A6.3: Copyright

Deidra Darst 
9/26/07

Copyright and fair use (2005).  Retrieved on September 25, 2005, from http://fairuse.stanford.edu/  

Harper, G.K. (2001).  Crash course in copyright.  Retrieved on September 25, 2005, from http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/cprtindx.htm 

TAP:  The topic of these readings is copyrighting.  These texts were written to inform the general public about the basic aspects of the copyright.  The purpose is to educate the readers about the history of copyrighting, explain how to obtain copyrights for creative works and how to avoid copyright infringement.

Claim: The process of copyrighting original creations protects works from being copied, stolen, distributed or sold for profit by anyone other than the creator himself.  By protecting existing works, people are encouraged to create new works (2005).

Evidence:  A copyright protects anything that comes into existence due to someone’s creativity:  text, music, computer programs, etc.  The work must exist, at one time or another, in a “tangible form” (2005).  A copyright is effective for 70 years after the creator’s death.  Since 1989 all works have been considered “copyrighted” and are protected by the copyright laws of the United States.  The owner of a work can place a “copyright notice” on his or her creation to warn others that it is owned by the individual and is a protected item.  Permission must be obained from the owner prior to copying, altering, or distributing a copyrighted item.  The U.S. Copyright Office issues legally-binding copyrights for approximately $30.  If a copyright infringement lawsuit were to arise, the purchased copyright would likely render more reimbursement to the owner than would a copyright notice alone. 

Copyrighted material can be used by an outside party upon the condition that the use has been deemed “Fair Use.”  To be considered protected by the Fair Use policy, the party’s use of the copyrighted material must be for either criticism or parody.  To accurately critique a work, excerpts must be taken from the original in order to accurately explain one’s interpretations.  The process of parodying a work requires the extensive use of the orignial dialogue, text, music or overall structure.  Upon copyright infringement, the case goes before a judge who will decide whether or not the Fair Use policy applies.  Instances of fair use have four specific criteria:    

1. the purpose and character of your use
2. the nature of the copyrighted work
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market (2005).

A second party is welcome to use anything considered to be in the “public domain.”  The public domain consists of anything created in the United States before 1922.  Some public domain items did not receive a “copyright renewal” which was necessary prior to 1964.  Prior to the new law of 1989 that protects all new creations, authors, musicians, artists and any creator of any sort had to provide a copyright notice on their works.  Those who did not will find their works within the realm of the public domain. 

Connections:
text-to-self:  I found these websites very interesting; I learned alot of things about copyrighting.  I learned that any of my creative works are automatically protected under copyright law.  I thought that I had to purchase a “real” copyright from the U.S. Copyright Service, but by placing the © symbol on my work shows others that I own the rights to it.  I read one passage that reminds me of many magazine articles that I read.  I often see “used with permission by Jane Doe” under a particular photograph.  The readings explained that this is done because the picture has been copyrighted by Jane Doe, but the magazine obtained her permission to reprint the photograph.   

text-to-text:  These readings are the first that I have read about copyrights.  Both sites covered similar issues concerning copyrights.  Anyone’s creative creations are protected by the copyright law.  A legal copyright can be purchased for further protection of one’s works.  In the instance of copyright infringement, the copyright owner is more likely to receive reimbursement if he or she has purchased a copyright from the U.S. Copyright Service within three months of the work’s publication.  Both sites detail the process of determining whether or not a reproduction is considered “Fair Use.”

text-to-world:  Copyright laws are very relevant to the world today, especially in academic areas.  The websites stated that copyrighted materials can be used without the copyright holder’s permission for academic or non-profit purposes.  For instance, a clinician could record an informative program from public television, but this program can only be used for 10 days after its recording.  The program must be be purchased after this 10 day period if the clinician wishes to use it again.  Issues such as this need to be understood by professionals in order to conduct law-abiding services. 

A5.5: Week 5 Reflection

Deidra Darst
9/22/07

Aims and Objectives: 
My personal goals this week in regard to CD 315 were to finish all of the assignments to the best of my abilities and in a timely fashion.  I set out to begin my assignments Tuesday evening.  I had a couple of tests at the beginning of the week and wanted to focus on preparing for them.  I knew that I would still have enough time to successfully complete my assignments for this course, so I did not feel rushed, but I did feel as if I had to “play catch-up.”  I always try to manage my preparation and studies skills in a hierarchial fashion, almost on a “first come, first serve” basis. 

