Children and the ditigal age

[Boozy]

I would like to see a class have an assignment where the students are not allowed to use any digital sources for an entire paper.

Why?

I graduated from university ten years ago, but even then they were transferring their microfiche collection onto computers. And all journal articles were found by electronic searches, even if I ended up delving into the stacks to grab the one I wanted.

What is the difference between reading something in electronic format and printed?

[daleduke17]

Why?

I graduated from university ten years ago, but even then they were transferring their microfiche collection onto computers. And all journal articles were found by electronic searches, even if I ended up delving into the stacks to grab the one I wanted.

What is the difference between reading something in electronic format and printed?

To show the kids of today that stuff can be done without the internet. Teach them how to do research the "hard" way.

[Boozy]

Yeah, I just don't get the point of that.

I could teach my children to do laundry with a washboard down by the river just because it's harder, but that doesn't teach them any life skills relevant to the 21st century.

Besides, the "hard" part of research is not physically flipping through a book or walking through a library. It's delving through the thousands of resources to find trustworthy and pertinent information. That has become far more difficult due to the internet, not easier.

[AdminAssistant]

Students do need to learn how to use all sources available. Right now, there's a lot of stuff on the web, but there's also a lot more stuff that hasn't been digitized yet. Students, especially in college, need to know how to look up books in a catalog and find useful information. They need to know how microfilm and microfiche work, in case they need to do newspaper research. (Some papers have digitized their archives, but not all, and even then, what if your university doesn't have access to that database?) I don't think requiring a certain number of print sources is a bad thing, since it forces students to learn those skills. (A journal article pulled from an online database qualifies as a print source.) If there's one thing I've learned about the average college freshman, it's that if they aren't forced to do it, they won't. Not only have I had students quote Wikipedia (and cite it), I've had students quote SparkNotes. *sigh*

[ArenaBoy]

What are your thoughts on the path that these children are on now in education and the way computers and books play in path?

I'm kind of biased because I grew up around computers before they became widespread.

Using technology to research is a great benefit more so if you're in the education field. It's easier to have access to books, articles, and studies in its electronic form.

Encyclopedias never did much for me research wise, they're good for basic information but for heavy research I used the web. They're bulky as well and I could never find the info I wanted.

To show the kids of today that stuff can be done without the internet. Teach them how to do research the "hard" way.

Should we also do everything by candle light and walk 15 miles in the snow because we'll understand travel and doing things at night the "hard" way?

[protege]

Should we also do everything by candle light and walk 15 miles in the snow because we'll understand travel and doing things at night the "hard" way?

But, it is always amusing to see people who are *so* dependent on technology that they're totally over their heads when they don't have access to it.

Seriously though, not all information is even on the web. Many newspapers and magazines have only archived their more recent material. You're not going to find any obituaries from the 1980s or other data unless you've actually got the hard copies in front of you.

How do I know this? Well, over the past few years, I've been trying to piece my family tree together. Up until now, most of the info I have...came from a typewritten copy that someone had done about 35 years ago. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing. Since then though, I've been searching on the 'net. Doing that, is more difficult than you'd think.

Why? Even though there's only one root, and anyone with the same last name (at least in the US) is probably distantly related to me...research on the Norwegian side is a pain in the ass. My last name (roughly translated it means "eastern house"), is apparently equal to "Smith" over there. Too many, and eliminating the info I don't need is troublesome. Too many Norwegians have similar names! Also not helping, was that there were two brothers named Lars Osland. Apparently, it was a common custom in the 1850s Anyhoo, one kept the Osland name, the other changed it slightly.

[Hobbs]

I would like to see a class have an assignment where the students are not allowed to use any digital sources for an entire paper. They only time the students could use a computer is to type it up.

The bad part, some whackjob parent would call the ACLU and sue the school for abuse.

Most library's card catalogs are electronically based. According to your "rule" the children wouldn't even be able to use that in their research. Also, an electronic source is just as good as a hard copy. It just has to be cited correctly.

[Cassandra]

A few of you share my feelings on this: teach the children how to research both ways. I have to echo what some of you guys said about power outages. What if you have a child who is like me, waits until the last few days to do the research and write the paper. Say you have an outage in your neighborhood. Now the only place that you can go is a family members or the library. Sometimes thngs come up that keep you away from the internet.

I use the net for quite a bit of quick researching, but I was taught how to research with books and prefer that method. I am a huge book freak and want to get my masters in library studies, but it seems that I am not going to have a job in that field too long.

In NJ they have cut the funding for the public libraries to the point that several have to close their doors, including the library for the blind. There is no money set aside for EBSCO Host, the online journal and peridocial database. So in NJ if you need to research you have the job of trudging through the thousands of maybe reliable websites, or you have to go to the library and look through the books. As of right now as long as you have a library card, you can access EBSCO Host from home on the computer. But, we will be losing this soon.

