Dsanders23 @ GSU

Blog by Deve' Sanders

Month: September 2015

Unit 4: Mobile Apps Review

Due to many advancements in various areas of life, we literally are able to have the world at our fingertips. Though we are constantly on the go, our mobile devices (ie. laptops, cell phone, netbooks, tablets, etc…) allow us to access almost any information we could possibly think of. This also means that for students, there is a wide variety of tools and programs that can help us stay on track and informed as we go about out studies. Below are two of mobile applications that I have found to be really resourceful throughout my academic career: Dictionary.com & Dropbox.

 

Dictionary.comDictionary

Dictionary.com can be accessed both through its online website and through its mobile app. It provides many tools necessary to becoming a knowledgeable and adept student. Not only can it be used as a traditional dictionary to look up the correct spelling and definition of words but it also acts as a thesaurus, translator, and much more. If you wish, you can have the “word of the day” sent to you and many other vocabulary resources, allowing you to broaden your vocabulary and engage in academic and professional dialogue. It is free to download and available across most platforms (ie. iPhone, Android, etc.)

Dropbox.comMetroUI-Apps-Dropbox-icon

Dropbox.com can be accessed through its online website, through its desktop app, or through its mobile app. It allows students to access documents and files that they have saved to a remote server or “the cloud”. Through this program, students are able to retrieve information across all of their devices or share information with others. It is free to download and free to use but it does cost to upgrade your storage space. It is available across most platforms (ie. iPhone, Android, etc.)

Unit 2: Assignment 2

The CRAAP test is a checklist created by the Meriam Library at California State University, Chico used to evaluate Web resources for currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, & purpose.

http://www.justfacts.com
  • Currency: This site provides no information regarding when it was last updated & does not clearly display publication dates for its articles and information.
  • Relevance: This site provides an “appropriate breadth and depth of detail” about topics concerning current events and world news.
  • Authority: This site provides citations for most of its information as well as their own credentials in their “About Us” section. The URL also matches the content.
  • Accuracy: The site provides accurate information seemingly pulled from reliable sources, some peer-reviewed. Links to external resources and sources are provided when possible.
  • Purpose: This site provides its purpose for the viewer under their “About Us” section through their mission statement: “to research and publish verifiable facts about the leading public policy issues of our time“.
http://www.factcheck.org
  • Currency: This site provides publication dates for the majority of its articles and information. An up-to-date copyright statement is also located at the bottom of the website page.
  • Relevance: This site provides an “appropriate breadth and depth of detail” about topics concerning current events and political news.
  • Authority: This site provides the names of the authors and publishers for each article. It is also transparent in who their sponsors are with a financial breakdown easily accessible.
  • Accuracy: This site provides citations underneath all available articles. The site is very professional and well designed and covers a wide-range of topics and viewpoints.
  • Purpose: This site provides its purpose to the viewer under their “About Us” section through their mission statement: “We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.

Unit 2: Assignment 1

Topic: Possible Careers obtainable by holding a B.S. in Psychology

Terms Used → bachelor’s degree AND psychology AND career

Search Engine Top Five Results    
www.google.com unit2google
www.bing.com  unit2bing
www.yahoo.com  unit2yahoo
Meta-Search Engine Top Five Results
www.metasearch.com  unit2meta
www.dogpile.com  unit2dog
www.iboogie.tv  unit2boogie

 Similarities: All of the sites featured many of the same results and in much of the same order.

Differences: One of the major differences I noticed was whether or not a site chose to display ads and if so, the location of where those ads were displayed.

© 2025 Dsanders23 @ GSU

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑

Skip to toolbar