I really did not realize just how “personally tailored” our search results were with their “filter bubbles.” I have mixed feelings on this. I believe that there is good and bad with these filters. While I LOVE to just “GOOGLE IT,” I see now just how important it is to use more than one source to gather information.
I think I am a pretty good searcher. I do think that I have gotten better at it over the years. I’m sure it is pretty obvious that I am of the Google Generation. It is the first place I go to when I want to know the answer to something. I will read over the summaries provided and look for keywords and information that I am looking for in my search.
I am currently covering the Research and Information Fluency standards. I asked my students where is the first place they look whenever they do not know the answer to something. MANY used that same term that I myself like to use—We GOOGLE IT! They were very familiar with this term. MANY also believed that if it was on the internet that it HAD to be true! While planning this unit the state farm commercial came to mind. Of course there’s a “blonde” in the commercial who believes that “they can’t put anything on the internet that isn’t true,” and so the guy asks, “Where’d ya here that?” AND of course she says, “The internet.” I believe this was a perfect example to show to my students. They understood the idea I was trying to get across when her “French Model” that she met on the internet showed up.
This commercial makes me laugh so hard. This is the perfect video for this lesson.
ReplyDeleteI agree that so many kids believe that if something is on the internet is HAS to be true. Earlier this year I did a lesson with elementary students about the reliability of sources. Before any discussions about the topic, I gave them several websites to evaluate and asked if they were reliable. I used sites like http://www.thedogisland.com/ and http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/ along with real sites about unusual places or animals. The majority of them were fooled by the fake sites! It lead to great discussions about the topic.
ReplyDeleteLove this commercial! It is a great example that you can't believe everything on the internet!
I agree and I love that commercial! We have to make sure that our students don't use Google and only Google! We need to make them aware of the other search engines and areas to find information. I am guilty of just using Google to complete assignments. Most of the time, the assignment gets completed, and it appears to be the best I can do. However, sometimes I feel that I could find better information by using sites such as EBSCOhost in order to do my research!
ReplyDeleteLynn I think we all learned a thing or two about our searching habits and how we tend to "GOOGLE IT" all of the time. Who would have know that Google would eventually be used as a verb because of how much we have come to rely on it to direct us. Great insight!
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