[AdminAssistant]

In NJ they have cut the funding for the public libraries to the point that several have to close their doors, including the library for the blind. There is no money set aside for EBSCO Host, the online journal and peridocial database. So in NJ if you need to research you have the job of trudging through the thousands of maybe reliable websites, or you have to go to the library and look through the books. As of right now as long as you have a library card, you can access EBSCO Host from home on the computer. But, we will be losing this soon.

*GASP* bubububuh....They're cutting funding for EBSCO?? All of it?? OMG, I would personally protest if my university pulled that. They have been eliminating a bunch of the smaller arts and humanities journals (heaven forbid the chemists can't do their research. hmph.) But I don't think they would shut down an entire database. Although, as broke and backwards as the Kansas state government can be...I wouldn't be all that surprised. "Y'all at KU don't need any library funding, but here's a million dollars for a sports complex in Hays!!"

[jackfaire]

Another good reason to rely on the web for a report is say for example your report is about someone you admire and you pick a celebrity who is alive today and there are as yet no books written about the person and precious few interviews. Then your information is going to have to come mostly from internet sources that tend to have more about people in these fields.

[smileyeagle1021]

You're not going to find any obituaries from the 1980s or other data unless you've actually got the hard copies in front of you.

Off topic, but you should try the LDS online family research center, they have a lot of stuff that other sources don't have (as far as online goes)... you'd be surprised how many birth and death records they've compiled that other sources say are paper only.

Back on topic, There is nothing wrong with online research, hell, I've had teachers now saying that they would rather we do everything online because we can get just as valid of sources and it is much easier for anyone who is reading your paper to check your sources.

[HYHYBT]

If information was made invaild for some reason, or needed to be updated, then the website can do that in a matter of minutes.

Yes, but that's also a disadvantage: the information you cite might not be there later if and when someone checks.

I *like* the outdated encyclopedia. If I want current information, I can go online and, for instance, read about Atlantis's last flight and the history of the shuttle program... but with the Year Books, I can compare that to an article on the program current as of Enterprise's test flights on the back of a 747, or shortly after Columbia's first flight, or while the program was shut down after Challenger's little incident... and the encyclopedia is history itself, in a way; articles on everything have changed so much in the last 50 years. You wouldn't want to use it as a reference for most purposes, but in certain moods, I find it fascinating. And archive.org doesn't go back that far

I don't think requiring a certain number of print sources is a bad thing, since it forces students to learn those skills. (A journal article pulled from an online database qualifies as a print source.)

That's an important qualification, because depending on the subject, there might not be anything readily available in physical media. The only thing I've had to do any research at all for in well over ten years was just finished yesterday; the instructor said we were not allowed to use any source older than 2002, then stuck us in the library where the newest books were dated 1997 and the magazines, though newer, didn't contain anything relevant. If he'd disallowed online sources we'd have been sunk.

You should try the LDS online family research center, they have a lot of stuff that other sources don't have (as far as online goes)... you'd be surprised how many birth and death records they've compiled that other sources say are paper only.

See, the Mormons ARE good for something!*

I've had teachers now saying that they would rather we do everything online because we can get just as valid of sources and it is much easier for anyone who is reading your paper to check your sources.

In other words, it's a good idea to have at least one hard-to-find print source so that, if need be, you have something to cite for what you've made up

*intending no offense to any who may be reading this, but then, if you are, you probably know the context anyway.

[Red Panda]

I'm pretty sure most people who do papers at least at the college level still use books as well as the internet. Not using the internet is a terrible idea however. If you choose a subject that the library has five books on you are limited to those five books for info as opposed to the thousands of books and documents on the internet.

[tropicsgoddess]

I think it's great! As long as they are taught properly how to do it. You can find great research papers and journal articles online pretty quick.

My only problem is people who take wiki for its word.

I agree. I'm 26 and back in high school when we had to do our senior thesis and term papers I did a combination of both going online and hitting the books to get the research done for my paper. I'm a bit of old school and new school so when I have kids I will teach them how to do both when the time comes.

[McDreidel09]

If I had an assignment in high school that only allowed book sources, I would have been screwed. I would work past the library close time and the only way to get information was via internet. My library contains maybe ten shelves of books, only two of which are non-fiction because it is so small. The internet was my savior for information. My teacher did show us how to use book sources.

Now when I write papers for college, I use books for sources because I have way more access to the library on campus because of their long hours and it is much bigger, so I have more information.

I love books as much as the next person (if not more), but what makes them more credible to use than the internet, if research on the internet is done properly? People can write books on anything they want, basically. There doesn't have to be truth to books people write.