Declarative Knowledge: 

My learnings this week focused on social bookmarking, virtual meetings and virtual worlds.  I learned that, via the utilization of these tools, I can form deeper connections with users of the Read/Write Web.  Social bookmarking allows me to bookmark and “tag” frequently visited sites and access them from a site such as del.icio.us.  This is convenient for me because the bookmarks can be used from any computer unlike the “old” bookmarking system that saves the link on a specific computer.  These bookmarks can be set to “public,” allowing anyone to view them.  This enables other users to benefit from my searches and interesting, thus connecting me to other users, and connecting other users to my resources.  Virtual meetings allow people to connect to one another from various locations in real-time.  Simply by logging into the virtual meeting at the same time, users can communicate and connect despite large distances and different locations.  Lectures can be viewed in  real-time, questions can be asked and answered, and collaborative efforts can be successful.  College courses can be conducted via virtual meetings; this saves teachers and students the hassle of converging in one place without compromising the integrity of the class or the course material.  Virtual worlds create the opportunity for individuals to create and manipulate virtual worlds for avatars, or online-selves.  Virtual worlds operate on the same premise of computer games, but can offer less restrictive environments in which students can experiment and learn.   

Procedural Knowledge:  

Chapter 6 of Richardson’s text taught me how to create and search a social bookmarking webpage like del.icio.us.  To find a specific topic on this social bookmarking site, simple type the following address:  http://del.icio.us/tag/yourtaghere (Richardson, 2006).  This will direct you to others’ sites who have used this specific tag word to label one of their links.  You can also see what others are subscribing to via RSS feeds by using the following address:  http://del.icio.us/rss/tag/yourtopichere.  I learned how to create a blogline.com account and link it to my wordpress.com blog via the blogroll function.  First, I created my blogline account by registering on the site.  I then clicked on my Account link, then Blog Settings in order to set my blog to “public.”  I also created a user name on this page.  Next, I clicked on the Share link in the lower-lefthand corner.  Here I found the address for my public blogline feeds which I copied to my clipboard.  To create a link from my wordpress blog to bloglines, I had to login to my wordpress.com blog.  From there I accessed my Dashboard where I found the Blogrolls subheading.  I clicked on Add Link where I created a link to my public feeds from bloglines.com by pasting the address I copied earlier.  I had previously updated my widgets on my wordpress sidebar, so I had to change it again so my Blogroll link would be visible. 

Conditional Knowledge:
This week’s assignments provided information that can be utilized to make my online life a little easier.  I can use social bookmarking to keep track of my favorite (and beneficial) sites.  Not only can I access them, but so can anyone else who is interested.  I can take part in virtual meetings when my professors wish to make “class time” “home time” or library time.”  I could use a virtual world to practice clinical skills that I need experience with prior to becoming a certified speech-language pathologist.  I find this week’s information very beneficial as a college student.  Next week this class will be conducted via a virtual meetings, so I will undoubtedly call upon my knowledge of virtual meetings.  As a student I find myself in constant search of new information.  All of these technologies can aid me in finding and organizing information that I find on the World Wide Web.  I am willing to try anything that will make my life easier, more organized and less stressful!  As a pre-professional I must be aware of all opportunities available to me.  I need to understand how, when, why and where such technologies can be implemented to improve my existence and the life of my colleagues and clients.  Social bookmarking, virtual meetings and virtual worlds are just some facets to the information literacy movement.  I must be knowledgeable of each in order to be a productive and literate citizen. 

Richardson, W. (2006).  The social web: Learning together.  In J. Barbakow, E. Meidenbauer, J. Ward (Eds.), Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

A5.3: Library Searching I

Deidra Darst

9/22/07

1. Database:  Academic Search Premier

Keywords:  bilingual, children, therapy

Bibliographic Information:  

Wong Kwok Shing, R. (2006, October). Enhancing English among second language learners: The pre-school years. Early Years: Journal of International Research & Development, 26(3), 279-293. Retrieved September 22, 2007, from the Academic Search Premier database. 

