A new study conducted at a California liberal arts college found that students don’t look first at Wikipedia when given a research assignment. They don’t even go to Google or Yahoo. Instead, most students look at their course readings, talk to professors, and use their library’s web site and databases. Hurrah for US research skills? Not exactly.
The study appears in the current issue of First Monday, a peer-reviewed online-only journal dealing with digital culture. Researchers at St. Mary’s, a small liberal arts college in California, took a look at what students did when confronted with a new research assignment from a professor. The findings aren’t especially surprising: the first thing students did was to get confused and procrastinate. Once they finally settled down to work, though, the surprises began.
Some professors have lamented the fact that too many students dive right into Wikipedia or fire up general search engines when searching for scholarly information. The St. Mary’s study found, though, that 40 percent of students surveyed first went to their course materials for background information and citations.
Next up was the library web site, where 23 percent of students went first. Search engines were the first destination for 13 percent of students, and 12 percent went to the professor. Only 3 percent tried Wikipedia. Students were also (thankfully) aware that blogs weren’t scholarly sources, and all of them noted that they would not include blog data in a research paper.
Those findings would be more heartening if they were representative of all college students; sadly, that’s not the case. The study included only upper-division students, which excludes half of the US collegiate population. It took place at a small liberal arts school with an annual tuition of $30,000 a year (not including room and board). And it relied on the survey data of 178 students (survey data can lend itself to the underreporting of “undesirable” behaviors) rather than on observation. As such, we wonder how the data would look were the scope considerably expanded.
Perhaps the survey wasn’t representative of all students, but it was interesting in that it covered a fairly privileged subset of students—and even these students admitted to being routinely confused about doing research, procrastinating until the last possible moment, and finding the research process “barely a tolerable task.” The study found that even these upper-level students were “confused by what college-level research entails.”
Concerns about students running to the web to take shortcuts on their research may be overblown, but it is clear that students need better instruction and tools to guide their research. In light of this, it’s surprising how many students aren’t turning to online resources, even if these resources may be flawed.
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Microsoft Corp. has replaced its controversial anti-Linux “Get the Facts” Web site with a kinder, gentler site explaining how its Windows Server operating system compares to open-source Linux as well as other competitive OSes.
The new WindowsServer/Compare Web site provides information about how Windows Server stacks up in total cost of ownership, reliability, security, manageability and interoperability with Linux, Unix and IBM Corp.’s mainframe architecture.
Microsoft has posted customer information, feedback from industry experts, white papers and resources about the capabilities of Windows Server on the site. It also offers information for developers building applications on Windows Server.
Microsoft said the new site is an evolution of its Get the Facts campaign, launched in mid-2003 and seen by many as a direct slam against Linux and open source.
The campaign compared Windows Server favorably against Linux and other technologies in terms of some of the same factors handled on the Compare site. Get the Facts was panned by Linux proponents. Their ire in part may have been due to the outspoken swagger of then Microsoft rising star Martin Taylor who led the campaign. After 13 years at Microsoft, Taylor abruptly left the company in June 2006 and no explanation was given for his departure.
Since Taylor’s departure, Microsoft has appeared on one hand to be more friendly toward Linux and open source while on the other continuing to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt about those technologies, according to the open-source camp. Linux proponents gained fuel for their side when Microsoft executives earlier this year made bold claims that Linux and other open-source software violate more than 230 of Microsoft’s patents.
At the same time, Microsoft has put former IBM Linux executive Bill Hilf front and center stage as its open-source advocate. The vendor also recently launched a new open-source Web page that explains how the company views its relationship with the open-source community.
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PlayStation 3 (PS3) users in Europe will soon be able to record and playback digital TV on their console.
Sony has unveiled a TV tuner which plugs into the PS3 and turns it into a personal video recorder like Sky+.
The company has held a press conference at the Leipzig games show in which it highlighted key multimedia capabilities for the PS3 and handheld PSP.
More than 200,000 gamers are expected at the German show, playing some of the year’s biggest games.
Games on display at the show will include Halo 3, Mass Effect, Super Mario Galaxy, Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, Crysis, Warhammer Online and the new expansion pack for World of Warcraft, The Lich King.
Wireless internet
PlayTV for PS3 is a twin TV tuner that will launch in early 2008 in the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain with other countries to follow.
Recorded programmes can be streamed over a wireless internet connection to the portable PSP or transferred permanently to the handheld console via a USB cable.
In a statement, David Reeves, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, said PlayTV would extend the “broad entertainment credentials of PS3″.
It is the first time a console has been given PVR capabilities. Gamers will have access to free channels that are delivered over digital terrestrial.
Rival Microsoft has touted its Xbox 360 as a platform for internet TV but no partner has yet come forward while its Xbox Live video download service has not launched outside the US.
Instant messaging
No price details for the PlayTV tuner were given.
Sony also used the conference to give more details of a video chat and instant messaging system for the PSP, called Go!Messenger, developed in conjunction with BT in the UK.
PSP users in Europe will be able to send messages, and video chat with each other once the software behind the tool is released in January.
Sony also unveiled a GPS add-on for the PSP, called Go!Explore, and said a UK video download service for the console, developed in conjunction with Sky and called Go!, would launch in the UK in January.
Price details for the new services were not given.
Sony will be hoping that the new multimedia functionality for its PlayStation 3 and PSP consoles will make them more attractive to both gamers and non-gamers.
Both machines lag behind sales of rival devices from Nintendo and Microsoft, such as the Wii, DS handheld console and Xbox 360.
Increase shipments
Sony said it aimed to increase shipments of the PS3 to 11 million units by 2008.
Unlike other major games conferences, Leipzig is open to the public and 200,000 gamers are expected to attend the four-day event to get their hands on the latest titles.
“This year we are expecting over 9,000 trade visitors and some 2,800 journalists from over 35 countries,” said Josef Rahmen, managing director of the Leipziger Messe, in a statement.
The industry has gone on a charm offensive in recent years to improve the profile of games in Germany, which has a rigorous ratings and regulatory system.
The country is the third-biggest market for video games in Europe, behind the UK and France, with PC titles dominating the market.
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