Abstract-- In the rush to adopt Internet technologies, many schools have underestimated the need for human infrastructure. Experienced educators know that we must add an "A" to "tech"; technology in isolation ignores the "A" in "teAch."
To conduct research on the Internet, it is imperative that students and teachers examine information sources with a critical eye, evaluating their authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency and relevance. Students must learn to navigate the Internet skillfully by using subject directories and search engines. Teachers must also consider the design of their research assignments so that they promote original thinking through synthesizing a variety of materials and avoid Internet-fostered plagiarism.
Index Terms—information literacy, information retrieval, information skills, Internet, secondary school curriculum, World Wide Web
I. Introduction
II. Problem Statement
Henry Jay Becker’s national survey, "Teaching, Learning and Computing: 1998," supports the CEO Forum’s conclusions. "We found that 90% of all U.S. schools have some kind of access to the Internet. What is so remarkable about this statistic is that most schools, which historically change so slowly, have made this connection within just 5 years." [1] However, Becker’s study also reveals the need for professional development appropriate to the integration of technology in the classroom.
In 1997, the U.S. President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) observed that, "The benefit to students increasingly will depend on the skill with which some three million teachers are able to use these new tools," and recommended "doubling the amount of the typical education technology budget devoted to teacher development from 15 percent to at least 30 percent." [12] Margaret Honey concurs: "Teachers cannot be expected to learn how to use educational technology in their teaching after a one-time workshop. Teachers need in-depth, sustained assistance not only in the use of the technology but in their efforts to integrate technology into the curriculum." [2]
Some entrepreneurs have tried to meet the challenge of inadequate professional development by creating CD-ROM resources and structured sequential courses. Their products may be glitzy and glamorous, and administrators may be tempted to buy them as an "easy" solution. However, any technology offering which ignores the disparity among individuals and the need for ongoing, personal support is likely to be as unsuccessful as the one-time workshop.
Educators need a framework to organize their thinking about integrating technology in the curriculum. Research is traditionally part of the pre-university curriculum. Perhaps we can use the research process to introduce information literacy and technology skills.
III. Information Literacy
As computers became essential in the workplace and dribbled into schools, "computer literacy" entered the curriculum, usually in the form of an introduction to the new vocabulary of bits and bytes, hardware and software. Computer courses focused on programming languages. "Keyboarding" replaced typing.
A. Definition
The term "information literacy" first appeared in the mid-1970s as
awareness grew that information was becoming an overwhelming and unmanageable
deluge. In the 1980s, people realized that computers might be useful tools
for organizing and retrieving information. In 1989, the American Library
Association codified a definition which provided the basis for subsequent
discussion: "To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize
when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and
use effectively the needed information." ["Final Report of the American
Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy" (1989)
quoted in 13, p. 22] In other words, "literacy" implies more than vocabulary
and awareness; it requires critical thinking.
B. Economic Motivators
Economic forecasters and business analysts predict that 21st
century jobs will require information-processing skills. They expect a
fundamental shift from production to information management, with a much
higher percentage of the workforce employed in service industries. The
1990 report of the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills
(SCANS) identifies information and technology as two of the five competencies
essential for employment. [13]
Thus, this is not solely an education issue; it is an economic issue. Just as the realities of the workplace dictated the introduction of computers into schools, the needs of the future work force dictate the importance of acquiring information problem-solving skills.
