“PAKISTAN is a nation of holiday makers. Everyone here loves to take the day off, and students are no exception,” is the favourite refrain of a very popular teacher at a private school whose students, upon hearing these words, look at one another with guilty smiles playing at their lips. Try as they might, these students, and indeed students in most educational institutions, cannot deny the fact that they love holidays and they will never miss an opportunity to avail them whenever they can.
To this end, summer vacations have been the subject of much speculation and debate at most official education meetings. In fact, on January 3, 2006, the Sindh Education Department announced that starting this year, all schools would close down for summer vacations from July 1, and commence their academic activities from August 16. This meant a 15-day increase in summer vacations, since prior to this change, academic sessions commenced on August 1.
The decision was changed in an All-Private Schools Management Associations (APSMAS) meeting, Sindh, on June 11, 2006. The APSMAS decided that all private schools would resume their academic activities on August 1, 2006, as they had originally planned to do, the main reason for this being Independence Day celebrations and their preparations.
Not to be left behind, the Sindh Education Department swiftly reiterated that academic activities could not resume before August 16, 2006, and any school defying these orders would be penalised. To add to the confusion, the Federal Education Minister, Javed Ashraf Qazi, asked for the vacations to be extended till August 31 with all schools reopening on September 1, 2006.
But to date, the Sindh Education Department’s stance is that since they have not received any official directives from the Federal Education Ministry to extend vacations, it will stand by the original notification; that is, reopening educational institutions on August 16.
Previously, students would have been overjoyed at the prospect of having more holidays at their disposal. Now, however, it is a different story altogether: “I am not at all happy with the extra holidays and I sure hope the authorities don’t increase the vacations to three months. Two-and-a-half months are bad enough,” says Fatima Ahmed, an O-Level student.
One can’t help but wonder why students like Fatima would feel this way about more holidays. “Statistics has been made compulsory in our curriculum, and the Cambridge Board only offers that subject in the October-November session. There is no way we will be able to complete that course in time for the exam. Besides, my school year is still going to end around mid-March after which I will get study leave, so I am going to be left with a shorter academic session. We must also bear in mind that national elections are scheduled to be held in January 2007, so we can all expect a lot of unscheduled closures. Thus, even if the government does cut down on unnecessary holidays, there is no telling how many times educational institutions may have to be closed down due to our country’s law and order and political situations,” explains Fatima.
Asma Jabbar, a teacher at a private school, voices similar concerns: “All these extra holidays are a waste of time and are making the students lazy. Most students while away their time, watching television all day because their parents cannot afford to take them on a vacation out of town. So overall, students become more unproductive in their free time.”
Then, there are parents who feel that extensive summer vacations are only going to make matters worse. “Personally, I find this appalling. Schools have been made to close on the smallest of pretexts throughout the year anyway, whether it was to celebrate winning a cricket match or giving our government a winning hand in their games of politics,” laments Atefa Jamal, mother of school-going children. “Not only does lengthening the vacations make things inconvenient for the schools, but the kids have to then forfeit their Saturdays to go to school to make up for lost time, and parents must rush around to find out whether the schools are open or not.”
Atefa completely agrees with the fact that all these holidays will give rise to a lazy generation. “By constantly giving our kids days off, aren’t we breeding the next generation to be lazy? Can we hope that our future generations will bring a positive change to our country when we are programming them to become slobs?” These are pertinent questions but there are people who actually believe that some good can come out of an increase in vacations.
There are others, of course, who feel that an increase in vacations will be beneficial to them. “I am definitely glad that the vacations have been increased, simply because I am too busy with my tuitions, summer courses and sports practices throughout July. I am hoping I’ll get some time to relax in August and to stay at my grandmother’s place,” explained Fizza Hassan, student of a private school.
“I think in a country like ours where the weather conditions are at such an extreme, summer vacations must be extended,” opines Maryam Masood, an ex-student. This is a valid point, considering the fact that it is not only the blistering heat which goes on till August, but also the monsoon season which is in full swing, causing hassle to the students and parents alike.
