- About research
- About finding reliable sources -- the best sources
- Receive website evaluations
- Spend time in the computer lab, filling out website evaluations and recording information for the presentation.
- Website evaluations are due October 26. (five for a pair of students, three for a student working alone).
- Don't forget to create your citations using easybib.com.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
October 20, 2010
Bell-Ringer: Read article about reliable sources and fill in "inner voices" sheet?
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Finding Information on This Blog
Finding Information Here
Look at the Blog Archive for posts on various subjects. Click on the arrow by a month to see all posts for that month.
You could use the search bar at the upper left to look for particular subjects.
On blogs, newer posts appear at the top, so as you scroll down, you are reading older posts.
Another useful item is the calendar at the bottom of the page. Some of the events provide more information when you click on them. B-Days are marked because that is the day we meet in our Reading classes.
FYI: You can access the district calendar on the district website or here.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
October 18, 2010
Bell-Ringer:
We will also pass back the papers you handed in with ideas for celebrities.
We will go to the computer lab right after I present a demonstration of easybib.
You may sit with your partner in computer lab as long as you are productive.
Take your handouts, a pencil or pen, and your planner.
Computer Lab 223:
1. Select the celebrity you most want to learn more about.
2. Write in your top three choices, with the one you'd like the most in the #1 spot.
3. Hand in your papers
4. While you wait to find out. . .
5. Start looking for sites that would be reliable and provide you with the information you'll need.
6. Create citations for the sites you find that you think might be helpful. Create the word document and save it on your thumb drive or e-mail it to yourself or (if you can't do the others) print it and hand it in with your other worksheets.
Read7 Comp Lab Directions Oct 18(2).doc
______________________________________
Extra Stuff --
What makes a site reliable? How can you tell if it's not reliable?
Do you believe everything you read and see? Is it Reliable?
Here is a lesson on deciding whether a site is reliable or not.
Time in computer lab to begin doing research.
Extra Credit: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? Find and record 4 answers at http://www.tootsie.com/gal_machine.php
to earn 5 extra credit points.
Earn an extra ten by creating a citation for the page at easybib.com
Copy the URL from above or from the page navigation bar itself.
Follow the directions here. Using easybib.com
Print it and bring it to me or email it to dorsc405@alpine.k12.ut.us and put Parent of [with your own name] in the subject line.
We will also pass back the papers you handed in with ideas for celebrities.
We will go to the computer lab right after I present a demonstration of easybib.
You may sit with your partner in computer lab as long as you are productive.
Take your handouts, a pencil or pen, and your planner.
Computer Lab 223:
1. Select the celebrity you most want to learn more about.
2. Write in your top three choices, with the one you'd like the most in the #1 spot.
3. Hand in your papers
4. While you wait to find out. . .
5. Start looking for sites that would be reliable and provide you with the information you'll need.
6. Create citations for the sites you find that you think might be helpful. Create the word document and save it on your thumb drive or e-mail it to yourself or (if you can't do the others) print it and hand it in with your other worksheets.
Read7 Comp Lab Directions Oct 18(2).doc
______________________________________
Extra Stuff --
Do you believe everything you read and see? Is it Reliable?
Here is a lesson on deciding whether a site is reliable or not.
Time in computer lab to begin doing research.
Extra Credit: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? Find and record 4 answers at http://www.tootsie.com/gal_machine.php
to earn 5 extra credit points.
Earn an extra ten by creating a citation for the page at easybib.com
Copy the URL from above or from the page navigation bar itself.
Follow the directions here. Using easybib.com
Print it and bring it to me or email it to dorsc405@alpine.k12.ut.us and put Parent of [with your own name] in the subject line.