2. Database:  Academic Search Premier

Keywords:  bilingual, children, therapy

Bibliographic Information: 

Larroudé, B. (2004, April). Multicultural-multilingual group sessions. Topics in Language Disorders, 24(2), 137-140. Retrieved September 22, 2007, from the Academic Search Premier database.

3. Database: ERIC

Keywords: bilingual, children, intervention 

Bibliographic Information: 

Goldstein, B. (2006, January 1). Clinical implications of research on language development and disorders in bilingual children. Topics in Language Disorders, 26(4), 305.  Retrieved September 22, 2007, from the ERIC database.

4. Database:  ERIC

Keywords: children, bilingual, speech

Bibliographic Information: 

Mennen, I., & Stansfield, J. (2006, January 1).  Speech and language therapy service delivery for bilingual children: A survey of three cities in Great Britain. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 41(Nov-Dec), 635.  Retrieved September 22, 2007, from the ERIC database.

5. Database:  ERIC

Keywords:  literacy, bilingual, speech

Bibliographic Information: 

Hammer, C., Miccio, A., & Wagstaff, D. (2003, January 1). Home literacy experiences and their relationship to bilingual preschoolers’ developing English literacy abilities: An initial investigation. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 34(1), 20.  Retrieved September 22, 2007, from the ERIC database.

A5.2: Chapter 6 – Richardson

Deidra Darst
9/12/07

Richardson, W. (2006).  The social web: Learning together.  In J. Barbakow, E. Meidenbauer, J. Ward (Eds.), Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

TAP: 

The topic of this chapter of Richardson’s text is social bookmarking.  It was written to inform and encourage educators to include it in their classroom endeavors. 

Claim: 

Richardson acknowledges that searching the Web, with its vast amounts of information, can be a daunting task.  With social bookmarking users can create their own bookmarks and delve into others’ resources as well.  Social bookmarking makes finding, categorizing, and connecting information an easier task. 

Evidence:

The Read/Write Web is an evergrowing source of collaboration and social interaction amongst its users (2006).  Users can bookmark their favorite sites in a public domain and others can see those bookmarks.  Different people find and interpret information differently.  By searching through other users’ tags and keywords, a user can find relevant information that would otherwise have been missed through their initial searches. The connections that are made via social bookmarking allow users to find information previously marked as “relevant” by users with similar interests.  This new type of classification is called a “folksonomy.”  With approximately 1 billion Internet users today, virtual information is classified in new and unique ways.  Richardson believes that social bookmarking could lead to class assignments being completed more thoroughly.  By making research a collaborative effort students learn from one another’s efforts.  One person does not have to find all of the useful information that is available online.  This person can access classmates’ social bookmarks, but the connections do not end here.  Anyone whose bookmarks contain tags or keywords similar to the user’s interest can be accessed as well.  Social bookmarking users have “an army” (2006) constantly finding relevant information for them. 

Connections: 
text-to-self:  Social bookmarking seems to be a technology that could benefit this CD 315.  As we begin research on our topics, I could use social bookmarking to share my successful finds with my classmates.  I know that some of my classmaes share the same topics, so they could definitely benefit from others’ finds.  However, I feel that social bookmarking could get a little hectic and overwhelming.  I am sure that I will be required to use some type of social bookmarking, so maybe my apprehensions will be dismissed upon my using it. 
 

text-to-text:  This article is similar to the EduCause document concerning social bookmarking.  Both texts provide basic information concerning social bookmarking:  what it is, how it works and what benefits it can provide to educators and students.  Richardson takes his explanation a step further to provide directions for joining a social bookmarking site.  This chapter, as well as other assigned readings for CD 315, has highlighted these new technologies abilities to connect users to information.  It is vital for Internet users to know how and where to find relevant information on an as-needed basis.  Richardson writes that social bookmarking connects to RSS feeds (which I wrote about last week).  RSS feeds connect users to newly written information, and social bookmarking connects users to what other users are reading (2006). 
 

text-to-world: Social bookmarking can be a great connecting-tool for the professional world.  A group of professional colleagues who collaborate on projects and work-related assignments can use social bookmarking to learn from one anothers’ research efforts.  Professional endeavors can be completed more thoroughly when several people make contributions to the information-collection process. 