Fatima Saleem, who has just taken her matriculation exams, pointed out the dilemma of class nine students and the importance of an extended summer break to them. “Extending summer vacations this year was what the students of class nine deserved. They had their exams in mid-June and now their practical exams await them. If the vacations hadn’t been extended, they would have had only around 25 days left to relax and enjoy.” Other reasons cited in favour of the extension include the travelling factor. Many students go out of the city or country during vacations and the two-and-a-half months allotted for vacations allows them more flexibility and convenience.
However, in spite of its advantages, increasing summer vacations at a time when schools already have suffered from unscheduled closures owing to the unstable political environment in the city shows lack of foresight and planning among the powers that be which control the system of education in Pakistan. Consider the current year, for example. Schools are still trying to cope with the damaged caused because of the reopening of schools after an extended winter vacation on January 9, 2006, which were closed immediately afterwards for Eid holidays along with holidays on strikes and after Pakistan team’s victory in cricket matches.
The fact of the matter is that teachers have their courses to complete and exam papers to set. When the course isn’t completed on time, students either have to finish it on their own or rely on the mushrooming substandard coaching centres. Sometimes, teachers shorten the courses themselves which means that students are learning less than they should in a given academic year.
With all this in mind, one is forced to wonder why education suffers during crises. Ours is a country with one of the most atrocious literacy rates in the world and it is about time there was some semblance of order where educational decisions are concerned. Unfortunately, the situation is only going downhill by the day. Today it is a question of summer vacations. Tomorrow, there will be another issue to deal with, one which will cause further misery to students, teachers and parents.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Webwatch
Information on satellites
http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/satellite.html
Have you ever wondered about the function of satellites? Look for answers on this website, which is a haven for people who are interested in astronomy and extraterrestrial life. The site provides information on a number of satellites. Click on the picture of a satellite and you will be able to see pictures of our planet as seen from that satellite.
Creating backgrounds
http://bgmaker.ventdaval.com/
Are you a webmaster struggling with the look and feel of your website? This site should make your life easier. Using this tool, you can select ready-to-use backgrounds in various sizes, colour schemes and textures. You can customise them to suit the content of your website. The best part is that it is absolutely free.
http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/satellite.html
Have you ever wondered about the function of satellites? Look for answers on this website, which is a haven for people who are interested in astronomy and extraterrestrial life. The site provides information on a number of satellites. Click on the picture of a satellite and you will be able to see pictures of our planet as seen from that satellite.
All about plants
http://plantfacts.osu.edu/
If you are interested in botany, here is something which will keep you busy for hours. Some of the site’s interesting features include a search engine, a glossary of horticultural terms and how-to videos related to gardening. Developed by the Ohio State University, this is one website that will give you a green thumb if you do not have one.
Going nuclear
http://simplethinking.com/home/nuclear_weapons.htm
Nuclear weapons, nuclear testing and nuclear technology — these are some of the words that have come to dominate news bulletins night after night. So what do these terms really mean? Check out this website, which features a very basic look at the fission and fusion processes and how they are used to produce nuclear weapons.
Creating backgrounds
http://bgmaker.ventdaval.com/
Are you a webmaster struggling with the look and feel of your website? This site should make your life easier. Using this tool, you can select ready-to-use backgrounds in various sizes, colour schemes and textures. You can customise them to suit the content of your website. The best part is that it is absolutely free.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Double-click
HERE’S a little something that teachers and students can indulge in while browsing the internet:
Knowledge is power
This is a multi-purpose website, catering to both students and teachers. Students can access revision guides for a variety of subjects, interact with other students and play educational games. Teachers can download audio and video clips for use in the classroom, read educational news and go through lesson plans on various subjects.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools
Pictures worth many words
If you thought there was no way history could ever be made interesting, here is a website which will dispel such myths. Whether it is about Egypt, Greece or the Vikings, be prepared to embark on an illustrative journey. You will have facts and figures thrown at you along the way but in an extremely fascinating and interactive way.
http://home.freeuk.net/elloughton13/index.htm
Advanced matters/b>
For the students and teachers of advanced chemistry, here is one website which will definitely prove to be helpful. It features external links to free chemistry software available around the internet. So whether you want to do chemical drawings or simulate experiments, look no further, for here is a website that will save the day.
