A Google A Day Keeps the Tree Octopus Away

In class today, we used the website agoogleaday.com  to help us improve our search skills on the Internet. A detailed question was given, and we had to use google to find the answer. In order to get the correct answer, we had to use certain skills to make sure that our answer was accurate, authentic, and reliable. The website gave tips on how to search in order to find certain information. For example, to find an exact set of words, you must put quotes around them when searching.

I enjoyed this activity and I believe that I will be able to find better information easier in the future because of it. When searching, it was sometimes difficult because the correct answer couldn't be found. Although it was frustrating to not find the answer at first, revising the search using certain skills helped find the answer, and I will now have the knowledge to search in this way in the future. I learned that putting in certain symbols will change the results of your search, and can help you to find what your are looking for more efficiently.

When searching for something online, the three things that you must look for are authenticity, accuracy, and reliability. Authenticity is when something is real, but most importantly genuine. This means that the website is doing what they say they are. It has no hidden agenda, and the goal of the website is clear. Accuracy is when something is correct. This means that the information on the website is true, precise, and valid. Reliability is when the website can be trusted as giving true information. This can be proven by the credibility of the author, or the sources used to create the website.

The website for the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus is a good example of a website that does not meet all three requirements, and therefore is not a good source. Although at a glance the website seems to have good information, and includes pictures, links, and sophisticated information about the Tree Octopus, it is not reliable or accurate. The website is authentic, the goal stated is to raise awareness of the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus, and that is what the website does. But, the information is not reliable, because it is the only website with any information about the Tree Octopus. The website is not accurate because the Tree Octopus does not exist.

A Picture of the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus:

http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/