Welcome to Study Hall! The Internet can be a great resource as long as you know how to use it. Here you will find tips for effective web research to help you get the most out of the Internet.
Maya
Cyber Defender & Databank Supervisor
Because of her unquenchable thirst for knowledge, Maya started out as a librarian. While she loved her job, she wanted to do more to help protect people.
Since Cyber Villains such as Ms. Information and Elvirus can corrupt websites and the information on them, Maya teaches people to protect themselves by using caution when visiting websites and avoiding sites that are not trustworthy.
Give me a fish and I eat for a day. Teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime
- Chinese Proverb
Anything chocolate
Interests:Browsing bookstores, baking
September 28 2007
Research Challenge: Ghost Stories
Don't you love ghost stories? I do! I have a contest every year with my students to use the library and the Internet to find the best true ghost story. I am continually amazed by what they find out.
Why don't you try it yourself? See if you can't find something out there that gives you the chills!
posted by Maya
topic: Using the Web, Research Challenge
September 18 2007
The Hunt Continues
Everyone has been dropping by to ask for my help on the scavenger hunt. While I know the answers and how to find them, I want the cadets to learn how to ask the right questions. It's all about looking at the problem from the right angle.
If you want to know information about something, ask yourself first what you do know about it and how you can use that to learn more. That's what Alexi did when she was conducting her research.
posted by Maya
topic: Using the Web
September 14 2007
Internet Searches
Internet searches are about finding the right words. If you just search on "butterflies" you will find a mountain of information and no way of distinguishing what is important to your research.
Instead, combine your keywords to focus your research and use what you learn on one site to target your next search. For example, you could try searching for "butterflies" + "wings" to find out about how butterflies' wings work.
As you learn more information about a subject, you'll be able to uncover the knowledge you are looking for more effectively.
posted by Maya
topic: Research Tips
September 7 2007
DigiBoard Death
I must say I was rather disappointed that Alan and Carlo managed to crash and burn the DigiBoard system over the summer. When it was working, I found it to be an effective teaching tool for conducting proper searches for information. It had information that all the students wanted to know anyway. I do hope they manage to fix the problem soon.