Additional Assignment 1

Ok for some reason I completely skipped over this on our class blog. I went back and was rereading things and I realized it has never been done.

Additional Assignment  1

2. Do at least 3 Google squared searches

My first Google squared search was on the animals. It gave me a lost of all sorts of animals, like dolphins, cats, dogs, elephants and even spiders. It gave me each of their classes, family, and species.  It is pretty interesting to see all of these together.

The second search I did on Google squared was a search of all of the presidents. Not only did it give me pictures of all the presidents, it also provided me with birthdates, hometowns, important things they did, their vice presidents, and even when they died.

The third search I did on Google squared was on the periodic table of elements. This squared all of the elements; it gave me their symbols, their atomic number and their color. It even gave me a brief description of the elements themselves.

3. Do at least 2 WolframAlpha searches

I did wolframalpha searches on dogs, and on France. It gave me an overall summary on both of these subjects.

a. What are the educational implications of searches such as Google Squared provides?

I think that this is a good tool for learning. You have all of your information in one place instead of   having to search over different websites on the internet.

b. What are the educational implications of searches such as WolframAlpha provides?This is beneficial because it gives you summaries of whatever topic you are searching. For example, I searched for France, and it gave me the mane of the repiublic,  their flag, where they are located on a map, the population, and it even gave you statistics on the ethnicities, religions, and languages. This site, like Google Squared, gives you one place where you can search and get information on everything you want.

c. Did you know about Google Squared before this assignment?

No, I had never heard of it. 

d. Did you know about Wolfram Alpha before this assignment?

No, I had not heard of it either.

e. Reread your comments about Did You Know. Have my comments altered your thinking about anything you saw, heard, read, or reported for the Did You Know assignment? If not, say so. If so, describe how in as much detail as necessary.

No it did not make me rethink. I just learned to pay more attention to the math that was used in the Did you Know video. There are a lot of things that should be paid attention to. Not just one area.

f. What did you learn from this exercise about how you react to and deal with "statistics"?

I learned that there are so many websites to go to that give you statistics. On the WolframAlpha website, it pulls up all sorts of statistics and gives you a summary of any particular subject. On the Google Squared website, you can get all of your information put into a table. As long as the statistics are up to date, I think these websites are great tools.

Food for thought- I think this is a wonderful example on how children can teach themselves without instruction. This really is a magical thing.