specify the title, domain, host, link, or image you are searching for. For example, while searching for information on teaching strategies I can specify that I want all results to be from a educational source. Therefore, my search would look something like this: domain:edu AND "teaching strategies." These kinds of suggestions will definitely refine your searches. What search ideas have you tried?
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