Throw the baby out?

News: Searching For Better Research Habits – Inside Higher Ed.

So, I encourage you to read the above-linked IHE article, but I’ll give you a brief idea of its point. Students tend to misuse search engines (Google and JSTOR alike) due not only to a lack of understanding of how the algorithms produce results, but also a lack of understanding of how to create a critical thinking-based search process in the first place. Many more topics are hit in the article (again, you should read the whole thing), but that simple observation made me wonder.

How many educators would respond with the “Google is making us stupid” observation and disallow its use in their courses. Then I got really depressed, feeling certain that would be the reaction of the majority (pessimistic of me, I know).  In short (right. You Esposito, short winded?), I think it foolhardy to imagine, in a post-Google world, that the 21st century, networked learner can be prohibited from using “simple search” strategies.

Rather than throwing the baby out with the bath water, why wouldn’t we accept that they’ll go anywhere they need to in order to find information? And for the archetypal student referenced in the article, with the six classes and the part-time job and the life they also want to lead, “fast enough is true enough.” All we can do is teach them the difference and let them decide, for well or ill, how they’ll conduct themselves and their continuing education in a scholarly or non-scholarly way.

A Case In Point of a Little Knowledge Being a Dangerous Thing

Battles Around Nation Over Proposed Mosques – NYTimes.com.

To sort of “spit ball” a bit on the topic I posted yesterday about Bill Gates’ call for the world to self-educate via the internet, what sort of deep research do you think the sign-holder in this article did before rushing out to protest a Mosque in Temecula? Their “reasoning” probably flowed a little like this: “Islamist terrorist blow things and people up; Islamist Terrorist frequently go to mosques; therefore Islam must preach Terrorism. ‘Boo’ to mosques.”

Now, even a lengthy perusal of internet stories about terrorism would likely support two of the points in their theory and the lazy self-educator would be able to come to the faulty conclusion which lead to the creation of the “Monuments to Terrorism” placard being brandished. Only through a critical thought-based research process would one be encouraged to research a bit about Islam in order to come to a truly accurate conclusion about Mosques and the position the religion takes on terrorism. Does this mean that all self educators would be lazy and jump to conclusions before fully researching a topic? No, of course not. However, how many examples do we need to be shown that many do?

So, Mr. Gates, please rethink your position and use the bully pulpit your celebrity and success afford you to encourage University Education rather than decry it as a waste of time and money.