www.sciencegeek.net/Chemistry/chemware/chemware.shtml
Street smart
Students are commonly told they must avoid slang when writing an essay or composition. Unfortunately, slang has permeated everyday language to such an extent that, at times, one is not even sure which words fall in this category. This website, featuring a dictionary of slang, should make things easier.
www.peevish.co.uk/slang/news.htm
Knowledge is power
This is a multi-purpose website, catering to both students and teachers. Students can access revision guides for a variety of subjects, interact with other students and play educational games. Teachers can download audio and video clips for use in the classroom, read educational news and go through lesson plans on various subjects.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools
Pictures worth many words
If you thought there was no way history could ever be made interesting, here is a website which will dispel such myths. Whether it is about Egypt, Greece or the Vikings, be prepared to embark on an illustrative journey. You will have facts and figures thrown at you along the way but in an extremely fascinating and interactive way.
http://home.freeuk.net/elloughton13/index.htm
Advanced matters/b>
For the students and teachers of advanced chemistry, here is one website which will definitely prove to be helpful. It features external links to free chemistry software available around the internet. So whether you want to do chemical drawings or simulate experiments, look no further, for here is a website that will save the day.
www.sciencegeek.net/Chemistry/chemware/chemware.shtml
Street smart
Students are commonly told they must avoid slang when writing an essay or composition. Unfortunately, slang has permeated everyday language to such an extent that, at times, one is not even sure which words fall in this category. This website, featuring a dictionary of slang, should make things easier.
www.peevish.co.uk/slang/news.htm
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Webwatch
Blog improvement
http://pkblogs.com/vaspersthegrate/2005/03/how-to-improve-your-blog.html
When it comes to blogs, most people are still clueless as to what really makes them different from mainstream websites. In this blog, Vaspers the Grate has featured some helpful hints and tricks as to how one can improve his/her blog. His conclusions are based on the observation of about 250 blogs.
Still sceptical?
http://musr.physics.ubc.ca/~jess/hr/skept/
This website features a “Sceptic’s Guide to Physics”. It offers a collection of articles on interesting themes like “science and arts, not science versus arts”. Comparison has also been made between the poetry of physics and doing physics. Despite its technical nature, the articles will be of great interest to many.
http://pkblogs.com/vaspersthegrate/2005/03/how-to-improve-your-blog.html
When it comes to blogs, most people are still clueless as to what really makes them different from mainstream websites. In this blog, Vaspers the Grate has featured some helpful hints and tricks as to how one can improve his/her blog. His conclusions are based on the observation of about 250 blogs.
Safety first
http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/
Science students often get irked when their teachers and laboratory assistants get too strict about wearing a lab coat. But are they really as paranoid as they seem? This website presents the fundamental safety rules that science people should be observing while working in laboratories.
Proverbs engineered
http://www.multicians.org/thvv/proverbs.html
At first sight, this may seem like an odd combination. What do proverbs have to do with engineering? However, this hilarious website has some of the answers. Given here are quite a few proverbs which can easily be related to software engineering. Those who are actually in the field will be able to enjoy the wit of these proverbs more.
Still sceptical?
http://musr.physics.ubc.ca/~jess/hr/skept/
This website features a “Sceptic’s Guide to Physics”. It offers a collection of articles on interesting themes like “science and arts, not science versus arts”. Comparison has also been made between the poetry of physics and doing physics. Despite its technical nature, the articles will be of great interest to many.
Saturday, July 8, 2006
Webwatch
To sum up...
http://www.opentopia.com/calculators.html
Whether you are struggling with a mathematics problem online, or trying to do one offline, this website is a must-bookmark. You will find a wide variety of useful mathematical tools ranging from scientific calculators to unit converters. So if you are stuck with long-winded calculations, just log on to this website and life will seem much simpler.
Animated biology
http://www.johnkyrk.com/
The chapter on cells is always the first one to be taught in biology. This means that if you do not understand the concepts properly, it will become increasingly difficult to understand the rest of the chapters. This website, with its animated videos, will explain to you the different characteristics of cells, their different parts and the entire concept of DNA.
Fun with science
http://www.hunkinsexperiments.com/
This website features a lot of experiments divided into categories like food, light and clothes. Each category houses related experiments that are easy to conduct. For instance, in the food category you can find out how to cook potatoes in the Sun, how to grow carrot leaves and how to chop a doughnut in thirteen pieces in just three cuts of the knife.
