Dangers of Searching on the Internet

I have always known there are not credible or reliable sources online. When you type a word or phrase into a search engine you will probably end up with a few sites that aren't credible. Last week we talked about the ways in which we can critically analyze websites to determine their credibility. We talked about checking the URL. If it is a .com website it means that it is a commercial site where they are trying to promote or sell something. These are not as credible as they are biased and more for commercial use. If the URL contains a .org these are more reliable than .com because they are developed by organizations. However, you are likely to get a bias opinion because it is an organization advocating for something in particular. If the URL contains a .gov this is a government website and is reliable. This website will contain facts and not fiction. URLs that contain a .edu are education websites and can be reliable. With any website it is important to check when it was published and when the last time it was updated. If it is older then it is probably not as credible as newer websites. The exception to this is websites that doesn't contain information that will really change such as historical events.
Checking to see if a site is credible or not is pertinent to teachers as we need to check and double check the information we are telling our students. We have to make sure that the information we are gathering is accurate so we do not give our students incorrect information. This will create unnecessary confusion for students. It is our responsibility to make sure we do thorough searches to find the best information. Using operators helps return a better search for the specified topic. The operators are as follows:
+ no variation
- except this/these word(s)
~ synonym
OR x OR y
. . #'s (ex 1800.. 2000..)
* blank/space for a word
" " no variations

SOY!

I was lactose intolerant for quite a few years, but I have grown out of it. After not being able to eat ice cream, milk, and cheese without taking a pill, it is an adjustment to be able to go to the freezer, grab a tub of ice cream and spoon and dive right in. Although I could eat dairy products with a pill, I started to drink soy milk when I was younger. At first I did not like it at all, but after a while you begin to acquire a taste for it. Now that I can drink regular cow's milk I am finding myself still drink soy milk. I also have soy products for snacks such as soy crisps, soy yogurt, and soy ice cream. I wondered if there were health benefits to soy products. After doing some research this is what I found!

~Soy products are a high quality protein that have been shown to increase the feeling of fullness, which in turn can reduce the intake of calories and lead to weight loss.
~Soy contains no cholestrol, which is great for the heart!
~Soy can actually reduce women's chance of getting breast cancer.
~25 grams of soy daily can reduce heart disease.
~Soy is also low in saturated fat.


After doing some research, I think I will stick with soy products!


http://www.soyfoods.org/health/soy-and-general-health/
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1561142,00.html

RSS Feed and Aggregator

So far, I have enjoyed using the Aggregator. The aspect that I like the best is the functionality of having all the RSS feeds in one place! As we learned last Tuesday, blogs are updated very frequently. Some websites are also update at least daily, such as news websites. It is very convient to go to one site, aka Google Reader, and access all of the updates in one spot. I can have all my personal, school and work feeds all on the same page. I subscribed to many food and recipe feeds. I know I will use them to find recipes when cooking. I can also put other teachers blogs on the aggregator to stay updated on the new posts.
I have found the aggregator easy to maintain and organize. Some people may feel overwhelmed with the steps of getting the websites or blogs onto the Reader, but once they have figured it out I'm sure the process won't seem bad at all.

Useful Website

I found a very neat website. The url is http://www.4teachers.org/

It is for teachers and can be used as a teaching tool. One tool that I really found helpful was Classroom Architect. It allows you to design a layout for your classroom! You first choose the dimensions of your room and then begin placing the desks, chairs, rugs, etc in the places that you like. It is great if you are at home and want to reorganize your classroom. All you have to do is print the design and take it in with you to start moving the furniture.
The website also has information on how to integrate technology in the classroom. It has several websites listed that discuss the issue of internet safety for the students.
Another aspect of the website that is enjoyable for students is called Arcademic Skill Builder. There are several online games for students to improve their math skills and spelling/word skills.
I can see myself using this website in the near future!

BLOGS! Advantages and Disadvantages

After contemplating the advantages and disadvantages of using blogs, I have come up with the following list.

Advantages:

• way to express yourself and opinions
  
• share ideas and information
  
• can be anonymous
  
• less intimidating to share ideas online
  
• open communication between a group of people
  (posting)
• free :)
• some may think it is easier to work with than a website
  

Disadvantages:

• not personable- communication online compared to in person
  
• can be difficult to tell peoples tone in their post
• some posts can be offensive to others
  
• addicting- time consuming
  

The following websites were helpful when completing this task.

• http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2004/nt_2004_08_23_blogging.htm
  
• http://www.theinternetdigest.net/archive/blog-advantages.html
  

My First Post!

Welcome to my blog!
I am a Michigan State Spartan. Below is the link to the website for Michigan State University.

http://msu.edu/