Information Literacy UNL 205x

I have finished reviewing your citations and annotations, if you submitted them to me on a separate sheet (a couple came in on the back of the blue sheet, I've not looked at those yet). I strongly encourage you to pick up yours from the envelope at the reference desk--they will be there as of 9:00 this morning. I had lots and lots of comments on almost everyone's, and you will want to incorporate my suggestions into the citations and annotations you will be submitting next Wed.

Please make sure that you use the APA formatting for the citations for your articles. These articles should be ones that you find using a database, and not items that you discover through news sites on the Web. You will want to consult the online APA Style Guide to Electronic References for any articles you find online. The little blue APA guide I passed out in class only includes the correct style for articles that you find in the print version.

If you have any questions about your assignments, including finding your sources, please let me know.

Posted by Trudi Jacobson at 08:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Should the US military control what soldiers are posting on the Web? According to an article by James Dao in the New York Times (Sept 9), there is some debate about this. On the one hand, "at the highest echelons of the Pentagon, civilian officials and four-star generals are newly hailing the power of social networking to make members of the American military more empathetic, entice recruits and shape public opinion on the war." On the other hand, because some of the troops who blog, use Twitter, etc. do not agree with the Pentagon's stand, there are some efforts to police what is being written.

If you would like to respond to this item, read the full article, and then post your opinion. Is it possible for the military to stop this flow of information? Should they try? What might the consequences be of the stand that you favor?

Posted by Trudi Jacobson at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Google is developing a news site that "it hopes will make it easier for readers to read newspaper and magazine articles." It allows readers to quickly flip through news articles from quite a few publishers. Read Miguel Helft's article about Fast Flip, take a look at the site, and then post your experiences after you have tried it out. Do you think it is useful? Would you tend to use it? How did your impressions match what the article in the New York Times said about it?

Posted by Trudi Jacobson at 09:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As a follow-up to the investigations you have been doing into the most effective methods for using Minerva, here is the first of the poll questions. There will be at least two more polls posted during the course, so you can select the one that you would like to respond to (responding to more than one poll is welcome, though not required).

If you were helping someone who was new to using Minerva, what 2 things would you emphasize to the person as being of critical importance? And why? Write your response as if you were actually telling the person these pieces of advice.

Posted by Trudi Jacobson at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

One of the components of UUNL 205x is posting a response to at least one Information Literacy in the News item and one poll. Here is the first of several IL in the News items for you to select from. Should you wish to respond to more than one news item and poll, that is super! The first poll will appear soon.

This article appeared in September in the New York Times. China has been in the news a good deal recently in connection to their policies surrounding the Internet, which differ greatly from what you find here in the US. Please read the article and respond to this post with your thoughts about requiring an individual's real name. Is this appropriate, so that people are willing to take ownership of their comments, or will it actually hamper free speech? Think about some of the comments you might find posted on news sites you read. Are people thoughtful and civil in their comments? Would using their real names affect this? If you select this item to respond to, and if you aren't the first to comment, read through your fellow students' comments and respond as appropriate to one or more of them if it relates to your argument.

Posted by Trudi Jacobson at 01:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Please use the comment feature to draft your first version of a thesis statement.

Posted by Trudi Jacobson at 08:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)

You can post your topic and questions by commenting on this post. Remember, this assignment is due by noon on Tuesday, October 27. This will give me time to respond to you before class on the 28th.

Posted by Trudi Jacobson at 08:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)

Welcome to section #3562 of UNL 205x: Information Literacy. Over the course of six class meetings, we'll be exploring a number of topics connected with finding, evaluating, and using information in a variety of formats. This is not just a class on "how to use the library," but something much broader that encourages you to think about the information that surrounds you, day in and day out. Not just information you would use for academic purposes, for research papers and projects, but the information you use to make informed decisions in your daily life.

I will use this blog to let you know important information about the class. When materials are graded and ready to pick up, or if you want to find out what mistakes might be showing up in assignments so you can fix them, this is the place to look! I also will incorporate it into our class discussions as a place for all of us to discuss news items that concern information, particularly information ethics: privacy issues, plagiarism, access to information, etc. And there will be a variety of polls for you to respond to about how you find information. Take a look at the blog at least a couple of times a week.

Posted by Trudi Jacobson at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)