Picture this
http://www.chemsoc.org/viselements/pages/pertable_fla.htm
Who says the Periodic Table is boring? Check out this pictorial one: in order to read information, you will have to hover your mouse over the picture, and symbols and other routine information regarding the elements will be displayed, while clicking on the picture will give you more details. Chemistry is just a click away!
http://www.opentopia.com/calculators.html
Whether you are struggling with a mathematics problem online, or trying to do one offline, this website is a must-bookmark. You will find a wide variety of useful mathematical tools ranging from scientific calculators to unit converters. So if you are stuck with long-winded calculations, just log on to this website and life will seem much simpler.
Animated biology
http://www.johnkyrk.com/
The chapter on cells is always the first one to be taught in biology. This means that if you do not understand the concepts properly, it will become increasingly difficult to understand the rest of the chapters. This website, with its animated videos, will explain to you the different characteristics of cells, their different parts and the entire concept of DNA.
Fun with science
http://www.hunkinsexperiments.com/
This website features a lot of experiments divided into categories like food, light and clothes. Each category houses related experiments that are easy to conduct. For instance, in the food category you can find out how to cook potatoes in the Sun, how to grow carrot leaves and how to chop a doughnut in thirteen pieces in just three cuts of the knife.
Picture this
http://www.chemsoc.org/viselements/pages/pertable_fla.htm
Who says the Periodic Table is boring? Check out this pictorial one: in order to read information, you will have to hover your mouse over the picture, and symbols and other routine information regarding the elements will be displayed, while clicking on the picture will give you more details. Chemistry is just a click away!
Sunday, July 2, 2006
Double-click
HERE’S a little something that teachers and students can indulge in while browsing the internet:
Word power
If your English grammar textbook is making your head spin with all the rules, here is one place where you can actually put some of them in practice. Not only that but you can also indulge in reading comprehensions, learn the meanings of several idioms and spruce up your spelling skills. There are sections for pronunciation and vocabulary too. The only catch is that some of the worksheets are available for a fee. But why not make the most of those that aren’t?
www.english-zone.com
Poetic justice
When it comes to poetry, there are some who are interested in finding out everything that there is to know, and others who start yawning at the mere mention of the word. This website is dedicated to poems and poets which are arranged in different categories. Literature teachers can find loads of
classroom activities to make poetry more interesting and meaningful for students. www.poetryarchive.org
Mapping homework
The chances of you leaving your geography homework for the eleventh hour, only to realise at the last minute that you need an atlas are quite high, especially if you don’t like the subject too much. Well, look no further. Map Quest is a purpose-built search engine for maps. All you need to do is to enter the name of the country or latitude/longitude, if you know it. The result will give you an enlarged map of the country in question.
www.mapquest.co.uk
Death by numbers? Not quite
There are some poor souls who can never understand mathematics. If you happen to be one of them, here is one website which can help you out. Given here are several math topics like algebra and geometry with subtopics. Each sub-topic has a detailed explanation as well as examples for you to grasp the basic concepts. There is a section on games and puzzles too just in case you get tired of theories.
www.cut-the-knot.org
‘Those who can’t teach...’
Created by a teacher-educator, this website features almost everything teachers will need, irrespective of his/her subject. Apart from teaching ideas and reviews of books for teachers, there is a whole section on activity worksheets which are free to download. The worksheets pertain to a wide range of subjects.
http://home.att.net/~teaching
Live in colour
Whether you are new to the internet or are trying to explain it to a student, here is one website which will definitely help you out. Each section delves into the details of history, design, use and security. Yes, it is possible to relive the internet experience through this website.
www.livinginternet.com
Word power
If your English grammar textbook is making your head spin with all the rules, here is one place where you can actually put some of them in practice. Not only that but you can also indulge in reading comprehensions, learn the meanings of several idioms and spruce up your spelling skills. There are sections for pronunciation and vocabulary too. The only catch is that some of the worksheets are available for a fee. But why not make the most of those that aren’t?
