In the "Power Searching with Google" unit over the past two weeks we have learned many new concepts and took in a lot of new information that can only help better our searching skills. One thing in particular that will help benefit me in the future is now being able to use the Google Books feature to verify quotes. In English, when writing essays about books it is almost always required to include quotes. If you are unsure if a quote actually showed up in the book or if you only remember a certain word in the entire phrase of the quote, you can easily go into Google Books, search the book, search the quote/word, and easily find what you need. This will definitely be beneficial in future English classes, as well.
Another thing I learned that will help me benefit in the future is being able to now use the "Image Search" option. Before learning that you could specifically search an image on its own, I had never known you could do that. All you have to do is upload a photo that you want to find out more information on, and press search. Google will help find background info on that photo and anywhere else on the net it appears. This will be helpful in the future when I come across a painting or a picture and I need to find out more about it.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Power Searching with Google
This week in computer applications, we have been focusing on "Power Searching with Google"--an in-depth lesson on how to use Google productively as an efficient web searcher. So far, we have gone over classes 1, 2, & 3.
In class 1, we learned about how to use the color filter to help narrow down your image results, how to recognize ads, why Google searches for synonyms, why word use and placement needs to be appropriate, and how to find text on a webpage. One skill that I learned during this class was how to use the color filter. Now, when I need to search a topic and need to limit my results to only black and white results, or only red results, I will be able to effectively use the color pallet to help me do so. Another skill I learned was how to find a text on a webpage. You use 'ctrl + f' on the desired page and a search bar will pop up and help you search for a specific text on the webpage. I've run in town races and seen result pages with a lot of names and participants, so using the 'ctrl + f' command will help me when searching for myself in races I run in in the future.
In class 2, we learned about how to "define" specific words and hear exactly how that word sounds, that using different media types (for ex: news, images) can help refine a search, what the parts of a search engine result are, and that there are different kinds of content you can find on Google. One skill that I learned during this class was that there are three main parts of a search engine result: the page title (in blue), the web address (in green), and snippet/abstract (in black) that contains the text from the page around the terms you search for. If you need to find the URL of a search result quickly, now all you have to do is look for the green link under the result title. Another skill that I learned was how to use all the different content on Google. On the left hand side of a results page, there is a list of different types of content that you can use to narrow down your search results or help you find more accurate and factual results. These types of content include: blogs, discussions, recipes, patents, books, 3D models, scholarly sources, and legal documents.
In class 3, we learned about operators and how to filter results using colons, how to use the minus sign (-) to eliminate irrelevant results, how to use OR, and how to use quotes to narrow down search results. One skill I learned during this class was how to use the minus (-) sign, which is something I will use in the future when searching for one specific subject. For example, if I wanted to search for the patriots as in the veterans who fought in wars, I would search [patriots -football], because I am not referring to the New England football team. Another skill I learned was how to use quotes in a search--if you are looking for a specific phrase, you put quotes around it so that the words stay together, and you are searching for the phrase/sentence as its entirety.
In class 1, we learned about how to use the color filter to help narrow down your image results, how to recognize ads, why Google searches for synonyms, why word use and placement needs to be appropriate, and how to find text on a webpage. One skill that I learned during this class was how to use the color filter. Now, when I need to search a topic and need to limit my results to only black and white results, or only red results, I will be able to effectively use the color pallet to help me do so. Another skill I learned was how to find a text on a webpage. You use 'ctrl + f' on the desired page and a search bar will pop up and help you search for a specific text on the webpage. I've run in town races and seen result pages with a lot of names and participants, so using the 'ctrl + f' command will help me when searching for myself in races I run in in the future.
In class 2, we learned about how to "define" specific words and hear exactly how that word sounds, that using different media types (for ex: news, images) can help refine a search, what the parts of a search engine result are, and that there are different kinds of content you can find on Google. One skill that I learned during this class was that there are three main parts of a search engine result: the page title (in blue), the web address (in green), and snippet/abstract (in black) that contains the text from the page around the terms you search for. If you need to find the URL of a search result quickly, now all you have to do is look for the green link under the result title. Another skill that I learned was how to use all the different content on Google. On the left hand side of a results page, there is a list of different types of content that you can use to narrow down your search results or help you find more accurate and factual results. These types of content include: blogs, discussions, recipes, patents, books, 3D models, scholarly sources, and legal documents.
In class 3, we learned about operators and how to filter results using colons, how to use the minus sign (-) to eliminate irrelevant results, how to use OR, and how to use quotes to narrow down search results. One skill I learned during this class was how to use the minus (-) sign, which is something I will use in the future when searching for one specific subject. For example, if I wanted to search for the patriots as in the veterans who fought in wars, I would search [patriots -football], because I am not referring to the New England football team. Another skill I learned was how to use quotes in a search--if you are looking for a specific phrase, you put quotes around it so that the words stay together, and you are searching for the phrase/sentence as its entirety.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
The "P" Word
Prom. There, I said it. These days, as a junior/senior, you are either extremely excited about it, or completely dreading it. At the beginning of the school year, everyone is aware that it will be a very stressful spring time, but we all put it off in the back of our brains. "We don't have to worry about that for another eight months!" Everyone says. That is, until midterm week comes to an end, and the next big event is--you guessed it--prom.
Personally, I love the concept of it, but I absolutely hate the time leading up to it. It becomes this obsessive subject in the entire grade, starting drama and causing overwhelming stress. For girls especially, you don't want to hear about it at all, or you spend time bragging about how cutely you got asked and/or what dress you already have picked out. I mean, its natural for a girl to be excited about their date and want to show it off to the entire rest of the grade, but it makes those other girls feel extremely low and worthless. What happens if they don't get asked? Does that make them any lesser than the girls who do get asked? It doesn't, of course, but it makes them feel that way. Should they even bother shopping for a dress if they aren't going to get a date? These are just some of the countless questions girls ask themselves as the days inch closer and closer to April 17th. They want to have fun, but everything prior to that date makes it seem as if it isn't even worth it to go.
I think everybody deserves to have a fun night at prom that they will never forget, and I know everyone else wants that as well. Unfortunately, because of the rapid use of social media showing off "promposals" and expensive dresses, people like me aren't looking forward to it at all.
But who knows, my mind could most certainly change.
Personally, I love the concept of it, but I absolutely hate the time leading up to it. It becomes this obsessive subject in the entire grade, starting drama and causing overwhelming stress. For girls especially, you don't want to hear about it at all, or you spend time bragging about how cutely you got asked and/or what dress you already have picked out. I mean, its natural for a girl to be excited about their date and want to show it off to the entire rest of the grade, but it makes those other girls feel extremely low and worthless. What happens if they don't get asked? Does that make them any lesser than the girls who do get asked? It doesn't, of course, but it makes them feel that way. Should they even bother shopping for a dress if they aren't going to get a date? These are just some of the countless questions girls ask themselves as the days inch closer and closer to April 17th. They want to have fun, but everything prior to that date makes it seem as if it isn't even worth it to go.
I think everybody deserves to have a fun night at prom that they will never forget, and I know everyone else wants that as well. Unfortunately, because of the rapid use of social media showing off "promposals" and expensive dresses, people like me aren't looking forward to it at all.
But who knows, my mind could most certainly change.
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