Understanding Meta-Web Information, the Author, and Purpose (MAPing) of information on the web is a crucial skill for anyone using the Internet. I am acutely aware of Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) and read them with a new level of understanding. As a point, I generally avoid sites that include a ˜ (tilde). If I do read them, it is with the understanding that it is a personal opinion and not necessarily fact. Finding trusted databases such as ERIC EBSCO is very important for true research. Even then, I must evaluate the individual articles and decide on what bias the particular authors may have had in their work. There is just so much tripe out there. Fortunately, I am aware of the principles known as MAPing. I feel confident that my research has included the best information available for the topics I have researched.
The implications of not teaching our students MAPing information is already being seen in schools. Students such as the one in “Teaching Zack to Think” from November Learning are not unique. There is a proliferation of bad information circulating the web. Students are using Wikipedia as a source, or worse, just going to the first site that has something about their topic and copying it down with no clear understanding of the MAPing principles. It is upsetting, and yet when issues like using Wikipedia as a source arise, it is an opportunity for a well-informed teacher to instruct students in the proper methods for research. There will be a definite information gap between students who have the proper researching skills and those who do not.
I am always looking for better ways to stay organized. Delicious is an excellent way to keep track of my literally hundreds of bookmarks. I am now involved with so many on-line applications and sites that keeping up with all the varied passwords alone is a major issue. I am always concerned with security and identity theft and some of these Cloud applications are still a leap of faith for me. I have internal questions on whether having a gig and a half of time machine back up, to my gig of memory is any more or less safe than keeping everything on a Cloud. Some applications disappear over time or change and data is lost. I know many teachers who have put teaching instruments such as tests on-line, only to have the application disappear. I think Delicious is good because it has the ability to import or export the bookmarks so that it can be backed up in multiple places. That is important to me.
I was caught a little off guard having to contrive a Wiki without a real need. I think it is great to know about and use Wikis, but just thinking one up that is going to be useful seems like a long shot. I came up with the idea of “High School Appropriate Reading” without really having much time to see what other sites are out there or how they are structured. I hope to start teaching High School English this August and having a sound background in interesting reading will be a fundamental element to my teaching.
An advantage to the Wiki is that if it works properly and the contributors are responsible with their additions, it could become a great collaborative resource. A disadvantage to the Wiki is that other contributors may join my Wiki and start posting things that I do not have time to read. If inappropriate works end up on my site, it could be disastrous. Who will trust an “Appropriate” site that displays inappropriate material? Taking on the moderation of a Wiki could become a full time occupation and a royal waste of time when it does not pay the bills.
I spent an enormous amount of time exploring new technologies this week. I created a GoogleDocs cloud for a small company I own. It allows me to collaborate with a business partner I have in another city. There seem to be endless possibilities. I will definitely explore more of the eLearning tools from the Wiki http://elearningtools.wetpaint.com/
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