www.english-zone.com
Poetic justice
When it comes to poetry, there are some who are interested in finding out everything that there is to know, and others who start yawning at the mere mention of the word. This website is dedicated to poems and poets which are arranged in different categories. Literature teachers can find loads of
classroom activities to make poetry more interesting and meaningful for students. www.poetryarchive.org
Mapping homework
The chances of you leaving your geography homework for the eleventh hour, only to realise at the last minute that you need an atlas are quite high, especially if you don’t like the subject too much. Well, look no further. Map Quest is a purpose-built search engine for maps. All you need to do is to enter the name of the country or latitude/longitude, if you know it. The result will give you an enlarged map of the country in question.
www.mapquest.co.uk
Death by numbers? Not quite
There are some poor souls who can never understand mathematics. If you happen to be one of them, here is one website which can help you out. Given here are several math topics like algebra and geometry with subtopics. Each sub-topic has a detailed explanation as well as examples for you to grasp the basic concepts. There is a section on games and puzzles too just in case you get tired of theories.
www.cut-the-knot.org
‘Those who can’t teach...’
Created by a teacher-educator, this website features almost everything teachers will need, irrespective of his/her subject. Apart from teaching ideas and reviews of books for teachers, there is a whole section on activity worksheets which are free to download. The worksheets pertain to a wide range of subjects.
http://home.att.net/~teaching
Live in colour
Whether you are new to the internet or are trying to explain it to a student, here is one website which will definitely help you out. Each section delves into the details of history, design, use and security. Yes, it is possible to relive the internet experience through this website.
www.livinginternet.com
Saturday, July 1, 2006
Webwatch
Engineers online
http://www.web-ee.com/
For all the aspiring engineers, here something to cheer about. Dedicated to electrical engineering, this website not only features tutorials on various aspects of engineering subjects, but it also provides links to many specialised magazines and newsgroups. The site also features online calculators, forums and detailed notes on electrical components.
Downloading fun
http://www.typenow.net/themed.htm
Tired of using the same old Times New Roman and Courier New? Check out this website and let the fun begin. The website offers lots of different fonts based on movies and television shows. You can download as many as you want, but make sure that your friends do it as well, or the will not be able to read what you have written to them!
Hubble heritage gallery
http://heritage.stsci.edu/gallery/gallery.html
If you are interested in space and all the different satellites that are sent to explore it, you will definitely enjoy this website. It features photo galleries showcasing all the photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. You can also browse by categories such as solar system and galaxies.
Fun with kaleidoscope
http://www.zefrank.com/byokal/kal2.html
Here is something for you if you are really bored or stressed out. Given on this website are loads of little coloured images. Putting them in a given circle will give you really cool patterns on the kaleidoscope on the same page. The scientific reasoning behind it is also given if you are fascinated enough to find out.
http://www.web-ee.com/
For all the aspiring engineers, here something to cheer about. Dedicated to electrical engineering, this website not only features tutorials on various aspects of engineering subjects, but it also provides links to many specialised magazines and newsgroups. The site also features online calculators, forums and detailed notes on electrical components.
Downloading fun
http://www.typenow.net/themed.htm
Tired of using the same old Times New Roman and Courier New? Check out this website and let the fun begin. The website offers lots of different fonts based on movies and television shows. You can download as many as you want, but make sure that your friends do it as well, or the will not be able to read what you have written to them!
Hubble heritage gallery
http://heritage.stsci.edu/gallery/gallery.html
If you are interested in space and all the different satellites that are sent to explore it, you will definitely enjoy this website. It features photo galleries showcasing all the photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. You can also browse by categories such as solar system and galaxies.
Fun with kaleidoscope
http://www.zefrank.com/byokal/kal2.html
Here is something for you if you are really bored or stressed out. Given on this website are loads of little coloured images. Putting them in a given circle will give you really cool patterns on the kaleidoscope on the same page. The scientific reasoning behind it is also given if you are fascinated enough to find out.
(Mis)Information Guaranteed
It is the same old story. You open your mailbox to find 30 new messages. And 20 out of those turn out to be forwarded emails. They tell you to further pass on the message if you want to continue using your free email and social networking services. Some go even further, and warn you of dire consequences if you do not forward those emails.
Of course, all this happens assuming that you actually bother opening these forwards in the first place. Chances are, most of you will simply select the entire lot of them and hit the “Delete” key without giving them a second thought.
