Archive for the ‘research on the web’ Category
Posted by Marti Weston on November 17, 2011
Check out the full report at http://bit.ly/vNhmnw
The Pew Internet and American Life Project recently published new social media data, this time asking why American adults use social networks.
From my point of view, keeping in touch with people is a grand old American tradition, as traditional as apple pie. Over the years whether it’s over the backyard fence, via snail mail letter, postcard, telephone, or e-mail, Americans like to connect and communicate.
Interestingly, according to this new Pew data, adults become involved with social media — Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and others — because of the ease of keeping in touch. People use a social medium if it makes communicating with friends and family easy and fun.
Moreover, users like that social media now offers faster and faster ways to reconnect with the people from the past — something that was far more difficult in the “olden days.”
Posted in parents and technology, research on the web, social media, social media friends, social networking | Tagged: adults, Americans, communicating, Pew Internet, Social media, social networking | 1 Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on September 29, 2011
If you find yourself thinking about the digital research activities of children, especially older students who complete significant amounts of their research using the unlimited resources available on the World Wide Web, you are not alone. Over the past 10 years I have wondered — more than once and sometimes with great angst — if my child and the many children I’ve known really understand the need to evaluate the resources that they find on the web.
Earlier this year I discovered a small book, published by the MacArthur Foundation, describing research that explored how children perceive the quality and reliability of digital media. It’s a book that concerned parents may want to read. In Kids and Credibility: An Empirical Examination of Youth, Digital Media Use, and Information Credibility, authors Andrew J. Flanagin and Miriam J. Metzger, summarize their study as a “…comprehensive investigation into youth’s Internet use and their assessment of the credibility of online information.” The authors wondered whether young digital media users, while sophisticated and fearless about using technology, could evaluate information and determine its quality.
To learn more about young people and web credibility the researchers planned and executed a web-based survey of more than 2,000 children age 11 – 18. Study participants also completed a range of Internet tasks, evaluating information, making judgements about content, and explaining how and why they complete web tasks in certain ways. While there is far too much to cover in one blog post — check out the many interesting graphs in the publication — I’ve listed a few of the most interesting observations below. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in attributing sources, digital learning, digital parenting, Evaluating Web Resources, interesting research, research on the web | Tagged: credibility, evaluation, Kids and Credibility, MacArthur Foundation, web searches, World Wide Web | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on September 13, 2011
Old card catalog drawers at the Library of Congress
When I was in what we used to call junior high, working on my first bona-fide school research projects, mired down with things to read, and wishing to be finished, my father reminded me over and over again, “… you cannot attribute too much, only too little.” Even now, years later, with only a few words written on a page, I start thinking about Dad’s attribution credo.
Every parent of digital kids needs to share Dad’s strategy whenever children are working on school projects and papers. It is way too easy, in this age of Google, Wikipedia, and easy instant access to digitized scholarly articles, to write about another person’s ideas without giving credit.
I was reminded of my dad when I read the September 11, 2011 Washington Post Ombudsman column. In Plagiarism or Poor Attribution? Patrick B. Pexton writes about an op-ed piece on women and computer programming that appeared two weeks earlier, one that described how many woman used to be programmers. Pexton wonders if the author credited enough of her sources. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in attributing sources, digital learning, digital parenting, family conversations, parents and technology, plagiarism, research on the web | Tagged: Ann Lewis, attributing sources, attribution, digital parenting, digital research, family conversations, Nathan Ensmenger, Patrick Pexton, plagiarism, Washington Post | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on August 10, 2011
September brings the start of a new school year, and once classes begin, it’s not long before the first research reports and projects are assigned. To get started, your child will head right to his or her computer; however, adult assistance at home ensures that a student uses quality sources, thereby developing stronger research skills over the long run.
Just about any time digital kids search for information at home, they fire up Google. While their teachers use substantial classroom time and energy introducing students to the best online research resources, children often need assistance applying these research lessons on their home computers.
As often as possible adults should remind children that results from Google — as wonderful as Google searching is — provide a huge number of links, many of them of questionable quality. Read this chart that compares Internet searches and online resource/database sources, written by a librarian at Monroe Community College, part of the State University of New York system. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in digital parenting, Evaluating Web Resources, homework, online research, parents and technology, research on the web, searching | Tagged: back-to-school, digital parenting, Google, libraries, Monroe Community College, NCES Library Search, online databases, public library, research tips, school library | 2 Comments »
Posted by Marti Weston on February 24, 2011
Check out Is the Virtual World Good For the “Real” One? in the February 23, 2011 Huffington Post. The article, by Joseph Kahane, describes a longitudinal study focused on the amount of time that young people (age 18 – 29) spend online. Researchers wondered whether time in the virtual world may be keeping young people from paying enough attention to the tangible needs of the real world.
Kahane, who currently chairs the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics, describes some interesting findings and concludes, “ In short, the virtual world can be good for the “real” one. There are forms of online activity that can give youth civic and political engagement a much-needed boost. We need to fully tap this potential.”
Read the entire article.