And this is not an exclusively American challenge; it is an international challenge. The June 1999, G8 Economic Summit concluded: "The challenge every country faces is how to become a learning society and to ensure that its citizens are equipped with the knowledge, skills and qualifications they will need in the next century. Economies and societies are increasingly knowledge-based. Education and skills are indispensable to achieving economic success, civic responsibility and social cohesion." [7]
C. Standards
The American Library Association (ALA) and the American Association
of School Librarians (AASL) have made significant efforts to guide policy-making
and standards development. The new edition of Information Power: Building
Partnerships for Learning, released in July 1998, is a result of the
collaboration between AASL and the Association for Educational Communications
and Technology (AECT). Information Power presents "Information Literacy
Standards for Student Learning" which have been incorporated in "Indicators
of Schools of Quality" by the National Study of School Evaluation. (Appendix
A) This powerful collection of nine standards and 29 indicators of proficiency
in information literacy, independent learning and socially responsible
use of electronic information can provide the foundation for organizing
interdisciplinary research activities that promote critical thinking and
the acquisition of the information-processing skills necessary for future
success. [4]
Information Power supplies parallels between information literacy standards and evolving national standards in fourteen content areas compiled by the Midcontinent Research and Evaluation Laboratory. [4] Another significant effort to guide the infusion of technology in instruction resulted in the National Educational Technology Standards for Students: Connecting Curriculum and Technology. [5] The NETS Project, an initiative of the International Society for Technology in Education, garnered the support of virtually every major American educational association. The national educational technology standards are grouped into six categories, four of which emphasize technology as a tool to facilitate productivity, communication, research, and problem-solving and decision-making. (Appendix B)
D. Implications for Educators
What are the implications for educators? Traditional "research papers"
(cutting and pasting from an encyclopedia) and traditional "library skills"
(using the card catalog to locate materials) are obviously inadequate to
the task of empowering an information literate citizenry.
In the Information Age, students must be able to purposefully access information from a variety of sources, analyze and evaluate the information, and then integrate it to construct a personal knowledge base from which to make intelligent decisions. To foster these capabilities, educators must re-examine their assignments and teaching strategies in light of constructivist learning theory. We must recognize and accept the fact that knowledge is changing so fast that no traditional curriculum can supply students with fact-based learning sufficient to the challenges they will face. Instead, we must teach them the skills to continue learning independently long after they are out of school.
IV. Evaluating Web Resources
A. Authority
Student researchers should consider the authority of the site, identifying
the author and his qualifications as well as the organization that sponsors
the site. Domains identified as .com (commercial) may be tailoring the
information they provide to sell a product. While one might be tempted
to assume that .edu (education) domains contain authoritative information,
examining Professor Arthur Butz’ web page hosted by Northwestern University
(http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~abutz) reveals a view of the Holocaust that
few historians would support.
B. Accuracy and Objectivity
Students should assess the accuracy and objectivity of the information
provided by distinguishing among facts, point of view, and opinion. One
can find diametrically opposed points of view from authoritative sources
on scientific issues such as the use of animals in research or the seriousness
of environmental problems. Students need to be aware of the effects opinion,
misleading information, and bias can introduce into their understanding
of a problem.
C. Currency and Relevance
Students should consider the currency of information by checking revision
dates. They should also evaluate the relevance of the information; it is
easy to lose track of one’s original research question when confronted
with an overwhelming profusion of resources.
Kathy Schrock’s presentation at the National Educational Computing Conference (1999), the "ABC’s of Web Site Evaluation," neatly summarizes the factors to be considered. (http://www.school.discovery.com/schrockguide/presentations/abc.ppt)
V. Searching for Information
A. Subject Directories
I encourage new users to start with a subject directory of evaluated
resources that organizes information hierarchically. Kathy Schrock’s Guide
for Educators (http://www.school.discovery.com/schrockguide) is particularly
useful to educators.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica’s Guide to the Internet (http://www.eblast.com/) provides not only its own content but recommended web sites and current magazine articles relevant to a student’s query. BUBL Link Catalogue of Internet Resources (http://bubl.ac.uk/link/) has a European focus and is organized into more traditional academic categories than popular subject directories designed for the general public. One can also browse by Dewey Decimal classification, resource type, or an alphabetical index. The Librarians' Index to the Internet (http://www.lii.org) is a searchable, annotated subject directory of more than 6,000 Internet resources selected and evaluated by librarians for their usefulness to users of public libraries. It's meant to be used by both librarians and non-librarians as a reliable and efficient guide to described and evaluated Internet resources.
