Searching the Internet

I can't name one person that doesn't use a major search engine on a daily basis (especially Google). However, before listening to Chris Nolan I had no idea there were sort of "tricks" to using these popular search engines for research. These tricks can be as easy as putting quotations around a phrase so that the search engine finds the phrase together instead of as separate words. 

A problem with Google and other popular search engines such as Yahoo, is that most people do not look at more than about the first thirty results. However, the first results are more than likely not scholarly sources because they appear based upon website popularity- not content. 

One way to decide whether a source is credible is to look at the web address. A ".com" or ".org" are not necessarily credible, because they're businesses or organizations that are trying to sell you a certain idea. ".edu" websites are credible because it is a higher education website. A student doing research can limit his or her search to only ".edu" sites by doing an advanced search. (An advanced search can also limit your search in many other ways.) 

The thing that surprised me the most in Chris Nolan's presentation was the technology Google has. Especially the technology to eliminate advertisers from informational sites. The reason Google is so popular is because of their technology. Their technology enables them to produce results that people tend to like more than other search engines' results. 

I learned many things from Chris Nolan's presentation, which surprise me in itself because I use Google and other search engines daily. I learned about directories (places where people look at websites that they think are useful and stick them into different categories). I also learned lots of useful trick that you can view here. 

Erin Camp

ecamp@trinity.edu

Copyright Laws

                  Before the presentation last class, I had no idea how uninformed I was about copyright infringement. I learned an assortment of details about copyright that I believe every citizen of the United States needs to be aware of. For example, Copyright laws in the U.S. date back to 1790, which precedes the Bill of Rights (1791).  These laws basically state that we, as citizens, cannot reproduce or copy another person’s intellectual property without having proper permission and giving credit where it is due (either monetarily or through citation).  There are, however, some materials referred to as ‘Public Domain’ that can be used without requesting copyright permission.

                  One prominent issue with copyright infringement has to do with the use of copyrighted materials for educational purposes.  Some reproduction of copyrighted materials can be used for educational purposes under the term “fair use.” However, this does not include all material that teachers may need or want to use for educational purposes. For this reason, copyright laws hinder some teachers and/or professors. Usually, these hindrances are due to their inability to reimburse a publisher monetarily.

                  I believe that authors should have control over their ‘intellectual property’ and therefore copyright laws should definitely exist and be enforced. However, I believe that in cases of education the law should be more lenient and have more exceptions.  Education, I believe, the most important use of any type of material. Therefore, I think that if certain copyright laws are hindering teachers from teaching their students then “fair use” for educational purposes should be expanded.  

Thank you,
Erin Camp
ecamp@trinity.edu

Facebook: A College Necessity

As a college student, I use my facebook daily. It helps me keep in touch with my friends from high school as well as my friends here on campus. It makes inviting people to parties and campus activities not only easier, but more inclusive. I think it is more than merely useful, I almost think it is completely necessary if you want to maintain a social life without constant face-to-face contact with EVERY single person you know.

Facebook also allows me to keep in contact with my friends back home without being on the phone all the time. My friends and I leave videos as well as text posts on each others walls to keep each other informed on how we are settling into college. 

It allows us to share our pictures from events and gives us a place to put them. Pictures no longer just sit in physical albums or dormant in a pictures file- they are put out on the internet so we can reminisce on weekends and past events. 

I do watch what pictures can be found of me on facebook. However, the activities I'm involved in I'm honestly not worried about people seeing them. 

For another perspective on this issue click here.

 

Thanks,

Erin Camp

ecamp@trinity.edu