Chapter 2

Chapter 2 is called Communications, Networks, the Internet, and the World Wide Web. I will just highlight a few key points in the chapter. The Internet is a worldwide collection of networks that link a variety of institutions to enable people to accomplish a number of tasks. Some of the services available on the Internet include access to information, news, research, and entertainment, conduct business and banking transactions, shop for goods and services, explore virtual worlds, meet and converse with people, listen to music, take courses, send messages, and access other computers and shared files. World Wide Web (WWW) is a worldwide collection of electronic documents that have built-in hyperlinks to other related documents. Search Techniques include how to use subject directories and search engines to find educationally appropriate Web sites. Search tools are those that enable users to locate specific information found at Web sites, including search engines and subject directories.

This past week we did a web scavenger hunt that required us to search on Google for various different topics that would bring us to a variety of sites. I already knew how to use Google but this search required me to find things that were more difficult than what I was used to searching for. In doing this project, I learned how to use different aspects of Google that I didn’t even know existed before. I discovered Google video search, image search, and scholar search and I found these tools to be very useful to me.

I found a really cool site when I did that web scavenger hunt that I could actually use when I am teaching. It was a website that allows you to create your own mathematical equations. That could definitely come in handy when I have to make my own worksheets and homework assignments. I also found a few other websites that actually didn’t relate to teaching, but I found to be quite interesting as well! Four of my favorites were the currency conversion site, the metric system conversion site, a website that shows a live camera of African safari animals, and this other website that allows you to pick newspapers from different countries and read them. I guess I am just really stoked on that scavenger hunt!