EDUC 422 Blog 7

The article that we read for this week was about the use of the Internet as an important resource, not only for teachers, but also for students. The article brought back memories of a past assignment completed within this class where we learned more about how to properly use the Yahoo search engine. The article touched on two important points in knowing how to use search engines. First, (this not only pertains to students, but great for everyone to know when using a search engine), we must choose our search engine wisely. Until this article, I had no idea that different search engines revealed different results. Prior to reading this article, I thought I should choose a search engine based on its visual appearance and how I preferred to view information. Secondly, the article mentioned how the students also need to know how to construct a search statement properly. This resembled the "4 Nets for Better Searching" assignment as I had mentioned above. That assignment had taught me more about how the search engine "reads" what I type in each box and what kind of results I should be expecting. The article touched on the Internet Directories which are maintained by universities and libraries and often known as having high quality when it comes to evaluating them. The Internet Directories located on the Cal State San Marcos Library Website have recently been very valuable because I am currently in the process of completing a research paper for one of my other classes. Lastly the article also mentioned the importance of checking out the site's sponsors to find out where this information has come from and whether who is being referenced is credible or not. In the end the article was very informative revealing the Internet as a valuable tool, but only if it is being used properly.