Literacy Reflections

Information Literacy
How do you find the information you need? 

The internet is my go-to place for getting the information I want. Every time I had a question, I would literally ask it all to Google. All you would have to do is type in the keywords and you would instantly get what you want. You get access to all sorts of articles and websites related to your question and sometimes, there are people who would answer it for you in the forums. There are videos from Youtube as well if you need a visual. It's a very convenient way of getting information.

How do you assess if the information you got was authentic or not?

The information you get online isn't always true. Being anonymous is a thing on the internet, and because of that, not everything that is posted can be trusted. What I do in order to get as close to the truth as possible is to look for similar articles related to the information I'm looking for. When you do that, you can spot the differences in the info given by the two sites.

However, you don't really need to do this when you visit a site that ends with .edu or .gov. I'm pretty sure these sources can be trusted. News sites are also pretty reliable to get info from. But if that isn't enough, you can always follow the first steps that I just showed, which is looking for identical articles about one topic.

Here's an educative infogram about spotting fake information online:

Do you automatically believe the information you get from the...?

Internet: 

The meme above isn't true, okay? Like I just stated earlier, I take everything I see in the internet with a "grain of salt." Not everything written in it is true. However, I do admit that I forget that sometimes, and I end up believing a person's post or article without doing some background checks on it.

TV: 

I don't trust all information given on television. Although news are always trusted by the masses, I believe that the way they frame the information can be biased. They may also withhold information on important things and would rather give more news about what would interest the majority the most.

Radio:
I don't listen to radios a lot. Whenever I do, it's only for the music.

Newspaper:
I rarely even read the newspaper. I only pick one up for projects. Otherwise, I don't even touch it. XD

Books:

I think books are credible sources of information. They can teach new concepts and ideas. What makes them so trustworthy is the fact that books have people who check if the information they give are reliable. I also believe that authors are more objective than television news when it comes to relaying information, but I think I might be a little biased. 

Facebook:

I rarely use Facebook, but before and until now, I never thought of that site as a way to gather information. Not all news or personal information given there are true. Any user can create fake news. One example are "No Classes" announcements. I once encountered fake info about it. Also, not all personal information written there are always genuine. Anyone can fake their profile picture and bio.

In English, it means #NoClasses

Twitter:
I rarely use Twitter, so I can't really say anything about it. 

Overall, my trust in media is a bit wavering. Although I really believe that media gives news that are true, I've always been cautious of the way they present it. Sadly, biases are a thing now when it comes to relaying information. I think media should push more into being objective in their work.

Technology literacy

What kinds of gadgets are you exposed to?

The kinds of gadgets or technologies I use frequently are: Samsung J5, the computer, the tv, the (beloved) internet, a drawing table, and the PS Vita.

What kinds of technology or gadgets are you not exposed to? Which ones do you want to be exposed to or want to own? Explain why.

• USB 
  
  I have always found myself transferring a lot of files between my laptop and computer. Doing this for every file is a lot of hassle to me. I think my work would be faster if I had a USB.

• Printer
  
  
  
  Lately, my school has been requiring a lot of physical copies for our reports. Since I like working a lot in the middle of the night and early morning, I would always finish it right before I sleep or before I leave for school. During these times, the internet cafes around our area are closed, so I would have to go to my sister's apartment to get my work printed. I'm usually late when I do this. I think having a printer would really make my life more convenient.

• Speakers 
  
  Our computer at home doesn't have a built-in speaker, so you would need to plug in your earphones so you could hear the sound. This is complete torture when you watch anime from a far. The earphones are always too short. I wrecked one of my earphones once because I pulled on it too hard. XD

• DSLR Camera 
  
  
  I don't really need a camera. I just like the idea of having one so I can study more about how it works.

• PS 4 
  
  
  Having this has always been a dream. There are a lot of games I've always been wanting to play that is only available for that console.

What kinds of computer software are you familiar with? Where do you use them and for what purpose?

Do you still remember him?

• Microsoft Word - I use them for making my written reports. Since it can check your grammar and spelling instantly, it's a pretty useful software for writing. 

• Microsoft Powerpoint - A lot of my teachers in school require oral reports. I use powerpoints to spruce things up.

• Paint Tool SAI 
  
  This has been a recent addition to my list, but I think I've used this a lot to the point that I can easily navigate through it. Paint Tool Sai is a drawing program where you can make digital art. It's a pretty neat tool for drawing. I like the brushes. 

What kind of mobile apps are you familiar with? Where do you use them and for what purpose?

I use a LOT of mobile apps in my phone. Listing them all would probably just fill up the rest of the page. Instead of doing that, I'll just place here some of the most important apps that I use besides Google Chrome, Google Play Store, and Gmail.

• Youtube 
  
  Youtube is a site where you can watch videos made by other people. I use it often for entertainment and for learning purposes. There are a lot of tutorials and how-to guides in Youtube, and being able to see the process makes studying easier.

• Google Drive 
  
  Google Drive is like a usb, except your data is stored online! This is definitely useful when you want to transfer pictures, videos, and documents to other types of gadgets.

• Merriam Webster's Dictionary 
  
  This is a dictionary with a built-in thesaurus. It also has word games, which makes learning more fun. I find myself using this app a lot whenever I am writing an essay. It gives me more options to be more creative in my wording.

• Camscanner
  
  I usually draw traditionally. And because of that, whenever I would take pictures of it, it would always look terrible. Camscanner works like a normal scanner, except it uses your phone's camera to scan the picture. The end results are pretty good.

• Teamup 
  
  I always found myself getting drowned in a lot of school projects every week. In order to keep a record of all these assignments, my classmates and I decided to post our schedules in the app. Since then, I would always check Teamup for any incoming deadlines.

• Messenger 
  
  Messenger is an instant messaging app. I use this for communicating with others when I can't meet them personally. It's perfect for talking with my groupmates in the projects I get from school.

• Tumblr 
  
  Tumblr is a social networking platform where you like and reblog other people's posts. I use it frequently whenever I'm bored or I want to de-stress.

"What literacy skills do you think you still lack or do not know? Why do you not know them?"

 and "What literacy skills do you think you want or need to learn? Why?"

I believe information literacy is the skill that I lack the most. While I'm good at finding information online, I only do it for projects and never for news. I'm usually not aware of what is happening around the world. The only time I learn about a specific news is when someone posts about it online or when it has become a topic of conversation between my friends. I think I spend too much of my  time in the virtual world to the point that I end up not knowing anything about what is occurring in the real world. I need to learn this so that I would be more aware of real events. It's what I need in order to learn more about what has happened to our world today. Otherwise, I would just remain ignorant.

Besides news literacy, I would also like to develop technology literacy. Although I'm a bit knowledgeable in some computer programs, I know I still have more to learn about. I want to get better in utilizing my gadgets and programs to the most of what it can offer. In return, I think I'll be able to produce more that is of higher quality.