For the first part of class today I came in thinking that I wouldn't learn that much to be perfectly honest. I thought that we would go over the parts of Google search that I already knew, like searching things with quotation around them, using all caps, etc. But it was CRAZY that we could use Google search to search specifically for things from specific domains. Not only to search stuff from the US but to also be able to search things from the Chinese, Vietnamese, Mexican, etc. governments to get all kinds of different perspectives on different things in history. Or even better, current issues!
I did feel a little like maybe Jeff had had some sort of terrible experience in math class as a young child today with all the times that he was throwing "math facts" under the bus. But actually... I was having a difficult time seeing how that would help me as a future math teacher in any way. I'm pretty sure that graphing y = x^2 is a parabola in China just like it is in America.
Google news was pretty bonkers. That is SO much information. Trying to think about the amount of information that is on Google to start is already mind boggling. But to SEE the amount of information in what was once paper form makes it more real to me. Centuries of text about day to day happenings from all over the world? Absolutely incredible. During this time I did notice that Jeff mentioned a pretty cool example of something that could be done in math class with the price of a truck back in 19-whatever vs. now, and seeing if the inflation in the price of the truck was the same as the inflation of the US dollar. NOW THAT IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. The only problem that I have with this example is that it is pretty specific, and finding the price of a truck back then in the newspaper wasn't as easy as it originally sounded. I tried a variety of searches in the newspapers, with different keywords and truck brands... but nothing that was really great.
Then we entered the latter part of the morning, talking about Wikipedia. I am SO relieved to find out that wiki is actually viable (for the most part). It has been my opinion for YEARS that wiki is actually reliable, and not just because it would be the first thing that would show up on all of my google searches as a student. I always told my friends "just because anyone can edit it doesn't mean that they let anything on there," and sure enough I was right!! It was very cool to explore and see :D
Some of my hobbies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dota_2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Bros._Coffee
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decathlon
Lucas, for one I appreciate your sarcastic title. It fits you quite well. One of the things that I am excited for is google news to continue to grow and provide an individual search engine that can offer what you are looking for. We've always seen the innovations in google and today we learned so much more, so you know it can't be that long before you're able to tailor this to your classroom. Until then, you can train your students how to use google and Wiki and truly develop them as future internet users. So glad that you found this stuff relevant despite Jeff's obvious distaste for your subject matter (an opinion I share as well). Personally, I know that all this material will be so relevant as an english teacher. I can't wait to create an easy route to understanding current and past issues and develop student pathways for student passion! Glad we are on the same page on that one!
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