© 2005 Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy “In the five years that I have worked in this district, I have noticed each year that students are more

© 2005 © 2005 Illinois Mathematics and Science AcademyIllinois Mathematics and Science Academy

“In the five years that I have worked in this district, I have noticed each year that students are more and more familiar with the Internet and completely at-ease in searching.

Despite this, they are not savvy when it comes to actually finding what they are searching for. They often search aimlessly or give up and just print pages and pages hoping that somewhere in all that information, they will find what they are seeking.

Too often, teachers assume that their students know how to find just the right information, even though the teacher has not spent time instructing the students in appropriately using the internet.

I have realized that many times the teachers themselves do not really know how to be an effective searcher. The teachers need someone who can either give them the skills or give them a tool to give their students the skills.”


“I’ve noticed that middle school students tend to believe just about anything they read or hear. They don’t know how to evaluate the credibility of any source, and instruction is necessary to make them not only better writers but also better citizens and consumers.”


“I worked with all my (8th grade) classes the past three years doing projects requiring the use of information on the Internet. I found that most of them enjoyed accessing information on the Internet.

Since our class periods were only 40 minutes long each day and we had limited access to the computers, I had to use hot-lists of sources that I found to be appropriate, reliable and directly related to the problem.

There were some students who were quite Internet savvy, and were capable of searching at home and finding additional resources which I could then evaluate and add to the list.

I think that all students need guided access to the Internet and training on how to be more effective searchers, evaluators and documenters of the resources on the internet.”


“At the freshmen level students are introduced to the library in a 30-minute orientation. As sophomores they are shown the various databases that are available to them through the Library Resources page located on [our school’s] website. Junior level simply builds on those skills. By the time that I have them in class as seniors, they have become complacent and rely heavily on the Galenet subscription databases that are provided for them. Although these are wonderful sources, it is a concern that when students leave [our school] they will not know how to find and evaluate reliable sources.”


““The traditional role of the teacher as the The traditional role of the teacher as the ‘fountain of knowledge’ must be reconsidered ‘fountain of knowledge’ must be reconsidered as massive amounts of information are readily as massive amounts of information are readily accessible over the Internet…. With the accessible over the Internet…. With the continued emergence of new technologies,continued emergence of new technologies, learning will be less about knowledge learning will be less about knowledge residing in the head and more about residing in the head and more about learning the pathways to knowledgelearning the pathways to knowledge.”.”

J.D.Frechette (2002) J.D.Frechette (2002) Developing media literacy in Developing media literacy in cyberspace: Pedagogy and critical learning for the cyberspace: Pedagogy and critical learning for the twenty-first-century classroom.twenty-first-century classroom. p. xvii p. xvii


“The traditional role of the teacher as the ‘fountain of knowledge’ must be reconsidered as massive amounts of information are readily accessible over the Internet…. With the continued emergence of new technologies, learning will be less about knowledge residing in the head and more about learning the pathways to knowledgelearning the pathways to knowledge

in a digital agein a digital age


What is 21st Century Information What is 21st Century Information Fluency?Fluency?

• The The goal goal of this program is to build the capacity of of this program is to build the capacity of librarians, educators and students in Illinois to librarians, educators and students in Illinois to – LocateLocate– Evaluate Evaluate – Use digital information resourcesUse digital information resources

• Funded by a Grant from the US Department of Funded by a Grant from the US Department of Education, Funds for the Improvement of Education, Funds for the Improvement of EducationEducation

• Short-term: Envisioned as a 3-5 year project to Short-term: Envisioned as a 3-5 year project to work with 1200 Middle and High Schools in Illinois. work with 1200 Middle and High Schools in Illinois. We are now starting our 4We are now starting our 4thth year. year.

• Long-term: Develop into a National ModelLong-term: Develop into a National Model


What is 21st Century Information What is 21st Century Information Fluency?Fluency?

