Does a Tree Octopus Really Exist?

Today in class we learned how to correctly search for and use online resources responsibly. We learned how to Google the correct way, and the importance of accuracy, authenticity, and reliability in a source. 

The first activity we did was on a website called "a Google a Day" (agoogleaday.com). This website has three new trivia questions every day, and allows you to use the website’s specialized search to find the answers. To be able to find the correct answers in the allotted amount of time you need to search efficiently. A Google a Day gives you tips on how to do this. For example,  by putting words in quotations you are searching for that exact set of words together, and by typing "define:" before a word you'll get the dictionary definition of that word. 

This activity was fun to do, but it could also be frustrating a times. You don't have time to read through all of the websites that come up when you search, so you have to make sure that you are searching for exactly what you need to find. A Google a Day is helpful for not only learning new facts that you otherwise wouldn't have known but it also teaches you the correct way to search for resources.

The second activity we did included defining the words accuracy, authenticity, and reliability as they pertain to online sources. Accuracy is how well the information coincides with other sources and how correct the information is. Authenticity is if the website is what it says it is, and reliability is how credible the authors or creators of the source are. 

After that we went on a website about the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus (zap atopi.net/treeoctopus/). We had to decide whether this website was accurate, authentic, and reliable. First, we found that it is not accurate because there is no such thing as a Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus. Also, it is not reliable because we don't know much about the creators of the website. But, it is authentic because it is exactly what is says it is; a website about a tree octopus (even though it doesn't actually exist).

These activities helped me learn a lot. They helped me learn how to correctly find and use credible online sources by searching google and evaluating the sites we find, something I didn't know how to do until now. 

Picture: 

"Tree Octopus." 2013. Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus. Photograph. 9 Sept. 2014.