Blog Reflection #6

Well, here it is, week #11 for library class 204. We're supposed to reflect on the readings and the resources that we have been exposed to as part of this class. Unfortunately, we're a little behind on the readings because of those nasty little unforeseen circumstances that life can throw at us. A lot of students would see this as an opportunity to take a break. I, however, am eager to get the readings done because I tend to think in a linear way (This is even true when I'm writing).

Not being able to access those last couple of readings makes me feel like the work I am trying to do is incomplete because I don't have a lesson to reference... An interesting point, those last three words. Maybe the inability to access the readings of the last two weeks is a clever ploy by our instructor to get us to think about that.

Am I overwhelmed by the resources we've been exposed to in this class? A little bit. But I think I've managed to find and utilize them fairly efficiently. Am I excited about the newly found wealth of information at my fingertips? Absolutely! Although, having access to all of that information still poses the challenge of how to decipher it. This was the case with Google Finance. There is so much information available at this website hub, but if you don't know much about the stock market, it can be overwhelming. Still, I guess like any new situation we find ourselves in, we learn with repeated exposure and time.

Our teacher posed the question, "How do you resist the urge to google instead of finding a reputable reference source?" I guess my answer to that is, "I don't." An example I can use is having to find information on Galen Clark. I tried two or three biographical and general encyclopedias with no information found. So I reverted to Google, and Wikipedia. Wikipedia had information about Galen Clark, and it led me to avenues to verify the information I found using more reputable sites. Google can be a very useful tool as long as you back up the information you find using reputable sources. The two can form a symbiotic relationship, given the right circumstances.