Image found at http://www.xconomy.com/?attachment_id=9119
Article on Checking for Reliability
SIRS Discoverer ® on the Web
Copyright © 2010 ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Read
(Vol. 59, No. 3)
Oct 2, 2009, pp. 30-31
Copyright © Weekly Reader Corporation. Oct 2, 2009. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Truth in Research
By Craig Nadler
• How to find the facts you need online
You've just been assigned a research project. You have the deadline and the topic. What's next? That's right--the research! Although it may seem daunting at first, thorough investigation into a topic can make or break your project. In the 21st century, we often head straight to the computer to begin our research online, where there are literally millions of places to cruise to for information. But while the Internet provides a fast and easy medium through which to gather data, you should always use caution when maneuvering along the electronic information superhighway. Anyone can publish a Web page, and there's no one policing cyberspace to verify that the content is the truth.
Take time to examine each site with care. Remember that Web pages are susceptible to change, and they can move or disappear without warning. Print out any pages that contribute to your research in order to ensure that your bibliography is complete and accurate.[Printing pages is not recommended while you're doing your research for your Celebrity Webquest. Instead, carefully save the URL, create your citation, and take careful notes.] You can also call on the help of librarians, who can guide you to trusted research sites.
Stop #1 Stop reading and notice what your mind has been doing as you read. Has it been paying attention or wandering? Were you using any strategies to focus or to help yourself understand? Be honest. Minds wander. It will help you if you can notice what's going on in your own thinking. Write down a couple of sentences about what was going on in your mind as you read the first part. Do the same for the other three parts of this article.
I recently came across an article on the Web that claimed a man named John Hanson was the first president of the United States. Hanson had been the first president of Congress in 1781, but could he really be considered the first president of the United States? I thought, "I really need to check out this source?" I used an online research checklist to analyze the credibility of the article. I looked beyond the text to see whether the site's information was reliable. Here's what I discovered.
Content with the content?
As I read the article that defended John Hanson as the first president of the United States, I kept an eye out for citations or hyperlinks in the text that supported the information provided. There were none. I also took note of opinion words, such as definitely, which took away from the serious tone of the article: "George Washington was definitely not the first President of the United States."
Who has the right to write?
After reading the article, I scanned the page for the author's name. The piece was an excerpt from a book. This excerpt's Web site was not controlled by George Grant, who penned the original piece the site referenced. I knew I had to be careful because I didn't have the original source in front of me.
Stop #2
Purpose shmurpose
The Web site--www.marshallhall.org--where I found the article was "[dedicated to the Preservation and Restoration of Historic Marshall Hall in Charles County, Maryland." What exactly does that have to do with the first president of the United States? It didn't seem that my goal matched the site's goal. I needed to rethink its reliability.
Who's in charge?
I could not find any contact information for the Web site's director, a mysterious Peggy Marshall. No information about her life or credentials is provided!
Link me where?
I checked out the provided links, but none of them steered me toward information about the identity of the first president. They were either dead or irrelevant to my topic.
After some online digging, it was clear that this site was not a reliable source of information. It failed too many points on the checklist. I wasn't going to trust this source.
Stop #3
Vocab
SUSCEPTIBLE: subject to some influenceCREDENTIALS: evidence of authority or status
Check a Web Site's Credibility
• AUTHOR: Search for the author's name somewhere on the Web site. Look for a link to his or her home page. Maybe you can find a biography or a list of credentials.• PURPOSE: Find the goals of the site or the motives behind its creation.
• ACCURACY: Try to verify the material on the page, either with your own knowledge or with alternate sources. Look for primary sources--letters, records, or other documents created during the period that is being studied. Also, check the site for grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors.
• OBJECTIVITY: Try to find the author's point of view, and determine whether the Web site is fact (supported by other sources) or opinion (uses emotion-rousing words).
• CURRENTNESS: Find out when the page was last updated to ensure that its material is current.
• LINKS: Check out the links provided to see whether they are current and relevant to your research.
Stop #4
Friday, October 8, 2010
Last Day for Late Work
The last day to hand in late work for the rotation you just finished (the first third of the semester) is
October 13.
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