Shoppa Mania!!! The ULTIMATE Search!

So - here is a piece of web search info we probably could put to immediate and practical use -
                                               Web comparison shopping!

From Google Images credited to
GettyImages/Rubberball

With all the "busyness" of our daily lives, the price of gas soaring and little desire to face masses of more people at the mall - cyber shopping has come of age.

And don't we ALL love to feel that we've obtained a "deal" on the items we were going to buy any way?

So let's line 'em up... In the left corner we have....

Shopzilla          Dealtime         Nextag          Bizrate

All of these give search results that can usually:

• Rated - This shows how consumers feel about the store
• Can be sorted by brand, price or even customer product rating
• Give shipping and tax rates

These shopping bots or aggregators not only allow us to shop in the comfort of our homes but can also give us product information and perhaps unusual sizes that may be hard to find. And instead of driving from store to store we can locate the item on line and either purchase it online shipping it to our home or have the store hold it for us. Many stores offer free delivery for in store pick up.

This is one type of search I think we've all done. 

AND - you can even shop to support your local economy.

And the impact of "apps" on shopping and business is incredible. There are apps that will scan barcodes while you're shopping and give you feed back. There are apps that will let you know where an item is available if you can't wait to order it online. Technology, marketing, and consumer input have come together in remarkable ways!!

Here are just a FEW:
 Pic2Shop           ShopSavvy          GroupOn

RedLaser            Goodzer              Amazon Price Check

Order Please - Searches - From Advanced to Specialized

Web searches - Ready for MORE?!?

Ok - so we have the Boolean operators and Advanced Searches. How about "Specialized Searches?

In researching specialized searches this information said it extremely well. The following is from "Searcher" article by Gary D. Price :

Five Reasons to Consider Specialized Web Search Engines1. Instead of searching the entire Web, you search a smaller portion of Web space limited to a specific subject, domain, format. This should increase precision and lower recall. 


2. Specialized engines can be worthwhile tools to share with less sophisticated searchers or those who do not have the time to learn to use advanced searching options.


3. In some cases, the content updates more frequently than general engines. 


4. Specialized engines often provide access to content not crawled by general search engines. Remember, no search engine is complete. Using specialized tools helps reinforce the need to use more than a single search engine. 


5. Specialized engines drill down to material not directly accessible via a general search engine, material commonly referred to as the Invisible Web. 






A researcher knows where to look, just like a librarian knows where to look for specific topics in various areas of a library. So using general search engines, even with advanced techniques, may not be giving us the most pertinent information.


So what sort of Specialities can we hope to find? Well if you are looking for people and businesses, there  are White and Yellow Pages on the Web. Here's one that has ancestry info to Cyber Cafes:
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/specialized.html http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/specialized.html

What's your favorite News or current events media? All the major search engines offer their own display of information.

And now you can even look at video searching - YouTube, Clipblast, and Y!Video - and searching through social media are specialized searches.

There are even Specialized Collections such as:
LexisNexis             FindLaw             IngentaConnect

Here are just a FEW lists to whet your searching souls:

http://www.baylor.edu/lib/electrres/index.php?id=31361

http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/specialized.html

Advanced Searching - Where No One has Searched Before...

Just when I thought I knew ALL about Internet searches - Ha!!... 

   Along comes - Ta Da!!  Advanced Searches

But - there is hope! In fact much hope! I don't know about you but I am still a bit overwhelmed by the enormous galaxy of information just waiting to fill our computers, phones, iPads, and just about ANY other electronic device we can think of.

So there re some fun words like Boolean operators and short cuts that can actually help with this influx of information.

Using the words AND, OR, and NOT can tell a search engine to be more specific when you're asking for information. You can also use quotation marks around a two (or more) word phrase. This way if you are searching for "Italian food" you won't get every hit pertaining to just about any food and you won't get geographic information on the country either.

Here's a nice explanation from YouTube from  GaStateULibrary of how they work:

From this link: www.stinalindenblatt.com

And every search engine offers Advance Searching. The link may be "hiding" - Yahoo's advance search seems to show up after an initial search with an "options" bottom to the right of the results. Google's id in the little "gear" icon. But where ever it shows up - oooo the fun specifics you can add!

You can... Ask for specific languages, specific locations, specific domain extensions - you can even request certain reading levels!!
And if you'd like it in a particular format - that's there too.

So - in order to narrow the tumult of information - and make it MORE pertinent and usable - dive right in and go where few may know to follow in your Cyber journey - *** Advanced Searches ***

Here's more info for your flight:

http://knowledgecenter.unr.edu/help/using/booltips.aspx

(The following were obtained via Advanced Searching):

http://www.websearchguide.ca/research/searcomp2.htm

http://extremesearcher.com/sechart.pdf

Searching - Soooo Much INFORMATION!...

Well after much trying, I am only able to post the link to my GoAnimate Video. Just couldn't seem to get the audio to work with a Jing capture. Another time... But here is the link any way - 

                Cathy's Web Search GoAnimate Video

So on to this week’s subject... SEARCHES!!!!

One of the most important things to consider is the validity or credibility of information you find floating through Cyber Space.

Here are a few points to consider in evaluating source:

·   Authority – Who’s writing this info? And who owns the site?

·   Objectivity – Do they present many view points or is there a clear bias?

·   Scope and Quality – Does it cover the topic well? Is the spelling accurate? Is the information up to date? How does it compare to other sites? Who does this site target?

·   Design and Functionality – Are links operative? Even though it has a professional appearance how does it stack up to other sites?

