Thursday, August 22, 2013

Chapter 6: Searching the Web

Marcovitz writes in the conclusion, "This involves helping our students learn how to formulate good questions, sort through the overabundance of results that are given, and find tools beyond Google that night yield better results." I think this quote is what Marcovitz wants us o take away from this chapter. It is good to keep in mind when finding answers and doing research with students.

I think I have mentioned before that the library at my school is being revamped for 21st century learning. It is now called the Learning Commons and will have more of a focus on researching skills and projects. Books are still an essential part of the library, but we are integrating more technology and other resources as well. The role of the librarian is changing, but only because they will need to understand and be willing to learn new technology. I agree with the text when it states' " Librarians are information specialists. They help connect people to the information they need." Librarians are needed. I think I am going to share this exert with my school, I think it will go right along with the changes we have been making.

Like other chapters, I really enjoyed all the information and suggestions Marcovitz offers about searching the web. Some websites and tricks I have heard of, but some I have not. I want to play around with Yippy. I have used KidsClick! and I really enjoyed they fact that I didn't need to worry about what my students were searching for. I also liked it because it offers different reading levels. One downside is the fact that it doesn't have information on everything.

What I take away from this chapter is helping our students how to find the information they need, whether it would be best to find in a book or on the web.


3 comments:

  1. I never really realized how much time I waste looking through sites on Google. This chapter provided/reminded me of some great resources to use to be a more effective searcher. I was talking to our tech integrator today about how to train our students on their new MacBook Air's and she recommended brainstorming a list of all the things we wanted the kids to know how to do and then have a "tech day" with rotating stations for different topics. This info. about using advanced searching, Yippy, and KidsClick would be a great session to offers.

    I also enjoyed the sub-section about libraries becoming obsolete. As Kayla mentioned her school is doing, all librarians need to modernize themselves and their roles to the 21st century. Just like teachers, some librarians are definitely more traditional than others but some really believe their job is to help learners connect with information. Kayla- I'm very anxious to see how your Learning Commons works out!

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  2. teaching kids boolean logic... should be mandatory to students. Being a former librarian... libraries are dead in their current form.

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  3. There really is an art to searching on the internet! I have been introduced to the advanced search feature on Google before in another Masters class. In that class we did a fun activity - our goal was to narrow a search down to under 100 results. Try it, it's tricky!

    I wonder what libraries will look like in the future (not so distant future). Will we even call them libraries anymore, or maybe research centers, or learning commons? I suppose we will find out soon enough. However, the school I work in still uses a card catalog, we are in the process of getting a digital record of all the books in the elementary schools (the middle schools and high school have already done that).

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