Informative tool- Reflection after application

Was Hitler Gay? 

Adolf Hitler’s sexuality has long been a matter of historical and scholarly debate, as well as speculation and rumour. There is evidence that he had relationships with a number of women during his lifetime as well as evidence of his behavior against homosexuality. Although many claim that Adolf Hitler was homosexual, there is no valid evidence of homosexual encounter.


To find out about Hitler's sexuality, we have no option but resort to internet sources because these claims have been made only after Hitler’s death. Many authors and sources claim that Hitler was homosexual while many claim that he wasn’t. I were to prepare a PowerPoint presentation expressing my stand on matter, whether Hitler was gay or not. I checked out many sites on internet. At some point, I started believing that Hitler was indeed homosexual because some sites said so. But then again, information on some sites convinced me that Hitler wasn't homosexual. 

                                          

This simple task of preparing a presentation of just 10 slides took me into a very complicated task of thinking critically, making decisions carefully, and analyzing the contents that I read. All in all, through my experience, I feel that ICT as an informative tool can not only teach students the content but also ensure that they gain important skills that are essential in the latter part of their life. Therefore, in the future, I will definitely encourage students to use different applications and Software for their learning by ensuring that I guide them and keep them on the right track.

How do you know a source is reliable?

Whilst creating a PowerPoint presentation with information I have gathered regarding Hitler’s sexuality, I have learned that it is not easy to determine whether the information you are retrieving from internet is credible. To make my stand and my points credible, I have taken precautionary measures while looking up on internet for information. Here are some things we need to look out for to be on the safer side:

·         Author- If the material has an author it is an indication of a credible site. Moreover, if it includes his/her contact information, it is even more reliable.

·         Date and time- If the information available includes date and time, it allows the readers to decide whether the information is recent enough.

·         Domain- Domains like .edu are usually credible sources for information. Domain like .org has a motive to persuade rather than to educate.

·         Site design- A well designed site can be an indication of more reliable information.

·         Writing style- Information which has poor spelling and grammar are an indication that the site may not be reliable.

After gathering information about Hitler's sexuality I have learned that there are some credible sites which do not possess all the above qualities. We should rely more on sources like encyclopedia, Wikipedia, books, etc. We should always be careful with what we read because there’s so much material on the internet that finding the right information can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

“Not everything you read on internet is true or relevant.”