 

A5.2: 7 Things You Should Know About Virtual Worlds

Deidra Darst 
9/20/07

7 things you should know about virtual worlds (2006).  Educause Learning Initiative. Retrieved September 20, 2007, from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7015.pdf

TAP:  The topic of this document is virtual worlds, virtual-online environments where users control avatars.  This article was written to inform teachers and students about the uses, advantages, disadvantages and implications of utilizing virtual worlds within academic curricula. 

Claim:   

“Virtual worlds hold significant potential for a learner-led rather than an outcome-based-model of exploration and knowledge development” (2006).  Virtual worlds provide a safe place for students and employees to experiment in a trial-and-error manner.  The process of learning is “unintentional” and within a medium that students find interesting and entertaining. 

 
Evidence:  

Virtual worlds, characters and situations are completely controlled by the user.  Many educationally-based tasks within virtual worlds have loose guidelines, and therefore provide opportunities for users to experiment and try new things.  Rather than forcing students to complete specific tasks and accomplish certain goals, students have the opportunity to guide their own learning situations.  In this light learning becomes “unintentional” which leads to “stronger comprehension and deeper knowledge” (2006).  Virtual worlds provide real-time opportunities for learners that have not been possible before.  Students’ avatars can interact with other students’ avatars, giving them practice and experience in clinician-client interactions, product development and numerous other tasks.  The vitual world operates on a realistic scheme, but does not have the implications that real-life interactions and tasks may hold.  Therefore students can feel free to try new things, test their effectiveness and reflect on their outcomes.  Virtual worlds are comparable to the ever-popular computer game.  Users create characters, environments and control every aspect of the virtual space.  Students find these worlds entertaining due to their game-like nature.  In essence, students can engage in play, entertainment, learning, creation and interaction all at the same time. 

Connections:
text-to-self:  The reading of this virtual world document reminded me of my favorite computer game – Sims2.  Creating characters and controlling their actions all within a virtual world is what virtual worlds (and Sims2) are all about.  I am also familiar with another virtual world called CyWorld.  Within Cy(ber)World individuals create avatars, environments for those avatars and make friends within the virtual space.  I think that it is great that educators can incorporate such technology into the learning process.  I know many younger students who do not enjoy school, but love playing computer games.  Combining the two, computer games and learning situations, is a great way to reach students through a medium that they find enjoyable.  I found the vignette about the medical school student interesting.  Future doctors (or therapists) could practice their skills within virtual worlds where their mistakes could be corrected prior to working with real patients.  I think I would enjoy completing such a task; it would give me experience without compromising my relationships with real, live patients!

text-to-text:  This document is paralleled by the virtual meetings document that I wrote about in my last blog.  Users, no matter where they are, can log in and interact with one another in real-time.  With both virtual programs users can engage in meaningful interactions and learn from the process.   

text-to-world:  It is difficult to imagine how virtual worlds could play a role in my life as a professional.  I could possibly use virtual worlds to supplement therapy sessions.  For instance, I could have a client who finds it difficult to engage in conversational turns.  He or she could use a virtual world to practice and improve this skill.  They could use the avatar, or the virtual self, to interact with other vitual world users. 

 

A5.2: 7 Things You Should Know About Virtual Meetings

 

 

Deidra Darst 
9/20/07

7 things you should know about virtual meetings (2006).  Educause Learning Initiative. Retrieved September 20, 2007, from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7011.pdf

TAP: 

The topic of this document is virtual meetings within an academic setting.  It was written to inform teachers and students about virtual meetings and how they can provide an enriching online classroom space. 

Claim: 

Virtual meetings offer teachers and students more flexibility than in-person meetings.  Virtual meetings create the possibility to connect with individuals from numerous countries in real-time. 
 

Evidence: 

Virtual meetings serve as a convenience for students, teachers and anyone who participates in them.  At a designated time, everyone logs into the virtual meeting via their Internet connection.  From various places – home, work, even another country – the participants are instantly connected in real-time.  The class session is conducted with audio, video, and a shared whiteboard for collaborative use.  With these tools the students and teacher can interact much like they can in a face-to-face session.  With this application it is no longer necessary for class members to travel to campus for meetings.  The virtual meeting space offers nearly every convenience that a face-to-face meeting offers without the hassle of traveling.  Virtual meetings create opportunities for distance learners to participate in a truly interactive fashion.  Many online classes lack a sense of community because the students and teacher never engage in communications other than through email.  With this program in place, students from different time zones can feel as if they are in a classroom with their teacher and classmates.  An expert in the field could join in the virtual meeting and provide students with first-hand information.  The students could then pose questions and have the expert answer them in real-time!  The ability to hear from professionals and experts in such a manner provides a richer learning environment because students have the opportunity to interact with them. 