This frequency of hoax emails is only one of the virtual trends, which have caused many people to label the internet as a place where the authenticity of the information available is extremely dubious. Where hoax emails are concerned, their extent is unlimited. Unverified news stories spread like fire around the internet and you will even find people attempting to update their anti-viruses to deal with viruses and worms which do not even exist!
But what is even more puzzling is that some people actually look forward to these emails. They sign online petitions thinking they are contributing to some worthy cause when, in reality, there is no cause. They even honestly believe that Microsoft and AOL can keep a track of one email and ascertain how many people forwarded it.
Also, when it comes to spreading hoaxes, emails are not the only means under fire. Scrapbooks on Orkut () are littered with misinformation. Probably the most common and the infamous scrap was one which called on all Muslims to boycott Nestle as it is a Danish product. Very few people bothered finding out that Nestle is a Swiss, and not a Danish company.
Certain websites are also notorious in spreading rumors around the internet. Since this medium has virtually no limits, it is not humanly impossible to keep a track of who is posting what information and how authentic it really is. It is very easy for a person to make an account at Geocities () and update it with forged news. What is worse, unless someone complains, the authorities at Yahoo! would never know what is going on.
On the outset, this entire scenario may sound very funny - probably something not worth giving notice to. But there are quite a lot of naïve people out there, especially those who are new to the internet, and they fall for these mails right away. Then, there is a whole circle of misinformation since these beginner users forward these emails extensively.
Incorrect information on websites can also have very negative implications since today’s student population relies heavily on the internet to do their research work. In many instances, they blatantly copy and paste information from articles and encyclopedias around the web, without giving a second thought to its authenticity. A common belief is that if it is on the internet, it has to be true. In fact, the reverse may be true at times as well.
On the other hand, there are some forwarded emails which are very genuine, but tend to suffer because no one takes them seriously. Sometimes, there are calls for donations which are very urgent, but since a level distrust regarding forwards has developed, no one will bother forwarding them or even doing a quick check to find out if they are for real.
Resultantly, you will find people who would rather block their search engines and stick to traditional newspapers and magazines for information. But the fact remains that there are places online where you
can get authentic information. The key is to know where to find it.
For instance, websites of those traditional sources of information which are already known to be relatively more authentic than the rest can be used to verify information from other, unknown websites. These sources include the websites for BBC World and CNN, along with local news channels.
Another key to avoid using incorrect information is to recognise “wikis” for what they are. Encyclopedias like Wikipedia () are totally edited by the common people, so there are chances that the information put up there could be unauthentic.
Where emails are concerned, formula is actually quite simple. When you receive a forwarded email, simply log onto Snopes (). This is an excellent website which has compiled all the information that is forwarded on emails into categories. Within the categories, it has listed specific forwarded emails and their status, that is, whether they are true or false. You can simply search for the email content that you received and get an update on its status. If you do not find the specific email which you received, you can use an online form to submit the contents of the mail. Snopes will then evaluate that content, give it a true or false status and add it to its website.
In the end, it all comes down to actually making an effort to eliminate misinformation rather then lamenting incessantly about it. Of course, the key question which arises in this context remains: when the internet is supposed to be one place where a wealth of information is available, why do we have the tendency to add to the rate at which it is spreading misinformation?
Hot spots
The Following are a few websites that you can use to eliminate the menace of email hoaxes for good.
Hoax busters
http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/
This is a very useful website which has also listed down all the hoax emails. Along with Snopes, you can use this to find out which emails you receive are hoax and which are not. Also, it will give you details on what are hoax emails in the first place.
Virus myths and hoaxes
http://vmyths.com/
Use this website to combat the threats of non-existent viruses and worms. There is absolutely no need to make the rest of the innocent internet users paranoid. When you receive a so-called virus alert, log on to this website. It has an alphabetical listing of all those viruses and worms which exist in your email inbox.
Common internet and email hoaxes
http://www.3oddballz.com/hoaxes/
This website has organised all the forwarded mail that you can receive into various categories. There are sections for junk emails, urban legends, hoaxes, rumours and virus threats. Likely chances are that a forward email you receive will fall into one or more of these categories.
Of course, all this happens assuming that you actually bother opening these forwards in the first place. Chances are, most of you will simply select the entire lot of them and hit the “Delete” key without giving them a second thought.
