I seem to keep making comments before I’ve even read most of the articles for the week. I haven’t even finished the first one that I’m reading as I make this comment. But if I don’t make them as I think of them, then I’ll forget them and won’t make them…
So, in reading Brass and Rosenzweig’s article, they mention how search engines can help students learn more and different aspects of history. That’s all fine and good, but the examples they give are a bit of a stretch for the K-12 and even college student. They say:
“In other words, the search engines cannot only help students to find what they are looking for; they also allow them to examine patterns of word usage and language formation within and across documents.”
I just question whether students are really going to get that much depth out of a word search. Definitely not in their first few attempts, and definitely not without training and guidance. Brass and Rosenzweig make it seem that a students natural reaction to getting so many different and varied results will be to notice the patterns and usage of language, develop complex analysis of the documents, etc. I think students can get to that point, but only through coaching and teaching. I just wanted to stress that in using technology, that the teachers still play a major roll in instructing and helping students learn by showing them how to use the technology. And not that once the technology is there, that the students automatically know how to use it. Such was probably not implied in the article, but I still wanted to stress that point. [/end soapbox]
I just have to read a bit more before I post….
“Of course, the nature of their encounter with primary materials and primary processes is still as novice learners. ”
Still from the same article, this is a cool thought:
“…understand the archive-at-a-mouse-click not as some new way to bring the library to the doorstep, but as a fundamental shift in how society handles knowledge, its accessibility, and what one can do with it.”
Horton’s book is great for beginners to the web. Although a strong caution is advised regarding some of the tips and ideas for the HTML and CSS that she uses. The book was published six years ago, and a tremendous amount of changes has taken place in the World of the Wide Web. I would suggest to look to the W3C for the latest standards in HTML and CSS. I like, though, how she encourages the use of the web as if it were another tool that teachers have available. Horton doesn’t proclaim it to be the “holy grail” of teaching techniques, but encourages web sites to be used “in the same way that instructors use… slides, overheads, or video in class,” adding that the major benefit of a website is that the material is available to students at any time (196).