Networking

 

      Students today are learning how to network throughout online communities and websites. Networking, "is the ability to search for, synthesize, and disseminate information," (49). Some examples of networking websites are, Amazon.com, Google.com, Ebay.com, Delicious, and Getoutfoxed.com. These websites, provide reviews about products, suggest products that you might like, give you links to websites that might interest you, and give feedback about sellers.

 

            Students must be able to filter out which websites are credible and what information isn't. They also have to be able to take the information they are receiving and put it into their own words. Guinee and Eagleton (2006) have been researching how students take notes in the digital environment , "discovering, to their dismay, that young people tend to copy large blocks of text rather than paraphrasing it for future reference," (51).

 

            The problem with online communities is that they are open to people from all different cultures and backgrounds and not everyone respects or under stands other people's cultures and customs. "Culture travels easily, but the individuals who initially produced and consumed such culture are not always welcome everywhere it circulates," (52). We need to help students understand other people's cultures and respect their beliefs. There are schools that have already made the effort to get students to understand other cultures by having them communicate with students from other cultures, getting to know them and understanding the differences between them.

 

            I think that networking is a great way to gain information about anything. The only problem with networking websites is that you have to be able to distinguish between what is true and what is false. If you are buying a new product you should look at reviews on multiple websites so that you can see more than one opinion. If your getting information for school you should compare different articles so that you can filter out the one's that don't belong and are not truthful. I think that online communities are a great way to bring people together from all over the world, but we need to respect each other beliefs and try to understand each others cultures. If someone does not understand why someone acts a certain way, they should take the time to research that particular culture so that they will have a better understanding.