JUDGING ONLINE SOURCES

Hello everyone!
This time we are not learning to use some new e-tools for searching or organizing our information on the web but we are discussing how to evaluate the sources of this information.
Firs of all, I believe that there is a great difference between evaluating sources of information online or not. When I wrote my thesis at the end of the triennale , I had difficulties about the reliability of the internet sources but it was not so problematic with the books, magazine's articles, papers and other materials I found in the library or wherever. This kind of sources are more reliable because you have the whole bobliography at your disposal
and you can check the origins of the information, for example looking at the authors or the publishing houses. Otherwise, however to find information in that way is difficult and you could waste lot of time.
Instead the web can offer a easier and faster way, through search engines, to find a lot of information wasting not so much time. The problem is how to judge the reliability of these information's sources.

I found good suggestions in the universities' sites Sarah suggested us to visit and in the end I think that, in order to make a good research trhough the web, people should:

• to use a good search engine as google for example.
• to know more exactly as possible what they are looking for in order to put the right tags on the search engine.
• to ask themselves some questions about the possible author of the site or at least to look for some contact persons and addresses (better if there is a sort of bibliography).
• to check potential links that gives you an idea of the origin of the information.
• to use websites as del.ici.ous that can help you in your searching.
• to give a look at the URL of the site.

It's quite normal to have some difficulties in finding any kind of information, most of all when we are surfing the web, and probably my peers will agree with me when I say that we should be more critical in our avaluations. This is especially important for us because we are about to draft our thesis specialistica and we will face all these problems.

So...this e-tivity has been as useful as all the others since we didn't learn to use new tools because it gave us the opportunity of reflecting about something probably underrated but really important for our future researches.

see you,

Imma

YOU TUBE

Well...First of all, I would like to post my first video on my blog......

Well done! It's easy!I have posted a video that can partly tell something about me and my passion for salsa dancing..This week our e-tivity was to explore you-tube and I have to admit that this was a completely new world for me! Probably I was the only girl in the world who has never watched you-tube's videos...So I went to wikipedia's site to know something more...If you're curious here it is the link:

you tube

As regards our English language learning I'm firmly sure that you tube will be really useful for us, there are lot of english videos that are waiting to be watched, and I'm sure that it will be interesting and funny learning english using this kind of technology...According to me, it will be a gorgeous and new experience and I'm looking forward to watch other videos. I liked a lot the ones Sarah posted on our group on you tube and I hope she will find for us other interesting videos...Meanwhile I will look for something on my own...

That's all.....For Now!!!

Imma

Podcasts...Let's listen to them!

Hello world!
Let's start my new experience about podcasting quoting a sentence that I found surfing through different podcast websites...So it is "PODCASTING PUTS THE POWER TO COMMUNICATE INTO THE HANDS OF THE INDIVIDUALS". I think it is really powerful and it exactly conveys what podcasts are or at least what they try to be!
I found lot of wonderful podcast websites during my little research and I it was hard choosing just three of them. So in the end I chose for these: (I also leave here the description that I put on del.icio.us)

• PODCASTING IN EDUCATION: really useful for people who are new to this kind of technology. Here you can find an interesting introduction about what podcasting means (of course also through a podcast!) and eventually you can listen to the other podcasts that concern different articles from the Media. http://chatt.hdsb.ca/~magps/boylit/Podcasting%20in%20Education
• ENGLISH FEED, EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS: This is a very funny and helpful podcast website that can help you in a funny way to improve your english skills! There are some videos to see and during them some tips appear to help you to better understand them. http://englishfeed.com/
• LISTEN TO ENGLISH, LEARN ENGLISH: Here every week you can download or just listen to some new podcasts related to grammar and vocabulary. They are really clear and easy to understand. Moreover, in the same website you can also find the whole text in order to better follow the listening. http://www.listen-to-english.com/
• OPEN CULTURE:That's a cultural podcast website...If you are interested in classic music, science, poetry or literature you will find it really all-worthy. http://www.oculture.com/
  

So...what I mostly love about podcasting is that it can be very funny listening to audio files or watching videos... I think that searching for podcasts was quite easy to me...I mean...It was something different from the other e-tivitys and I'm sure that most of you will agree with me because video and audio files catch everybody's attention more than a text. Besides, people can really look for every sort of topics and alway find some interesting podcasts...It's so gorgeous! Well...I enjoyed each podcast I listened to...My favourite is the second of my list...When I first went to visit that website I immediately listen to the podcast about the comedy show Python’s Flying Circus because its title was "Laugh and learn" and even if it was a little hard to understand everythink I had a great time...

