Blog Post 4

• Standard: SS.912.G.1 - Understand how to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technology to report information. http://www.cpalms.org/Public/PreviewIdea/Preview/858
• Website: http://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
• Classification Tool: Academic Database
• Description: The CIA's World Factbook would be an useful tool to use in the classroom because students would have easy access to a variety of information that they can use for nearly any project, speech, or discussion.

      I support the use of Internet research in the classroom. Students can use the internet to search for nearly any topic and have easy assistance for tough or complicated topics. The Internet is full of academic sources that can be used for projects, papers, and many other assignments that students will encounter. The downside to having unlimited access to the Internet and all that it has to offer would be that students may become too dependent on the Internet. Students may stop truly thinking or trying when it comes to assignments because they know that they'll be able to look up the topic and get instant help. Students may also simply cheat and copy the information they find online without giving credit or critically thinking about the assignment at hand.

      I have used the Internet for homework and school work for as long as I can remember. The Internet makes research easier, but I always had to remember to look for credible sources. We've been told for our whole academic career that Wikipedia was not a reliable source, which forced us to continue our online hunt for credible sources that we would be able to cite. In high school I could simply use online sources as long as they were real, accurate, and able to be cited; but now in college I mainly only use sources that can be found through FSU'S online databases.

      The Web Hunt helped me learn how to better narrow my searches so that it will narrow my results to what I'm actually looking for, rather than all the irrelevant data. Not only do I now know what to actually type into the search bar, but now I am better at finding legitimate sites based on their ending (.com, .org, etc.) and the aesthetic of the page.


Web Hunt: - Find free websites for students to publish their own short stories
                   - Ask students to find primary source newspaper articles from the day they were born