Blog Assignment #2--Specifics for Dr. Mulvaney's students

The assignment details for Part 1 of this assignment are below. The FYS main blog has the big picture of this assignment. Here are some details and changes for Part 2 of the assignment for this particular class:

• You can use another information source for the comparison exercise (a website for example) if you wish. But you must also use a Wikipedia page--the Chicago one is already "found" for you. Compare your website with Wikipedia using the areas of comparison.
• You can also use "Chicago" as your search term for the Wikipedia vs Britannica exercise. The Chicago Wikipedia page link is already linked to the post with resources below.
• Remember that the point of the exercise is to evaluate the sources, not the information itself.
• 750 words is a suggestion, not a requirement. I am more interested in having you address each of the areas of comparison, briefly, than in counting words.

If you have any questions or problems please email (cookm at elmhurst dot edu), call (x3267) or come find me in the library.

Hidden Jewels links...

Here are some links to websites and library resources that may help you with the background research portion of your Hidden Jewels presentations.

News websites:
Some of the places that you will be researching have been reviewed or discussed on newspaper websites. Try several. In the case of restaurants, theaters, music venues or public art, a good review can be a useful source of information.

Chicago Reader:
There is a search engine here but it can be hard to use--try browsing listings. Don't forget the library gets the new issue weekly on Wednesdays--they are in the foyer on the bench by the elevator.

Chicago Tribune
A good place to start looking for information about places. Try Metromix for information about restaurants, music venues, theaters, etc. Don't pay for an article here--if you find an article you want and the site asks you to pay, look it up in the library's Chicago Tribune database (login required from off-campus).

Chicago Sun-Times
The "other" major Chicago paper. Also a good source for articles about Chicago places. Subscription articles for this paper can be found in Lexis-Nexis

Daily Herald
This is more a suburban paper, but you may find articles or reviews of Chicago places here as well. Subscription articles for this paper are also available in Lexis-Nexis.

Useful websites:

Exploring Chicago
A City of Chicago website. Lots of links here to many different resources of the city, including programs, maps, public transit, etc. Difficult to search, better for browsing. Also try looking here to find your "jewel" in the first place.

Metromix
This is a site that specializes in reviews, listings, & news about Chicago entertainment venues. If your "Hidden Jewel" is one of these, it may be useful to look here.

Chicago History Museum
Very cool site with lots of useful info. Try searching for your jewel in the Encyclopedia of Chicago .

Learn Chicago
This web portal is maintained by the Chicago Public Library and has lot of interesting links to information about Chicago's past.

Chicago Wikipedia page This is a pretty useful place to look. There's a lot of information about the city, including a description of some of the neighborhoods. The most useful aspect of the page is the links to other sites, way down at the bottom.

Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau There is often good information on a visitor's bureau page, but I mostly look on these sites for links to websites of interesting places.

Library Databases:
(if you are using these from off campus you will need to log in using your EC technology account username and password)

Chicago Tribune
We have Tribune articles back to 1985 here. Search for your place and see if someone has written about it.

Historical Chicago Tribune
We also have access to scanned copies of the Tribune back to 1849. If your Hidden Jewel is historical, try searching for information on it here.

Regional Business News
Depending on what your "jewel" is, you might try looking for information about it in a business publication. This database has Crain's Chicago Business, which can be a great source of information about local places.

Some other tips:
Try Google. Smaller restaurants or music venues may not have a lot of information on a website, but it's worth a look.

Think about interviewing. Most small business owners are happy to talk about their business if you are respectful of their time.

Don't forget to credit any outside sources that you use in your presentation, including photos!

Blog Assignment #2--Part 1

Watch this video:

• Write a comment on the video post—click on the “comments” link below and add a comment like we did in class when we set up the blogs and you commented on the pictures.
• I am expecting that you will write a concise (about 100 words), organized, thoughtful comment, giving me some insight into what you think about the ideas in the video.
• There are no “right” or “wrong” answers here. I am interested in what you think.
• I will be evaluating you on how thoughtfully you are engaging with the ideas as well as how clearly you present them in writing.

