English 518 Course Blog » Uncategorized

Anti-Plagiarism Video

chutry — Tue, 15 May 2007 12:41:24 +0000

The semester is over, but if anyone is still checking this blog, I thought I’d mention these fun little anti-plagiarism videos on the Rutgers University library page that I came across on del.icio.us (thanks, Tama). I’m not sure what will be happening with this blog for now. I’ll keep it open if students want to post, and I’ll certainly keep the blog up so that you can refer back to it whenever you wish.

What grade would you give wikipedia?

tmitchell01 — Wed, 09 May 2007 15:47:29 +0000

In Dr. Tryon’s course we were asked to create wiki sites on different topics? But in actuality, none of my classmates, including myself, are qualified professionals on anything…if we were then we would already have degrees and wouldn’t be in this course. In “Can Wikipedia Ever Make the Grade” Read interviewed skeptics of Wikipedia, who questioned the qualifications of the individuals who make post on the Wiki. This is a good point. Because Wiki is an on-line encyclopedia anyone can edit and post whatever they want…now of course it would be changed withing hours…but what if someone looks at it before corrections are made? Wiki is error prone and broad. If creators of Wiki desire for this source to be viewed as credible in the academic community, there should be some restrictions to who can post information. The article brought up an interesting point about Mr. Halavais and how wrong information was posted on him on the Wiki for a couple of hours before it was corrected. Isn’t this too long? Shouldn’t someone be able to catch these corrections instantly? I would think so. If this source is going to be open and accessible to the public…the information needs to be accurate at all times. I don’t think that this is impossible.

I don’t trust the Wiki….for all I know a child could have posted the entry on WWI saying that the US involvement was primarily based on baby formula…who knows! Although I would know that’s ridiculous…a fourth grader would not. This is a serious matter. The Wiki has to have strict guidelines for posting, if not…it will not be used as a credible source.

Techno Idiots Huh..

tmitchell01 — Wed, 09 May 2007 15:36:38 +0000

Do you trust google? Thacker argues in “Are College Students Techno Idiots,” that students do not naturally acquire the ability to use, find, and analyze information. I must agree. As a college student, I have discovered that many of my peers rely on google and yahoo to find information. What happen to the use of scholarly articles or databases? In fact, many undergraduates are not familiar with journals or databases such as MLA or JSTOR…how sad? At FSU we are privileged to have a Research course in the English graduate department. This course teaches students how to narrow Internet searches and how to evaluate web sites.

I must admit, as an undergraduate I did not obtain the proper skills to find information. This is because of the classes I took. Often, my instructors informed us to only use the search results on the first page of google or another search engine, because they thought that anything after the first page would be too broad and inaccurate. Sounds silly right? This is what happens to undergrads. Because freshmen and sophomores are vulnerable, lazy, and in many cases naive, they actually believe this! I’m curious to know if any of the individuals evaluated in this study were graduate students….if so, then I guess undergrads aren’t the only individuals with the problem!

Mulan

sophiesun — Wed, 02 May 2007 00:17:29 +0000

TV Time is the New Playtime

tmitchell01 — Wed, 02 May 2007 00:03:51 +0000

The possibilities of new video technology is unlimited. Ipods allow students to download and edit films and music whenever we like. The “play” suggested by Anderson is very convenient to users. Instead watching corny Crest commercials prior to watching our favorite music video, we can now use advanced technologies such as clip creator, to edit the video however we desire.

I agree that media has come very personalized. People are no longer satisfied with just viewing media, they now want to have input. Advanced technology, such as blogs, Ipods, and MAC allow the user to add their creative talents in a personal or public setting.

Anderson mentioned the term “relatively detachable” in reference to music. I think that this term is also closely related to film. Television is strongly connected to television stations and companies, unlike blogs or MAC; however, like music we can make film our own. We do this through recording videos or burning CDS. Even DVR is a source of relative detachment. Is this good? Should we be allowed to record or copy anything ? I think so…we to a certain extent.