I'm sure this e-tivity will be succesful and well appreciated...So it has been for me :)

Hugs

Imma

Social Bookmarking

Hello!
Do you like the image I found? It's surely proper, isn't it? :)
It's so amazing how many new thinks I have learned during these last weeks!!
I think del.icio.us is really easy and fast to use and I found lot of useful websites typing key words in the tag box.
I chose to put as my favourites some websites about writing in english and I have to admit that there are thousand websites about it! I especially enjoyed a website about the common non-errors in english but I also find really useful another one about english punctuation...
As for my peers' choices, they did a wonderful job and it was so difficult decide for one each to visit...so in the end I went to visit almost all of them and probably my favourite is a website suggested by selena...It is the Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab and as she said it can help you improve your listening skills... In this website you can find different conversations for every level of language: there are easy, medium and difficult conversations. Moreover, you can find some tips about language and interesting vocabulary lessons. I'm sure I will use it a lot in the future... I hope so! :)
Probably e-tivity 5 is the e-tivity I enjoyed the most... I really liked posting my bookmarks, making my personal network and searching for websites and blogs!
So now I'm ready for next e-tivity!!!
Hugs
Imma

My experience with feeds!

Hello everybody!

Well...in the end I was able to do the e-tivity 4!!!! Unlikely I had lot of prolems with my broadband connection and I couldn't use internet for many days. Moreover, I was sick two weeks ago and I missed the lesson about Bloglines...What a mess at the beginning! I couldn't see the video Sarah suggested us and I just fumble!! But after several attempts I got it! I could register for the Bloglines and subscrive to the Feeds...

So...What a great way to organize all the blogs and websites you are interested in!! It is really useful and people can waste lot of time using it.

I'm a beginner to this kind of technology but I'm also so longing for learning other interesting things...Every week there will be something new to me and my peers and that's so fantastic!

So...let's continue our trip in the Net

Hugs

Imma

HALLOWEEN...TRADITION OR NOT?

Nowaday halloween has become a very famous holiday also in Italy but Is it really part of our tradition or will it be part of our tradition one day?
I was really surprised when I read what Sara said about halloween, that it was born as an Irish holiday, so I looked for information on the web and I found that:
the Celts celebrated Halloween as Samhain, 'All Hallowtide' - the 'Feast of the Dead', when the dead revisited the mortal world. The celebration marked the end of Summer and the start of the Winter months.
During the eighth century the Catholic Church designated the first day of November as 'All Saints Day ('All Hallows') - a day of commemoration for those Saints that did not have a specific day of remembrance. The night before was known as 'All Hallows Eve' which, over time, became known as Halloween.
So the tradition of this holiday is something really far from us and probably lot of italians don't know anything about its origin. Anyway, on the other side, Halloween it's a very charming holiday and lot of kids wait for it every year. In my opinion, we should take in some of the traditions and beliefs and cultures of different countries to better understand them and to give people the opportunity to do different experiences among them.
We are all part of the same world and share traditions and behaviors would join everyone more deeply.

Blogging? What does it mean??

Hello to everybody!
I have a confession...I create this blog last year when I started attending Sara's classes...Unlikely because of my job I had to leave the course...but now I'm here again and I'll try to move haeven and earth to attend classes and share experiences with all of you...

So.....How huge is the blog's world!?!?! Well, I have to admit that, exactly as last year, looking for information in the blogsphere has been really exciting but I was about to get lost in it!!!! Before Sara's explanations I had no idea about what I could discover visiting different blogs and honestly I really had no idea about what a "blog" was!! I just had some confused information about it and only because some friends of mine told me to visit their blogs....but now I can definitely announce that I'm an inhabitant of the blog's world!! It is so amazing, isn't it?

What I really like about all this is the way people write in blogs! Most of them communicate in colloquial english and I think this is a perfect way to improve our skills in language because that's the real way natives talk every day.

I'm very happy to have a personal blog where I can tell other people about all my experiences and share with them thoughts, photos, opinions and different points of view! I can put on my blog everything I wish and I can develope my imagination.... Maybe blog and blogging are new to me and of course I don't know everything about this new world but I'm ready to learn all I need to be a perfect "blogger" and most of all I'm sure that this experience will be usefull to improve my english skills.

So....Let's go on!!!!

:)