Your comment will consist of a brief response to one of the following questions:

1. Colbert raises the idea that “truth” is just a matter of majority consensus—if enough people agree on something it must be true. He brings up the example of Galileo to point out that what “truth” is can change based on developments in areas of knowledge like science. What do you think about this idea? Is truth merely something “enough” people have agreed on? Why or why not?

2. One of the points Colbert is trying to make is that it’s kind of scary that anyone could change “facts” based on dubious motives—a whim, a political agenda, etc. Was it “ethical” for Colbert to change the Wikipedia entry on elephants like that (assuming he actually did)? Is it ethical for people to “use” information sources for their own ends? Why or why not?

• I realize that some of these questions are bigger than I am giving you space to write about here. Feel free to write a bigger post on your own blog if you are feeling inspired.
• Each student is required to make one comment, using the guidelines above. I am hoping that you will also read each other’s comments and perhaps engage in an online discussion. Any additional comments will make me happy but will not affect your grade.

Have fun with this...

America vs. Americans

This semester, as we have explored the unique development of Chicago as a dynamic community, we have spent time learning about the immigrants who came to make up the city. Our conversations and reading have helped us to understand Chicago as a global city, connecting with other nations as early as the mid- to -late 1800s for trade and industry.

To continue this conversation, we read Mark Hertsgaard's book "The Eagle's Shadow: Why America Fascinates and Infuriates the World," which looks at the United States and it's residents from a global perspective. On October 9th, our class began discussion of Hertsgaard's book, with a conversation about the following question:

Hertsgaard suggests that the world sees the United States in two parts: 1) America, and 2) Americans. How would you characterize each of these? Compare and Contrast.

Click on their individual blogs to see their responses. Enjoy!

Note: Photo taken from Wright State University at: www.wright.edu/uc/book.jpg.

Chicago Field Trip

On Tuesday, September 25th, the Exploring Chicago FYS class visited Chicago. Students broke up into 6 groups and fanned out across the city for visit the following sites:

• Michigan Avenue


• City Core


• Millenium Park


• Navy Pier/ North Pier


• South Loop


• UIC/ Taylor Street

While we were in the city, students used the "City as Text" concept to observe the people, places, and overall atmosphere of their specific sites. Check out the blogs of individual students to learn more about the wonderful sites they visited and the great things they learned!

Note: Thanks to Hannah for the group picture!

Hi guys--

I have posted the links to everybody's blogs on this page. If you don't see your blog here, please contact me ASAP; it means I don't have the url. I'm beginning to look at your blogs to read your essays on the plagiarism discussion--don't forget this is due by Tuesday Sept 18th.

Peg

FYS Information Ethics Blog Assignment

Your first assignment is to write a blog post with some reflections about the readings and discussion about academic dishonesty, cheating, plagiarism, etc; that we worked on in class today. This post contains some places to start as you begin to write out your thoughts about information ethics. Use any or all (or none) of these questions/prompts to organize your thoughts.

You should write at least 5 paragraphs.You spent some time writing your reflections before we had the group discussions. What were those reflections? Did you hear ideas brought out by students that read a different article than yours that you hadn’t thought of? Did your understanding of what plagiarism or cheating is change after the discussion? Did hearing those ideas change how you thought about the concepts of academic dishonesty?What are your thoughts about academic dishonesty? What constitutes cheating? Is cheating a “victimless crime”? Are some kinds of cheating OK? Under what circumstances?

All of the articles talk about the idea of integrity and of building student integrity as a solution to the problem of academic dishonesty. What do you think about that idea? What does integrity mean to you in an academic context?

Several of the articles talk about honor codes as a way to discourage cheating. Should Elmhurst College develop an honor code?

Write your response as your first post in your own blog.

This post is due Tuesday September 18th.