• Information Literacy can be defined as “the Information Literacy can be defined as “the ability to locate, evaluate and use information” ability to locate, evaluate and use information”

• 21st Century Information Fluency combines this 21st Century Information Fluency combines this basic definition with Technology Literacy resulting basic definition with Technology Literacy resulting in the “ability to locate, evaluate and use digital in the “ability to locate, evaluate and use digital information resources information resources efficiently, effectively efficiently, effectively and ethicallyand ethically””

• In terms of the Big6In terms of the Big6™™ we concentrate on steps 2 we concentrate on steps 2 – 4– 4


Magnetic Media0.9222

Paper/Print0.0003

Film, Optical & Other0.0775

Challenges to K-12 Challenges to K-12 educatorseducators in a digital age in a digital age

• Vastness of Digital ResourcesVastness of Digital Resources

• Quantity over QualityQuantity over Quality

• Digital ImmigrantsDigital Immigrants teaching teaching Digital NativesDigital Natives

• Both groups struggle to find information they Both groups struggle to find information they need and to evaluate its worthneed and to evaluate its worth

Useful Information

Messed-up Information

Mostly Useless

Information

Misinformation

Malinformation


• The Web has not been designed for The Web has not been designed for educational useeducational use

– Large blocks of text Large blocks of text

– Non-juried contentNon-juried content

– Non-graded reading level Non-graded reading level

– Non-linear nature: HypertextNon-linear nature: Hypertext

– Visual (and audio) distractionsVisual (and audio) distractions

Challenges to K-12 Challenges to K-12 studentsstudents encountering the encountering the WebWeb

Student Perceptions of the Web

•The Web is motivatingThe Web is motivating

Interactive, immediate Interactive, immediate feedback, unexplored and feedback, unexplored and always changingalways changing

•The Web has the correct The Web has the correct answeranswer

•Experience is disappointingExperience is disappointing

http://www.nap.edu/html/howpeople1/ch2.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_G._Roberts%2C_Jr.

http://www.pineappleweb.com/


Source: Minooka Junior High School 7th Grade Language Arts students

Monthly26%

Weekly48%

Daily26%

Daily

Weekly

Monthly

How often do students search online?How often do students search online?


• 87% of all middle and high school 87% of all middle and high school students use the Internet (21 students use the Internet (21 million online teens)million online teens)

• 68% of all teens use the Internet 68% of all teens use the Internet at schoolat school

• This represents 45% growth rate This represents 45% growth rate since 2000since 2000

The Internet at School

August 2005


• 88% of online teens believe that 88% of online teens believe that the Internet helps teenagers to do the Internet helps teenagers to do better in school (83% of their better in school (83% of their parents agree)parents agree)

• 25% of teenagers believe that a child who is not using the internet by the time they start school will fall behind their peers (44% of their parents agree)

• 70% of teens believe their peers waste a lot of time online, when they could be doing more important things

The Internet at School

August 2005


Evaluating information on the Web:

How have college students learned to evaluate Internet information?

Training Students in Evaluating Resources (n = 543)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

LibraryTraining

InternetTraining

• Nearly 60% of all college students Nearly 60% of all college students surveyed have received library surveyed have received library training in evaluating traditional training in evaluating traditional resources, which came most resources, which came most frequently from high school frequently from high school teachersteachers

• “…“…about 30% of university students about 30% of university students have received training in evaluating have received training in evaluating sources on the Internet, leaving a sources on the Internet, leaving a surprising two-thirds of students surprising two-thirds of students untrained and presumably inventing untrained and presumably inventing their own criteria of evaluation.”their own criteria of evaluation.”

Investigating the practices of student researchers: patterns of use and criteria for use of internet and library sources

Computers and Composition, Vol. 17, No. 3. (December 2000), pp. 309-328.

