New Insight Regarding the Study...

In a moment of quiet repose about what's happened with the study this semester, I believe I can see how two opposing views came together and clashed. Like two people acting on two versions of the same story, so has this research class and the technology department.

It comes down to the interpretation of the word research.

This course is doing advanced, college-level research. The students take existing knowledge about a topic, and pursue new information that adds to the existing information to move into new territory. It requires a broad sweep of investigative resources and generation of authentic data to prove or disprove theories. Many search engines, databases, and presentation resources are necessary to complete the complicated task of writing a research paper and presenting the findings to an audience.

The rub (as they say) is that the word research is used by teachers and is understood at the main offices to mean term paper project (a retrieval project). Information is gathered, and then reviewed in a paper to demonstrate a level of understanding.

For retrieval, using one search engine is fine. Using Google or even Google Scholar is fine. Writing a paper with the 'research' option open to the side where information can be 'Googled' as the paper is being written can work. The student is reviewing knowledge and presenting an understanding of existing knowledge.

For research, the skills are different. Many information sources are cross-referenced, then proved or disproved. The facts are located, checked for legitimacy, then put into notes to be sorted and organized later when the authentic data proves or disproves them. Researchers are reflective and make judgments based on considerations of many pieces of information and ghost nuances.

The Chrome Book is excellent for usual, run-of-the-mill term papers. The Chrome Book can be made excellent for research with the addition of apps. The IT department thinks we are doing term papers and that why we do not need any of the apps. They are thinking mainstream thinking, not gifted.