Connections:
text-to-self:  I believe that virtual meetings are about to become a part of my Internet repertoire in the very near future.  The CD 315 class will be meeting via a virtual meeting next week, so I found this article helpful.  My husband recently took part in an online graduate class that held virtual meetings.  I saw firsthand how they provide an enriching learning environment.  Although the professor is hundreds of miles away, the distance-learning students feel as if they are in the classroom with him.  My online medical terminology class lacks interaction amongst teacher and students, and I do not like it!  I think I would enjoy the class more if we were to hold virtual meetings so I could at least see my professor! 

text-to-text:  This virtual meetings document is unlike any other reading so far.  I am, however, reminded of the collaborative editing readings.  Participants of both virtual meetings and collaborative editing can participate from various locations.  Tasks can be accomplished without everyone meeting in one place at the same time.  Throughout the semester I have been writing about various technologies that can be used to improve teaching and learning.  All of the assigned readings for CD 315 have dealt with how these technologies can make academic curricula more convenient without sacrificing the integrity of the course or its material.   

text-to-world:  I can see how virtual meetings could have an impact on my future clinical career.  For instance, I could possibly further my education via virtual meetings.  I could take an online class that works with virtual meetings, or I could lend my voice and opinions to a class.  (I hope that I will one day be considered someone whose opinions are worthwhile!)  While it is unethical to work soley based on telecommunications, I could possible use virtual meetings to supplement therapy sessions (where it is legal, of course).   

 

A5.2: 7 Things You Should Know About Social Bookmarking

Deidra Darst
9/19/07

7 things you should know about social bookmarking (2005).  Educause Learning Initiative. Retrieved September 19, 2007, from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7001.pdf

TAP: 

The topic of this document is social bookmarking.  It was written to inform any interested party, especially those in an academic field.  The document’s purpose is to introduce social bookmarking to the audience:  what it is, who uses it, how it works, its significance, its downsides, what the future holds for its implementation and how it can impact teaching and learning. 

Claim: 

This document claims that social bookmarking is an efficient means through which users can “tag” worthwhile sites.  Because social bookmarking can be public via any social bookmarking website, it allows users to form connections amongst themselves, which makes searching the World Wide Web even more efficient and productive. 

Evidence: 

Social bookmarking allows users to bookmark their favorite websites and use keywords to “tag” them.  All of the user’s bookmarked sites can easily be accessed from a website such as del.icio.us or citeulike.  These bookmarks can be organized to reflect the users’ personal preferences.  This means of bookmarking is more practical than its more commonly used counterpart – bookmarking.  The “old” form of bookmarking meant creating a place for bookmarked sites on a particular computer.  These bookmarks could only be access from that particular computer which is often an inconvenience to those who work from numerous computers.  Bookmarks created with social bookmarking can be accessed from anywhere, as long as an Internet connection exists. 

Due to its public status, social bookmarking acts as a community for its users.  Users can designate their bookmarks as “public” which means that other users can see them.  Searching for a particular topic is more thorough when many people’s resources are utilized.  For example, a user is interested in ’small animals’ and they search through another user’s bookmarks.  This user has a “tag” labeled ‘chinchillas.’  The first user may not have thought to search chinchillas, but with the aid of the second user, he or she can further investigate this small animal.  Social bookmarking sites create a web of information that users can utilize to make connections to pertinent sources. 