Posted in cultural changes, digital citizenship, digital parenting, media literacy, parents and technology, research on the web | Tagged: civics, digital citizenship, digital parenting, ethical behavior, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Joseph Kahane, media literacy, online behavior, participation in politics | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on February 12, 2011
Click for PDF of the book.
If you worry about the digital research activities of children, especially older students who complete significant amounts of their research using the unlimited resources available on the World Wide Web, you are not alone. Over the past 10 years I have wondered — more than once and sometimes with great angst — if my child and the many children I’ve known over the years really understand the need to evaluate the resources that they find on the web.
Recently I discovered a small book, published by the MacArthur Foundation, describing research that explored how children perceive the quality and reliability of digital media. It’s a book that concerned parents may want to read. In Kids and Credibility: An Empirical Examination of Youth, Digital Media Use, and Information Credibility, authors Andrew J. Flanagin and Miriam J. Metzger, summarize their study as a “…comprehensive investigation into youth’s Internet use and their assessment of the credibility of online information.” The authors wondered whether young digital media users, while sophisticated and fearless about using technology, could evaluate information and determine its quality. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in digital parenting, Evaluating Web Resources, parents and technology, research on the web | Tagged: children, credibility, digital media, Internet, MacArthur Foundation, online research | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on December 20, 2010
When we are sick or injured or when we are planning to travel, we often try to recall past immunizations as well as determine if boosters are required. Yearly flu shots are fairly easy to remember. However, the boosters that update past inoculations are more difficult to recall. Most adults do not keep good enough inoculation records and because we move from place to place, or at least doctor to doctor, our medical charts are not as complete as they should be.
The MedlinePlus immunization page provides lots of information for families. Moreover, if you family is traveling the CDC’s Travelers’ Health page also gives vaccination information to help everyone prepare for the trip.
Early this fall, because of my work, I went to my doctor to get a booster for pertussis, and sure enough, cases in my area right now. I am glad I got the booster. Check this pertussis information website at CDC for more information.
For a great immunization review, take this Adolescent and Adult Vaccine Quiz. When you finish click the My Results button.
Posted in digital parenting, online health resources, parent education, parents and technology, research on the web, web research | Tagged: CDC travel website, flu vaccine, inoculations, vaccinations | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on October 31, 2010
If you enjoy this post, check out my August 2010 post about using online databases, Staying Ahead With Online Resources, about online data.
The next time you watch your child begin a web search for a school project or other academic activity, take a few minutes to observe more closely how he or she selects web resources. In Trust Online: Young Adults’ Evaluation of Web Content (this abstract site leads to a free PDF of the article), professor Eszter Hargittai and colleagues form the Web Use Project at Northwestern University, describe how students tend to place huge amounts of trust in the initial hits retrieved by search engines such as Google and Yahoo.
With first year students in a required writing course at the University of Illinois Chicago (chosen
because of its highly diverse student body) researchers conducted a written survey of 1060 students enrolled in the classes. Next researchers selected a stratified random sample of 192 students to observe in person as each student performed 12 specific web-based tasks. Learn more about a stratified random sample.
Interesting Observations
- To complete a web-based task, students usually went to a search engine.
- After search engines presented links, students tended to follow the first few links, apparently assuming that the first links in a search were reliable resources to pursue.
- When they looked at a list of provided links, some had difficulty knowing the difference between regular links and sponsored links.
- As they followed these links, students did not appear concerned about who authored the sites that they found (only 10 percent of the students commented about a site’s authors or the credentials presented).
- To complete tasks students relied on brand names, and corporate brands dominated.
- SparkNotes, an online version of Cliff Notes, dominated.
- For credible sources many students favored .gov and .edu sites as more credible sites.
- Many expressed trust in .org, because they are all not-for-profit sites, although these days just about anyone can get a .org web address.
- To verify information, less than half of the observed students consulted a second website.
Posted in Back-to-school digital reading, digital parenting, digital world reading habits, homework, parents and technology, research on the web, web research | Tagged: digital parenting, media literacy, online behavior, reliable information, searching, trusting resources, web search, web search engines | 1 Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on October 19, 2010
If the information in this post is helpful, you may also want to read my post Staying Ahead With Digital Research.
How can one determine whether or not a website is reliable?
Obviously if the website is part of library resources, students and parents can usually be assured of its quality. However, when a child sits down at a personal home computer, makes a general search on a topic for a school assignment, and begins clicking through results, understanding the characteristics that make a website reliable is critical.
Questions to Help Parents and Children Determine if a Website is Reliable …
- Is the site visually interesting with an organized layout?
- Does it balance writing with helpful illustrations?
- Is the writer qualified to be writing on the subject? How do you know?
- Can you identify facts and information about your topic that you already know are accurate
- Are the fonts simple, easy to read, and uncluttered?
- Is the site updated on a regular basis? How do you know?
- Are there irritating pop-ups and/or other distractions. (However be aware that newspapers do have these pop-up windows.)
More Questions to Help Parents and Children Determine if a Website is Reliable …
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in digital parenting, online databases, parents and technology, research on the web | Tagged: acceptable use, digital parenting, evaluating websites, homework help, reliable information | 2 Comments »
