March 9th Reflection..
I found last Friday's class to be a very interesting and informative experience. To say the Internet is vast is a giant understatement; therefore, we were fortunate to have Cybrarian Jenn Horwath come into our class and speak with us about different research and navigation tools. I found her knowledge and expertise on Internet research techniques to be invaluable, and her advice made a direct impact on how I'll conduct, investigate and acquire accurate information to assist my future journalistic needs.
Some of the websites that Jenn spoke about and recommended were;
These are just some of the online sources she spoke about and specifically recommended. Personally, I found the layout and designs of Ask.com and Exalead to be similar to that of Google and Yahoo, and felt most comfortable using their engines. The Government of Canada's website is a great resource when needing to find specific numbers and statistics, as well as information that is pertinent to Canadian culture and history.
I also found it very refreshing to have a guest speaker of her position and status talk to our class about different Internet resources and skills. This Journalism program not only teaches us about the three big mediums (Television, Radio, Print), it also delves deep into the Internet and supplies us with valuable techniques and skills to use when reporting and creating strong journalistic stories.
I'm going to use the information she provided us with and make these websites a frequent visit when researching stories. Her presentation and instruction on how to properly maneuver through these sites was incredibly beneficial and will aid me not only with the rest of this program, but into my career in the media field as well.
Below is a six minute comedic video on how important databases are, and how they can assist you when researching online or otherwise.
Overall, I really enjoyed last week's class, and I look forward to using these resources to my advantage moving forward.
Cameron Brown