Here are some further parameters from the text book web site:

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html

http://www.lesley.edu/library/guides/research/evaluating_web.html

Web directories were also something I had never really considered. When Internet use first exploded, there weren’t the scope and bread of searches available that are presently. Today, most popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and Bing, incorporate directories in their searches.

But there are actually still human-edited directories. The major one – The Open Directory (http://www.dmoz.org/) is the “go to” place for the major search engines (and rightfully proud of it). It seems that there is STILL a need for much non-automated input on the Web.

Here is a list of some of the popular search engines:

Netscape Search                  AOL Search               Google                                  

Lycos                                      HotBot                        DirectHit

And just in case one search engine isn’t enough, a metasearch engine queries multiple search engines. Here are some:

Metacrawler               Dogpile                      KartOO

Mamma                      Ixquick

So go - go and search to your hearts content 

Tweet Tweet Tweet - not just in Spring!

Twitter Twitter - Tweet Tweet....
We're not talking nature here - we're talking - you guessed it -
     MORE TECHNOLOGY!!

So how can short, little messages connect you with the world and business?
That's what I'm out to discover.

                   (I’m getting the feeling that it’s a jungle out there…)

I have set up an account -  twitter@OsbornWeb2   Give me a tweet J
I have started a Tweet list pertaining to my career objective - Instructional Design.
I started following some people and I have sent some Tweets already.

But I'd like to learn a little more before diving in... Is there Tweeting Etiquette? How often should I Tweet? Are there subjects I should stay away from? What is the best way to invite responses? What is the best way to approach people?

I must admit that with blogging, Facebook, Symbaloo and now Twitter,
                            I am feeling OVERWHELMED
There is simply SO much information – I could spend HOURS pouring over websites and tweeting …

So I would welcome suggestions – PLEASE!

What have you done? What are 3 things that you found MOST helpful for blogging and tweeting? Who are some of the people you have connected with? What have you found helpful in setting up and utilizing a Personal Learning Network?
And how do you sift through  of information? How do you prioritize what you search/look for and when and for how long?

Hoping for some help so as not to get Lost in Cyber Space………

PLN - A New Age of Learning

Have you ever heard of a PLN - Personal Learning Network? Neither had I until this course...

We have all been students at various times in our life. I would even venture to say we are ALWAYS students! We are learning every day...

I come from a background in education. My dad was a professor at LeMoyne College until he retired a few years ago at the age of 80. I have been home schooling my 4 kids for over 12 years. (I'm down to one presently...) And now - I'm in college again!

From Airpack.com

Learning - specifically the BEST ways to learn - has always been near and dear to my heart. As I taught my children, I hoped to spark their imaginations and facilitate their acquisition of knowledge with various teaching methods. Would they learn best by reading, listening to information set to music, or would hands on activities best transfer the information? Instructional Design focuses on these concepts and I am excited to delve into its treasure trove. 

Today's technology is its own wealth of information - perhaps even a bit overwhelming at times. So a Personal Learning Network is a fascinating concept to me. My simple take on it is that it is a way to organize and gather information as well as to connect and collaborate with others in the process. 

As I need to learn more about the field of Instructional Design, I will be surfing/searching the web on this topic. When I find a site that is helpful I will create a tile for it in Symbaloo. I'm hoping to find some communities to share and learn from. It would be awesome to actually invite some people to ESC to share on the topic as well. I think I will try to utilize my Pinterest account to invite more collaboration too.

This is a wonderful description of a PLN from http://suewaters.wikispaces.com/ :

Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) are all about using web tools such as blogs, wiki, twitter, facebook to create connects with others which extend our learning, increases our reflection while enabling us to learn together as part of a global community. PLNs increase our opportunities to ask questions and receive help compared to our normal daily face-to-face interactions.

Sue also sets out the a suggested plan for developing a PLN - I think I shall follow her lead...

So, I have already begun a Tweetdeck. I have also made a Symbaloo account - a Social Bookmarking tool. That one really makes my head spin! I've had a Facebook Account for a few years...And obviously I'm already blogging... Now I  have to pick 5 blogs to follow.

As I make progress - you will be sure to know! What have YOU been up to?

Some Awesome Links:

http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2008/04/5-things-you-can-do-to-begin-developing.html

http://sites.google.com/site/buildingapln/

 http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/ 

RSS Aggregators
            Bloglines: http://bloglines.com/
            Google Reader: http://reader.google.com/
            Pageflakes: http://pageflakes.com/
            Netvibes: http://netvibes.com/

Webs R Us

Wow! Surfing the web, as I have shared earlier, is so much a part of our lives, we rarely think about where this stuff comes from....


Web pages, web slices, RSS Feeds - WHAT!?! Portals and browsers and URL’s – OH MY! 


Basically, with the sophistication of the web, have come a slew of updates, improvements and “tools”. So.... 

ISPs (Internet Service Providers) read our IP (Internet Protocol) address via our browser and connect us to other IPs via Web portals. Web portals like Yahoo! or MSN look rather like consolidated newspapers – a LOT of information on one page. They are “link rich” in that almost every section offers links to more web pages and other web sites.


To facilitate our browsing, the numerical IP addresses have been “named” – a domain name is it’s “pen name” It’s much easier to remember yahoo.com than say - 56.78.153.81. And each web page has a URL (Uniform Resource Locators). Each link connects us to a URL. And these are stored on Web Servers. Most web sites pay a company or someone to manage their information – update, correct or improve the information or look of the site.

From Microsoft Office

Once ALL that has been achieved – usually within seconds and the click of a button - you can start searching or “surfing” the web….  


THEN – you can customize and save, print and e-mail, open a new tab or even go Home!
You can even buy groceries!


And I have a feeling that what we can do today will be dwarfed by the what will be capable of in the future – Jetson’s here we come!