Connections:
text-to-self:  This document introduced me to social bookmarking.  I often find myself on campus, searching through my “daily sites,” and I have to type each URL.  I am then forced to complain to myself, “this would much faster at home!”  Utilizing a social bookmarking site would be beneficial under these circumstances!

text-to-text:  This document made a particular point that I would like to address here.  It stated that social bookmarking is likely to have an impact on teaching and learning because of it makes finding information easier.  Many of the assigned readings for CD315 have made this point as well.  With so much information available today, an information literate person must be able to sort, filter and find pertinent information.  This is a necessary skill in today’s academic curricula; being about to find relevant information is key to success in today’s world. 

text-to-world:  As I have previously written, I can make my online world more organized by utilizing the various technologies available to me.  In my future profession of speech-language pathology, I could use social bookmarking to share my bookmarked sites with inter- and intra-professional colleagues.  Upon finding information that would interest other professionals, I could direct them to my social bookmarking site where I conveniently saved it for future use.  My bookmarks could also provide information for clients.  I could create “tags” for particular disorders, and then direct clients to those that may concern or interest them. 

 

 

A4.8: Week 4 Reflection

Deidra Darst
9/13/07

Aims and Objectives:

For the fourth week of CD 315, my personal goals were to complete each assignment to the best of my abilities. I began the week early Monday morning, checking the class website to see if the assignment sheet was posted; I wanted to get started as soon as possible. When I saw the workload that lay before me, I thought, “Wow, you better get to work!” I spent a lot of time in the library this week, so I decided to work on the assignments during that time. I hoped to get my CD315 work finished by Friday because I plan to take a test this weekend for my online course. I also have an aural rehabilitation test Tuesday, and I wanted plenty of time to study for it. To add to my chaotic weekend, I walk dogs at a local animal shelter on Saturdays, and I do not want to miss out on doing that. The Herd has a game against New Hampshire this weekend, and I would love to be there to cheer them on to victory! I might be busy this week, but I think that is a good thing. To quote Henry David Thoreau, “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” I hope that a bit of truth exists in those words.

Declarative Knowledge:

This week’s assignments have offered insight into Wikipedia, RSS and search engines. I learned about the workings of Wikipedia and how it can provide the most up-to-date information on a variety of topics. Wikipedia is useful to novices and experts alike. Real Simple Syndication (RSS) allows Web surfers to subscribe to feeds of personal interest. The RSS aggregator receives information when sites are updated, relieving surfers of visiting numerous sites on a daily basis. Search engines are often used by Internet users to “surf” the Web. Ironically, search engines do not surf the Web; they search databases from numerous servers. It is often necessary to utilize several search engines per query. Some sites can be located by one particular search engine, so users should not rely soley on one search engine.

Procedural Knowledge:

Chapter 5 of Richardson’s text taught me how to subscribe to sites via RSS. First, an aggregator must be set up; the World Wide Web offers several different aggregators. With the aggregator in place, the user can subscribe to any number of RSS feeds. The aggregator will receive updates, and the user can access all of the feeds in the same Internet space. I also learned how to filter and adjust my search queries in order to obtain different results on several search engines. Word order and differing word combinations will result in different “hits.”

Conditional Knowledge:

My newly gained knowledge in these various areas will be beneficial as I complete my research this semester. I know that I need to work more diligently in my attempts to find information through search engines. As I search for information relevant to my research question, I can find sites that contain an RSS link. Through the RSS feed I can have updated information sent directly to me, which will allot more time for other research tasks.  My life as a student is made easier with the use of these technologies. So much information is available through the World Wide Web that I need all the assistance I can get from the various Web tools.  As a pre-professional, I think that RSS is an extremely useful tool. As a speech-language pathologist I will need to stay abreast of the latest information, theories and technologies. RSS feeds from professional sites and blogs will keep me connected to the latest information on a variety of field-related topics.  While I find this week’s information helpful as a student and pre-professional, it is also beneficial as a citizen. Regardless of profession or interest, these Web tools can aid anyone in their information gathering through the Internet.

A4.3: Reflection on Searching the WWW

Deidra Darst
9/13/07

What did I learn that I didn’t already know? About an hour ago I thought that I knew all there was to know about search engines. Google is the search engine, right? After visiting several sites concerning search engines I realized that Google, while quite fabulous, is not the one-and-only source I should be using. Finding Things on the Internet: A Tutorial, explained that many sites can only be located by one search engine, and that might not be Google! So, in order to get the most out of your searches you should also search Yahoo! and ask.com. I also learned that there is an invisible web that usually cannot be accessed through search engines (yes, even Google). The invisible web can be accessed through particular databases. One example of this would be the ERIC database. Marshall University pays for access to such databases, so I have access to these because I am a student. ITools, which I had not heard of until today, provides three main categories for information gathering purposes: a search tool, a language translator and a research tool. I tested each category and found them useful. It was also accurate to have all three of those options together on one site. I learned, too, that search engines can only locate sites that have been linked to another site. If a new site is created and has yet to be linked to a pre-existing site, the owner must request that it be added to a search engine.

