The Internet’s Hidden Treasures
Do you know about the Invisible Web? The Invisible Web refers to a vast repository of information that search engines like Google and directories like Yahoo don’t have direct access to, like databases.
In fact, the Invisible Web contains 99% of the information content of the Web; however, most of this information is contained in databases and is not indexed by search engines.1
The “invisible” or “deep web” is said to be over 500 times larger than the “surface web” or the part of the web to which the search engines already provide access such as Google or Yahoo.
It is a problem that many people are not aware of; and even if they have heard of the invisible web, they most likely will not possess the digital literacy skill level required to search it more effectively.
Interestingly enough, those who do possess the skill set required to explore the Invisible Web is your local public librarian, school library media specialist, and/or academic librarian.
Don’t you think you should know how to explore the Invisible Web too?!
To learn more about the Invisible Web, check out Jane Devine and Francine Egger-Seder’s book, Going Beyond Google: The Invisible Web in Teaching and learning. London: Facet Publishing, 2009.
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Saturday, 24 July 2010 15:08
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Saturday, 24 July 2010 14:55
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Skills 21
No doubt about it…we are living in the Information Age and technology rules! However, being adept at using the latest and greatest gadget does not mean you have mastered the universe.
As a matter of fact, it is not necessarily the technology that is going to give you that competitive advantage you will need to compete successfully in today’s global economy. Believe it or not, it is something far more superior to any currently existing technological whiz bang – your brain.
Developing the appropriate mindset needed to maximize the full utility of these wonderful inventions for your own personal benefit only takes a little readjusting, practice, and then real world application.
The key experience you need to have in college in helping you absorb the strategies and techniques essential to having technology work in your best interest is utilizing the resources of the academic library – human, print, and electronic.
Yes, I said it…that ancient building with books, shelves, “quiet signs” and little old ladies in tennis shoes can provide you with enormous assistance in tracking down the right information you’ll need to get you that “A” on your next research paper. Make it a point to become information literate. Learn those information literacy skills that only librarians know for sure and, most often, are very willing to share.
Although e-books are outselling hardcover books and we are bedazzled by the Kindles and Nooks of the world, it still takes your brain to collect, analyze, synthesize, and effectively utilize information in the creation of new knowledge. Artificial intelligence is a wonderful thing, but it still has a long way to go before it can routinely carry out the thinking and information processing functions of the average Joe.
So add that librarian to your network list of important people to know and build that collaborative relationship and learn those information literacy skills that will be so vital to your future research endeavors in the days ahead at school and in the workplace.
Remember, librarians are people too who happen to be infatuated with books and the world of information…
Saturday, 24 July 2010 14:54
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C.C.R. Moment…
(College and Career Readiness) Are you getting ready for college, ambivalent about the next chapter of your life? Don’t worry, you are about to travel a well worn path…i.e., you are not alone.
Are you having second thoughts about your school choice? Give it one year, you can always transfer.
Worried that you do not have the skill set to be successful? High school and college are two entirely different universes when it comes to academics – in college, if you don’t do your homework or study for that exam…generally speaking, nobody really cares except perhaps your mother.
Don’t really have any idea what your major is going to be? That is why they have new student orientation – to start your career exploration process.
The college experience is all about the process of exploration, enhancing your academic and social skills, building networks, and making those lifelong connections. By the beginning of your junior year, you should be laying out your particular pathway to success in whatever field you choose to study.
Just in case you have not heard, the latest research indicates that people change careers at least, 5 or 6 times over the course of their lifetime…5 or 6 times!!
So get ready to have some fun and begin your journey…try to remember one basic tenet for success…choose a major that you love and, most likely, good grades and, eventually, the money will follow.