Source: http://www.citeulike.org/article/4466


• Access, access, access Access, access, access – ““source is easy to understand” source is easy to understand”

(1)(1)– ““source is easy to find” (2)source is easy to find” (2)– ““source is available” (3)source is available” (3)

• ““When students seem to use When students seem to use sources without discrimination, sources without discrimination, they are probably using what is they are probably using what is most accessible… (no real search most accessible… (no real search is required)”is required)”





What makes a source most desirable to college students?


• ……up-to-date or recently up-to-date or recently published information (8)published information (8)

• ……the use of external support, the use of external support, particularly from primary particularly from primary sources (11)sources (11)

• ……the reputation of the the reputation of the publication (5), the author (17), publication (5), the author (17), and the publisher (22)and the publisher (22)





What makes a source most desirable to college students?


• The level of technical skills says nothing about the ability to The level of technical skills says nothing about the ability to process information into meaningful knowledgeprocess information into meaningful knowledge

• Students prefer to Students prefer to browsebrowse intuitively rather than search intuitively rather than search systematically using keywords systematically using keywords – Vague or ill-defined tasks are more suitable for browsingVague or ill-defined tasks are more suitable for browsing– Ill-defined tasks have more potential answers and are Ill-defined tasks have more potential answers and are

easier to answereasier to answer• Students search for the “right answer” rather than deduce an Students search for the “right answer” rather than deduce an

answer for themselves from several information sources (i.e., answer for themselves from several information sources (i.e., they don’t use the Web for inquiry)they don’t use the Web for inquiry)

• Without help, students lack skills and patience to search for Without help, students lack skills and patience to search for precise concrete information; they tend to accept information precise concrete information; they tend to accept information uncriticallyuncritically

Numerous opportunities to help K-12 Numerous opportunities to help K-12 digital nativesdigital natives



Search Wizard

Evaluation Wizard

Citation Wizard

Search Challenge

How did the design of Roman spears give soldiers who used them two advantages in battle?

http://21cif.imsa.edu/tools/locate/

http://21cif.imsa.edu/tools/locate/

http://21cif.imsa.edu/tools/evaluate/

http://21cif.imsa.edu/tools/evaluate/

http://21cif.imsa.edu/tools/citation/

http://21cif.imsa.edu/tools/citation/


htuelSteppinS

Search Wizard

Evaluation Wizard

Citation Wizard


Searching Skills Before and After

3.4

3.0

4.2

3.7

1

2

3

4

5

Class 1 Class 2 Class 1 Class 2

Before After

Sca

le: 1

=P

oor

5=E

xcel

lent

Self-Rating

Searching Skills Before and After the ProjectSearching Skills Before and After the ProjectSource: Minooka Junior High School 7th Grade Language Arts students

(n = 45)

19% average improvement for both classes


Searching Skills Before and After Searching Skills Before and After InterventionIntervention

Internet Basics Performance AssessmentInternet Basics Performance AssessmentGlen Crest Middle School

(n = 115)

PRE_TOTAL

POST_TOTAL0.0

20

40

60

80

100

perc

enta

ge c

orre

ct

42%53%

20% average student

improvement

PRE_TOTAL

POST_TOTAL0.0

20

40

60

80

100

perc

enta

ge c

orre

ct 60%67%

Illinois Teachers (n = 28)

11% average teacher

improvement


How we can help: Free Workshops and Webinars

•Building Digital Information Fluency Skills into Schools (full day)

•Power Searching (one hour, half day, full day)

Free Courses

•6 week Survey Course

•12 week Lab Course (3 graduate credits)

Free Curriculum and Tools

•DIF Investigator, MicroModules, Search Challenges

•Assessment

•Lesson Plan Repository

•Tools: Search Wizard, Evaluation Wizard, Citation Wizard


For more information: Web Portal

21cif.imsa.edu keywords: information fluency

Bob Houston, Director

[email protected]

Carl Heine, Professional Development

[email protected]

Documents

© 2005 Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy “In the five years that I have worked in this district, I have noticed each year that students are more