Dear Professor….

This article really rang true. In this digital age, students need to be able to get information in any way they can. And when a professor is unreachable, what is a poor student to do? In a way, this really reminded me of the second life idea that Miami U.  had in making SecondLife a teaching platform. It also reminded me of how the library offers the chat IM option for research, one that I personally have used numerous times. Why can’t professors be as accessible? Granted, no prof wants to be accessible to that one kid that asks questions all the way, but more and more professors are becoming avaliable on facebook, and now with Facebook’s new chat function, is teaching going that far?

If students are looking to chat with professors, maybe they just need to find them on facebook?

Step-By-Step research

When it comes to students, it’s nice to be able to be told what to do step by step, to really take out as much of the thinking and questioning what’s next as possible. This site does just that, well…sort of. No site will tell you how to write your paper, but like this one, they can tell you how to find the information you need and to filter out what may not be the most reliable information. And when it’s all said and done, if you have the information, the paper is a breeze. The hardest part (besides writing the paper at 3am the morning before the due date) is finding what you need to write about.

Not to mention, .edu sites are pretty darn reliable.

Websites of the rainbow

Every website on the internet is not credible, or even that great of quality, but at the website I found says, you can’t judge a website by its colors. This site was awesome because it gave a list of things to look for and examples of things that can make or break the credibility of a website. What is also nice is that based on the number one checker on the site, I know that the site I found is credible. How? It’s a .edu! Gotta love those education institutions, they seem to know what they are talking about. When in doubt, this site is a nice reference, and a quick one, to make sure the site you’re looking at it worth looking at.

Research…made simple?

While the library should always be the number one, on those rainy days when you just don’t feel like going outside, there is always the internet to get you started. A really awesome research site I discovered is a brilliant mashup called iTools where there is offshoot just for general knowledge research. This is great because it gives you a list of things to search under such as Encyclopedias or newspapers, and even quotes. In some instances, you can search biographies and pick the site you want to search. It’s a one stop shop  for general basic knowledge research. I’m sure it’s not the only site like this out there, but it sure was a cool find. There are also other tools on the site such as networking internet tools, map tools, financial tools, etc. Something useful on the internet? Go figure.

In Class Activity 10/6/08

Jeanine Wellinghoff

Kristen Grace

NNI vs Nanodocs

1. Purpose of Source

- NNI: There is a straight forward statement of intended purpose on the front page which covers all  aspects of the page’s purpose. Basically a mission statement for the site. Also a very clear set of goals listed under the about page.

- Nanodocs: The intended purpose, while present, was difficult to find and much less clear. Mostly located on the about page, but predominately about the hospital, not nanotechology.

2. Coverage of a source

- NNI: Links to other resources available, a basic facts page is provided for the less knowledgeable about the topic. Lists not just information but also opportunities and uses.

- Nanodocs More specific audience, for a specific hospital, not written for the average person to understand. There are links other sites, not necessarily information resources.

3. Authority and Reputation

- NNI: Offshoot of the government. .gov page Federal site.

- Nanodocs: Created by a hospital so it’s most likely legit.

4. Accuracy

- NNI: Based on research done by the organizaton (federal research), most likely unbias and done through a government agency. Factual based on actual research.

- Nanodocs: Information and data researched by a data lab as part of teaching hospital. Factual based on actual research.

5. Currency

- NNI: Established in 2001, Updates present from 2008, well maintained, no broken links

- Nanodocs: Copyrighted 2001, broken links, updated to current events

6. Presentation

- NNI: Bare minimum layout, present site map, well written, easy to navigate and read, few images. Consistent layout.

- Nanodocs: very well created, futuristic, intractable, visually well created and appealing. Easy to navigate, clear links. Lots and lots of images.  Consistant layout.

7. Other sites.

Delicious URL search

NNI: People have saved this 149 times, and 27 wrote notes – Much more well used.

Nanodocs: People have saved this 15 times, and 7 wrote notes – Rarely used.

We would definitely  use the government site (NNI) for information. It is easier to use and provides easier to find and understand information, despite having a less visually appealing  layout. Delicious confirmed our decision because obviously many people agreed with us.

It’s….Alive?

I found a blog post by a harvard prof about the live web. The fact that it’s such a big thing for even harvard profs to discuss makes it pretty interesting. But the way he talked about it was fascinating because he compaired to building which just stand there vs. things that are every growing and changing, and the sites that were ever changing were more interesting. This might be something companies or just regular people who want more site hits should consider. If their sites stays the same, not updating constantly, then people aren’t going to be very interested since it’s like a sturdy building. But if it were to grow and change, people might show a little more interest.

Twitter Search +10

I was on mashable and found an interesting article that was about exactly what we were talking about in class. The website it talked about is called “Social Mention” and is basically, as the article says, a twitter search for the entire web. It takes forever for the searches to load, but when they do, it gives you essentially a huge collection of up to date…updates.

In a way, you can see what’s happening right now…not just on twitter, but all over the internet. It’s a really interesting idea, since its just a huge live search. This just struck me as cool, maybe next semester this site will be big enough to be part of the class lecture.

Story time…

A friend showed me an interesting site a few years ago. [Maple Story] It’s very similar to second life, but there is more to do. You can get quests from the admin and pick up items. It’s actually  more entertaining that Second life because even if no one is online, there is something for the users to do. However, they also encourage discussion by members. It is text-based discussion that allows everyone to view your conversation, or just one person. It can be used as a group chat, or as a one-on-one.

I’d say its at least worth some time to check out, especially if you’re looking to kill an hour or so. Or possibly your entire day.

Kids can have fun online too

It’s nice to know that the internet isn’t actually dominated by creepy adults. There are in fact places for kids to go and play. One of these sites is Neopets.com. It’s probably been around a decade now, I actually used to play on it as a kid when it was first starting out. [bouncygirl] In fact, when I get really bored, they still have fun games to play.

The cool thing about this site is that it is similar to second life in that you can interact with people from all over the world. But this site is much more censored and targeted towards kids. There is a purpose beyond just talking to people since you get to raise pets, but it really encourages interaction between the members.

Web 2.0 for kids!

Opps, Typo

Yes, I meant to make a typo in the slug.

Anyway, I came across another interesting mashup of a site that takes ebay and craigs list and searches for typos that could potentially get you cheaper stuff. This was cool because it could prove incredibly useful. I personally don’t use either of these sites, but I know they are both huge and continuing to grow. They are also cool enough to offer a list of the top miss-spelled words and you can pick a specific place to narrow down your search.

What an idea, using a simple thing as a typo and creating something possibly very useful out of it.