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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Blog Homework Due 1/31 at 10pm

Answer on your blog in a minimum of 150 words 

1.) At this point, what is your narrowed topic? (It doesn't have to be a full research question yet.)
2.) Try searching for books on your topic in the GIL-Find Catalog. Which keywords worked and which didn’t?
3.) What is an example of a primary source you might be able to use for your project?

Remember the commenting assignment: one comment for a classmate posted by the end of the day Friday

Monday, January 28, 2013

In-Class Exercise 1/28

Group 1

http://tinyurl.com/website-source-1

Group 2

Source 2 handed out in class

Group 3

Source 3 handed out in class

Group 4

http://tinyurl.com/website-source-4

Questions to answer

1. What type of information source is this?

2. Who is the author?

3. Who is the publisher?

4. Would you consider this a scholarly source? Why?

5. Where would you go to find this source?

Reading for Week 5

Please read the following materials: 

Finding Scholarly Sources & Primary vs. Secondary

Scholarly vs. Popular Materials (Chart)

Anatomy of a Scholarly Article (Interactive)

Blog Homework Due 1/29, 10pm

Answer on your blog in at least 150 words: What different types of information sources might you use for your topic? What disciplines (ex. Psychology, Sociology, etc) might have an interest in your topic? Can you think of any groups, agencies, organizations or people who might have an opinion on your topic?

Commenting: Remember to post at least one constructive comment on either this post or Wednesday's post by the end of Friday, Feb. 1.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Blog Homework due 1/24

Answer on your blog in a minimum of 150 words. Due 1/24, 10pm

During your in-class research today, what additional keywords/aspects of your topic(s) did you discover that might help you formulate a research question? How did today’s class change how you will approach your project?

Blog Commenting

Remember to post a comment on a classmate's blog in response to their post by 10pm on Friday. Provide positive and constructive feedback such as a suggestion for focusing the topic or another aspect of the topic to consider.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Blog Homework due 1/17, 10PM

Please answer the following prompt on your own blog in a minimum of 150 words.

Name two topics that you might be interested in researching for your final project in this class. Explain a little bit about why you selected these topics. 

(Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be talking about how to narrow down a general idea to a more focused research question that is an appropriate scope for a research project. At this point, don't worry about any of these details: just focus on the ideas.)

Reading for W 1/23

1.) Please read the article titled "Understanding How We Search and Why That Matters," located in CourseDen under Content > Course Materials.

This adds some new layers to our discussion on evaluating websites, including the factors that Google takes into account when ranking webpages and even some Google search tips.

2.) Also please this short linked article "Teaching Zach to Think." How does this story demonstrate some of the CRAAP test criteria, especially the potential dangers of over-relying on a particular factor instead of considering all of them?
http://novemberlearning.com/resources/articles/teaching-zach-to-think/

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

More on Website Evaluation, In-Class 1/16

Good or Bad?

Site 1
vs. Site 2
vs. Site 3


In-Class Exercise Directions:

1. Each group member does a Google search for your assigned topic. Find what you think is one good website and one bad website on the topic. (Inspect at least the whole first page and go deeper if you choose.) Share your findings with the group and agree on the best and worst website.

2. Post a comment on this blog post. Include the names of your group members and the web address (url) of the good and bad website you agreed on.

3. You will then briefly present your findings to the class and explain the evaluation criteria you used.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Blog Homework Due 1/15 at 10pm

Post on your blog in a minimum of 150 words (you can use http://www.wordcounter.net/ to check).

Describe a time when you had to make a major purchase and you had more than one option (ex. car, cell phone, etc). Where did you go to get advice?  What information did you consult? Why?

Library Basics

(Intended to supplement the "Library Website Scavenger Hunt" completed in class)

Which libraries allow you to check out books with your UWG ID?
• Obviously you can use it here at UWG.
• You can also get books from the other 35 University System of GA libraries sent here to you. You just search it, request the books, and the other library will send them here for you.
• You can also use your UWG ID in person at any of the USG libraries to check out
books

How many computers can students use in the library?
• There are over 50 computers on the main floor for you to use, and 24 more in the Mac Lab on the 3rd floor
• There are most computers scattered about on the 2nd and 3rd floors
• The Main Floor Library Classroom becomes an additional classroom during the
evenings and weekends.
• We have 50 laptops you can check out to use within the Ingram Library and
Starbucks

What equipment can you checkout to use in the library?
• Books your professor puts on reserve (kept behind the main Checkout Desk. You can use them in the library for a few hours. This way everyone can use the books instead of one student having them in his or her dorm for 3 weeks.)
• Laptops and scanners
• White board markers, erasers to use on our glass white board
• Group Study Rooms
• DVD players
• Flip Camera

How many books are in the library?
• More than half a million books!

