In what specific ways, did I become a more information literate individual this semester?
In the begining of the course my knowledge and use of technology was span from using Microsoft office, iTunes, and Google search. I only used the web to do quick searches for information, download music and write papers. Much of that was credited to the fact that I did not know how to use the internet, nor did I know all the internet had to offer.
I generally use a Google search 5-10 times per day, mainly to find factual information like song lyrics, specific websties, or definitions. The only time I had a problem with any Google search would be when I started looking for information sources for projects and papers. I would generally be looking for something specific and credible but I would either not find anything or find a bunch of junk. During the week four assignment there was a Prezi that discussed tricks that could be used when using search engines such as Boolean phrases, parentheses, OR, etc. These few tricks made the world of difference in how I know search. There was also a games, Keyword Challnge and Pihranna, we played that week that got me familiar and comfortable using Boolean phrases and narrowing down my searches in order to get desired results.
I also learned how to evaluate websites to a greater extent. In the past I knew the differences between sites ending in: '.com', '.org', '.edu', etc. But my skills on evaluation websites, looking for clues of validity, were very rough. In one provided resources there was a youtube video titled "Evaluating Websites". In this video I learned what clues to look for on sites to determine if the site is credible.
One way that made me a more information literate person was the expansion of my knowledge on web elements. For example I had heard of Blogger, Prezi, and Wiki spaces but I was not familiar with them. Each week that we explored each of them and I got the chance to become familiar with all of the different sites. Learning how to use these reasources made me a more information literate person because it expanded my knowledge on different web sources that I can use to find information. Becoming familar with the tools also helped me learn to recongize information in various forms. Knowing how to read and sift through information that comes in different forms is exteremely important considering the expansion of technology and the way people as a whole send and recieve information.
In the begining of the course my knowledge and use of technology was span from using Microsoft office, iTunes, and Google search. I only used the web to do quick searches for information, download music and write papers. Much of that was credited to the fact that I did not know how to use the internet, nor did I know all the internet had to offer.
I generally use a Google search 5-10 times per day, mainly to find factual information like song lyrics, specific websties, or definitions. The only time I had a problem with any Google search would be when I started looking for information sources for projects and papers. I would generally be looking for something specific and credible but I would either not find anything or find a bunch of junk. During the week four assignment there was a Prezi that discussed tricks that could be used when using search engines such as Boolean phrases, parentheses, OR, etc. These few tricks made the world of difference in how I know search. There was also a games, Keyword Challnge and Pihranna, we played that week that got me familiar and comfortable using Boolean phrases and narrowing down my searches in order to get desired results.
I also learned how to evaluate websites to a greater extent. In the past I knew the differences between sites ending in: '.com', '.org', '.edu', etc. But my skills on evaluation websites, looking for clues of validity, were very rough. In one provided resources there was a youtube video titled "Evaluating Websites". In this video I learned what clues to look for on sites to determine if the site is credible.
One way that made me a more information literate person was the expansion of my knowledge on web elements. For example I had heard of Blogger, Prezi, and Wiki spaces but I was not familiar with them. Each week that we explored each of them and I got the chance to become familiar with all of the different sites. Learning how to use these reasources made me a more information literate person because it expanded my knowledge on different web sources that I can use to find information. Becoming familar with the tools also helped me learn to recongize information in various forms. Knowing how to read and sift through information that comes in different forms is exteremely important considering the expansion of technology and the way people as a whole send and recieve information.
Evaluating Websites. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Ba9-DnferiQ
Keyword Challenge. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2012, from Internet Search Challenge: 21st Century Information Fluency: http://21cif.com/rkitp/challenge/Keyword_Challenge/KeywordChallenge.swf
Pirates & Piranhas. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2012, from Internet Search Challenge: 21st Century Information Fluency: http://21cif.com/rkitp/challenge/v1n7/Pirates_and_Piranhas.swf
Vincent, T. (2011, April 6). Google Search Tricks. Retrieved February 14, 2012, from Prezi: http://prezi.com/mohshuoe-qcf/google-search-tricks/