What surprised me? I was most surprised by the ITools site. In the “tool search” category there is a place to find a person by entering their first and last name. I entered my name and found my address and phone number! I realize that this information could easily be found from other sources, but it was a little frightening that it was that easy to find! (Witness Protection Program, here I come!) I was also surprised to learn from Finding Things that search engines do not really search the web; rather, they search databases located on various servers.

How might what I learned impact my work? The information that I learned will impact my future work. While I sometimes consult Yahoo! or ask.com during research, I mostly rely on Google. I realize now that I am limiting my result possibilities. I will probably consult Keith Stanger’s site in the future as well. His topical “search trees” might direct me to useful search engines. I should definitely utilize other search engines, afterall, that is why they exist!

A4.2: Chapter 5 – Richardson

Deidra Darst
9/12/07

Richardson, W. (2006).  RSS:  The new killer app for educators.  In J. Barbakow, E. Meidenbauer, J. Ward (Eds.), Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

TAP:  The topic of this chapter is Real Simple Syndication, or RSS.  It was written to persuade educators to include RSS into their daily Internet repertoires.

Claim:  Richardson claims that RSS feeds and aggregators are powerful tools that will be reshaping Internet users’ searching habits in the future (2006).  RSS, while seemingly complicated at first, actually simplifies its users’ lives by providing new information from various blogs and sites all in one place – the RSS aggregator.

Evidence:  Richardson provides a detailed explanation of the RSS feed and aggregator:  what it is, how it works and how it can improve interactions and information gathering for teachers and students.  Search-time is drastically decreased because new information is sent to you rather than you going to it.  Unlike email accounts that receive unsolicited messages, aggregators only receive information that you specify.  Richardson writes that this alone should be enough for you to convert to RSS subscriptions!  He explains the ease with which one can subscribe to an aggregator and begin receiving messages from their subscriptions.  RSS feeds are not limited to blogs.  Many sites are now incorporating RSS into their programming, which allows users to receive updates from news sources to Google sites.  Teachers can create on online community through the use of RSS; students and faculty can be connected through one another’s blogs and RSS feed subscriptions.  This is but one way in which information can be shared amongst a group of Internet users.

Connections:
text-to-self:  Richardson’s explanations about aggregators helped me understand the benefits of subscribing to blogs and sites via RSS feeds.  As he wrote in chapter 5, I imagined that aggregators could bombard me with new information.  He wrote that, with time and experience, users become more adept at finding the most pertinent information.  This sparked an interest in me, as this class is focused on literacy information skills.  He wrote about improving one’s information literacy skills through the use of RSS feeds, and I think he is correct in making this assumption.  While the aggregator is full of information concerning a particular topic, the user must be able to sift through everything and focus on the most pertinent information.  Even in our attempts to filter out information through the use of RSS feeds, we must be able to filter that information even further in order to access the most relevant information.

text-to-text:  This chapter from Richardson’s text is very similar to the document 7 Things You Should Know About RSS.  Both texts provide a basic overview of how RSS feeds work, but Richardson’s text provides step-by-step instructions about how to set up an account through various aggregator programs.  This reading and 7 Things both allude to RSS feeds’ ability to simplify Web searching for their users.  Richardson basically reiterates the statements presented in the 7 Things article and provides more in-depth information with explicit operating instructions.

text-to-world:  I can see how RSS feeds and aggregators could make an impact on my future career as a speech-language pathologist.  To explain my reasoning, I will elaborate on the example I provided in my last blog entry.  As a speech-language pathologist I will undoubtedly interact with parents of children with hearing impairments.  If parents are interested in cochlear implants, I could encourage them to subscribe, via an RSS feed, to cochlear implant-focused sites and blogs.  This would connect them to the recently published information about cochlear implants, and would aid them in their search for helpful information.  I, too, could benefit from RSS feeds by subscribing to sites that deal with areas of my professional concern and interest.