How many periodicals (magazines, newspapers, journals) do we have access to?
• Over 68k periodicals and about 67k of those are online!
• From off-campus, you need a password to access our subscriptions
• The password changes each semester and you get it from inside your Library
Account

When can you get research help in the library?
• Reference student assistants are at two different information desks on the main
floor whenever the building is open
• You can get drop-in help from a Reference Librarian by stopping at the Reference
Desk from Mon-Thurs 11-5
• You can get help 24/7 365 days a year (including holidays) through our chat
reference service (westga.edu/library/chat)
• You can GoPro (westga.edu/library/gopro). This means you make an apt with a reference librarian to meet with you one-on-one to discuss your research.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Blog Homework Due 1/10, 10pm

Post on your blog in a minimum of 150 words (you can use http://www.wordcounter.net/ to check).

What is your favorite part of the library? Least favorite part? What are you still confused about regarding the library space and/or library services?

Add My Course Blog to Your Reading List

In this class, homework assignments and other important class news will be posted on the course blog (libr1101uwg.blogspot.com).

One good way to keep up with the course blog is by adding it to your Blogger.com reading list.

1. Go to Blogger.com, sign in (if necessary) and click the “Add” button on the left side of the screen below "Reading List."

2. Type libr1101uwg.blogspot.com in the "Add from URL" field, and then click "Follow." This will allow you to quickly see my latest posts when you log into Blogger.

You also could bookmark the url, add it to an RSS reader, or simply type in the web address.

Reading for Monday, 1/14

1. Watch the following talk by Howard Rhinegold about determining site credibility and "crap detection." For Monday's class, start thinking about the criteria you personally use to decide which websites to trust.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U8vL_FE7eQ (Just watch from the beginning to the 5:25 mark)

2. Read this short definition of information literacy ("Information Literacy Defined") http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency#ildef. Do you agree that in this day and age the concept of "literacy" means more than just knowing how to read and write?

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Class Blog List

Hi all,

Please leave a comment on this post with your name and the web address of the Blogger blog you have created for this class.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Setting Up Your Blog + 1/8 Homework

1.) You’ll be using a Google/Gmail account to create your Blogger blog. If you do not have a Gmail account, go to Gmail.com and sign up for one.

2.) Go to Blogger.com and sign in with your Gmail account information.

This will take you to a page that says “YOUR NAME’s blogs”. Choose the button that says “New Blog”.




Next, you’ll be asked to name your blog and make up a web address for it.  Please use the following formats:

Wolfie

Title: YOUR NAME’s LIBR1101 Blog
(Ex. Wolfie's LIBR1101 Blog)

Address: YOURNAMELIBR1101 (cannot have any spaces)
(Ex. wolfielibr1101.blogspot.com)

(Note: I'd recommend using your First Name Last Name in the title and your First Initial Last Name in the Address, but you can choose whatever you want as long as I'll be able to identify who you are.)






You can pick any template or design you like, and you can change your template at any time, so you won't be stuck with whatever you pick right now.

Click the orange "Create Blog" button when finished and you now have your very own blog that's live on the web!

3.) Once you have set up your blog, go to the "Class Blog List," (on this blog and linked below) and post a comment with your name and blog web address.
(http://libr1101uwg.blogspot.com/2013/01/class-blog-list.html)

Today's Homework Assignment (Due 1/8 at 10pm)


Create your first post by clicking the orange pencil icon.
Remember to enter a title for each post in the bar near the top labeled "Post Title."

Briefly introduce yourself, including the academic area(s) you are most interested in studying at UWG. Then answer one of the following two questions:

What is one thing that surprised you about today's class? What is one thing we talked about today that you would especially like to learn more about during the semester?

Finally it would be helpful to take and upload a picture of yourself along with your first post so we can all start to learn each others' names. 

To do this, click on the image icon in the post editor (see below)



The Digital Age and New Media

The digital age has brought forth an unprecedented explosion of information and has radically changed the ways we create, find, consume and evaluate it. “New media” is a term used to refer to digital forms of communication, including blogs, podcasts, Twitter, Facebook, e-books, wikis and more. These emerging forms of media are very different from “old” media such as newspapers, printed books, radio and TV broadcasts.

Until recently, media was created by an elite group of professionals and delivered to the masses. Big publishing companies had to appeal to a wide audience to make money, so less-common topics and alternative viewpoints were often hard to find. Today we choose from millions of websites on every conceivable topic and can interact with authors by posting comments and sharing our reactions on Twitter and Facebook. Many people prefer these personalized platforms to receive the majority of their news, and anyone can create a blog or e-book for free and instantly publish their own thoughts on the topics that matter to them. A high-speed internet connection, however, is required to participate in these emerging online spaces.

In the digital age, most people turn to search engines like Google and social network feeds to find information instead of consulting printed books and professionally written encyclopedias. A Google search, for example, can instantly bring back millions of webpages, but since online publishing is free, fast and easy, anyone could have written them. Also, with millions of websites available online, it can be difficult to find the right information and it can be frustrating to have to sift through so much. There are also some types of information that cannot be found on Google.