I think we, as future teachers, should make an effort to not be oblivious to “rules” regarding Internet research, and that’s why I will state what I would like my future students to learn:

Advantages/ Disadvantages

I would make my students aware that Internet research compared to conventional research has not only advantages, but also bears some risks

 

 

Advantages	Disadvantages
Quick, easy and inexpensive collection of information from all over the world	information can be outdated, irrelevant or unreliable
no dependence on time and space	Many results/ much information => need for evaluation
precise search possible	risk of plagiarism

Research Tools

I would like to introduce different research tools to my students:

o    Search engines

o    Meta search engines

o    Catalogues

o    Link lists

o    Wiki-websites

o    Online dictionaries

o    Web-corpora

Personally, I would guess that search engines are the most important research tool for students, but it is necessary to make them aware of the fact that there are more ways to search for documents than to “google” them. Moreover, the introduction and critical analysis of online dictionaries and online translators might help students in foreign language learning. Nevertheless, we mustn’t forget that many students are already quite familiar with a couple of research tools, which is why, in my opinion, the focus should be laid on helping students how to use the Internet more effectively and responsibly. This leads on to the next topic, the acquisition of certain skills.

Skills

Just as important as knowing where to retrieve information in the Internet is to know how to go about doing research. For an effective use of search engines I would teach my students how to use the “Boolean Logic”. As explained in the VCT-unit, words or phrases can be linked through “AND”, “OR” or “NOT” to specify a search.

o    House AND barn => Only documents with both words in it are listed.

o    House OR barn => All entries with at least one of the words are shown.

o    House NOT barn => Only documents containing the word “house”, but not “barn” are displayed

Evaluation

“If the Net is the most useful research tool ever available [...] it is also the most misleading, dangerous and seductive. Every piece of information has to be weighed for possible flaws” (Roger Ebert, 1996)

I totally agree with Ebert that information obtained from the Internet has to be checked. Therefore, when making students aware of the risks of the Internet, it is our responsibility as teachers to also show them how to avoid pitfalls. Students can learn ways to find out how reliable and relevant.

 

o    …who the author is,

o    Is he/she an expert/ layman in the field he/she is writing about?

o    Can he/she be contacted?

o    …what the URL is,

o    What is the domain: educational (*.edu), nonprofit (*.org), commercial (*.com) or government (*.gov)?

o    …whether sources are quoted,

o    …whether the information is up-to-date,

o    …whether the information is suitable, to name only a few.

As students become more competent in using the Internet, they need to be informed about plagiarism. They must learn, how to avoid it and what the consequences are if they hand in work that is not their own.

Before working through the VCT-Unit “Internet Research”, I would have claimed that I feel quite confident carrying out research in the Internet. But if asked what important aspects I would teach students concerning this, I could have mentioned only some of the unit’s propositions. There were facts I did not know, yet, but also, and more importantly, skills described I already have – more or less – but of whose importance I had not been fully aware. It’s probably similar like learning a language: The better you get, the less aware you are of the grammar rules and thus are less able to explain to your students how the language works. That’s why I found it very helpful to read about Internet research in the VCT-unit.