This frequency of hoax emails is only one of the virtual trends, which have caused many people to label the internet as a place where the authenticity of the information available is extremely dubious. Where hoax emails are concerned, their extent is unlimited. Unverified news stories spread like fire around the internet and you will even find people attempting to update their anti-viruses to deal with viruses and worms which do not even exist!
But what is even more puzzling is that some people actually look forward to these emails. They sign online petitions thinking they are contributing to some worthy cause when, in reality, there is no cause. They even honestly believe that Microsoft and AOL can keep a track of one email and ascertain how many people forwarded it.
Also, when it comes to spreading hoaxes, emails are not the only means under fire. Scrapbooks on Orkut () are littered with misinformation. Probably the most common and the infamous scrap was one which called on all Muslims to boycott Nestle as it is a Danish product. Very few people bothered finding out that Nestle is a Swiss, and not a Danish company.
Certain websites are also notorious in spreading rumors around the internet. Since this medium has virtually no limits, it is not humanly impossible to keep a track of who is posting what information and how authentic it really is. It is very easy for a person to make an account at Geocities () and update it with forged news. What is worse, unless someone complains, the authorities at Yahoo! would never know what is going on.
On the outset, this entire scenario may sound very funny - probably something not worth giving notice to. But there are quite a lot of naïve people out there, especially those who are new to the internet, and they fall for these mails right away. Then, there is a whole circle of misinformation since these beginner users forward these emails extensively.
Incorrect information on websites can also have very negative implications since today’s student population relies heavily on the internet to do their research work. In many instances, they blatantly copy and paste information from articles and encyclopedias around the web, without giving a second thought to its authenticity. A common belief is that if it is on the internet, it has to be true. In fact, the reverse may be true at times as well.
On the other hand, there are some forwarded emails which are very genuine, but tend to suffer because no one takes them seriously. Sometimes, there are calls for donations which are very urgent, but since a level distrust regarding forwards has developed, no one will bother forwarding them or even doing a quick check to find out if they are for real.
Resultantly, you will find people who would rather block their search engines and stick to traditional newspapers and magazines for information. But the fact remains that there are places online where you
can get authentic information. The key is to know where to find it.
For instance, websites of those traditional sources of information which are already known to be relatively more authentic than the rest can be used to verify information from other, unknown websites. These sources include the websites for BBC World and CNN, along with local news channels.
Another key to avoid using incorrect information is to recognise “wikis” for what they are. Encyclopedias like Wikipedia () are totally edited by the common people, so there are chances that the information put up there could be unauthentic.
Where emails are concerned, formula is actually quite simple. When you receive a forwarded email, simply log onto Snopes (). This is an excellent website which has compiled all the information that is forwarded on emails into categories. Within the categories, it has listed specific forwarded emails and their status, that is, whether they are true or false. You can simply search for the email content that you received and get an update on its status. If you do not find the specific email which you received, you can use an online form to submit the contents of the mail. Snopes will then evaluate that content, give it a true or false status and add it to its website.
In the end, it all comes down to actually making an effort to eliminate misinformation rather then lamenting incessantly about it. Of course, the key question which arises in this context remains: when the internet is supposed to be one place where a wealth of information is available, why do we have the tendency to add to the rate at which it is spreading misinformation?
Hot spots
The Following are a few websites that you can use to eliminate the menace of email hoaxes for good.
Hoax busters
http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/
This is a very useful website which has also listed down all the hoax emails. Along with Snopes, you can use this to find out which emails you receive are hoax and which are not. Also, it will give you details on what are hoax emails in the first place.
Virus myths and hoaxes
http://vmyths.com/
Use this website to combat the threats of non-existent viruses and worms. There is absolutely no need to make the rest of the innocent internet users paranoid. When you receive a so-called virus alert, log on to this website. It has an alphabetical listing of all those viruses and worms which exist in your email inbox.
Common internet and email hoaxes
http://www.3oddballz.com/hoaxes/
This website has organised all the forwarded mail that you can receive into various categories. There are sections for junk emails, urban legends, hoaxes, rumours and virus threats. Likely chances are that a forward email you receive will fall into one or more of these categories.
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