B. Search Engines
As teachers and students discover the wealth of educationally useful
resources available on the World Wide Web, they begin to imagine how they
might use them in student research. To conduct research on the Internet,
they must learn to navigate it skillfully by using search engines. Skillful
navigation requires an awareness of the different results likely to be
obtained from different search engines. I often use a simple quantitative
comparison: how many results do you obtain from the same query entered
in different search engines? The variation is obviously significant. This
realization leads one to investigate how different search engines structure
their queries and compile their results. [11]
Ask Jeeves (http://www.askjeeves.com) is useful to students because it allows them to search using natural language queries. Northern Light (http://www.northernlight.com) organizes the results of a query into meaningful categories. Debbie Abilock recommends search engines based on the type of information a student needs. For example, "I have general keyword(s) and need help refining my search strategy" or "I need quality, evaluated links from a subject expert." (http://nuevaschool.org/~debbie/library/research/adviceengine.html)
Of course, these recommendations change frequently, but web articles evaluating search engines appear almost as frequently. Like ocean currents or desert dunes, the landscape of the World Wide Web is constantly shifting. We must teach searching skills that are adaptable to evolving tools rather than the specific characteristics of particular search engines.
Selecting resources appropriate to the task is also an essential element of effective information gathering. Library media specialists will recognize that print resources are still valuable, but they may have trouble convincing their students! Students and teachers need to understand the limitations of the Internet as an information resource: while it is ideally suited for explorations of subjects that change rapidly (e.g. science and current events), it is less comprehensive in its coverage of historical and literary topics. [11]
VI. Adapting the Research Process
The availability and variety of Internet resources gives new meaning to the expression "a library without walls." Using World Wide Web sites for student research can be a rewarding experience, but it requires thoughtful design and careful consideration of context.
A. Research Process
A number of authors have attempted to delineate the research process
by creating broadly applicable models that describe a sequence of activities.
Whether they list six steps or ten, research models generally include the
following items:
Furthermore, although they are useful to organize teachers’ and students’ thinking about research, the biggest failing of research models is that they describe a recursive process in linear terms. I tell students that "re-search" literally means "to search and search again."
C.C. Kulthau’s research contributes another dimension to understanding the research process. She asked high school students how they felt while engaged in research, as well as observed what actions they took to solve their information needs. She discovered that students experience a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty at the beginning of a research project. They are optimistic when they select a topic, but then become confused and frustrated when they begin to explore information available about the topic. As they re-examine and clarify their formulation of the topic, they become more focused and more confident in their research. "Kulthau’s research into the information seeking behavior of students points directly to her philosophy about information literacy – that information literacy is not a discrete set of skills, but rather a way of learning." [13, p. 72] Helping students – both youngsters and adults – recognize that uncertainty is a normal part of the research process may alleviate their anxiety and allow them to view research as an information problem solving challenge.
We can advance information literacy by supplying teachers with research organizers that promote critical thinking (like the Big6 Skills, http://www.big6.com) and encouraging them to develop inquiry-based projects (like WebQuests, http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/overview.htm). "Applying Big6 Skills and Information Literacy Standards to Internet Research" (http://www.surfline.ne.jp/janetm/big6info.htm) correlates the research and information problem-solving design known as the Big6 Skills with specific elements of information literacy standards and provides activities to clarify their application to Internet research. [9]
B. Designing Research Assignments
When we consider using Internet resources to supplement student research,
we must also consider the design of our research assignment so that it
promotes original thinking through synthesizing a variety of materials.
To use information accurately and creatively, the student must be able
to organize it, integrate it into his own knowledge, apply it to critical
thinking and problem solving, and communicate the results of his analysis.
In order to facilitate the acquisition of these skills, we must create
assignments that challenge students to go beyond the simple gathering and
regurgitation of facts. Theorists who defined inquiry-based learning (project-based
learning, resource-based learning) and teachers who have used it successfully
recognize the impact this strategy can have on understanding subject matter.
"When information and library skills are taught in the context of information
problem-solving, and within subject areas, a positive effect on the learning
process and on students’ attitudes is created." [13, p. 79]
Teaching information literacy skills in a way that students will be able to assimilate them into lifelong information problem-solving strategies requires that teachers re-evaluate their traditional research project assignments. Appropriate activities challenge students to engage in critical thinking, work collaboratively in groups, apply the results of their information gathering to real world problems, and present their results in a variety of formats. Content learning is more likely to be remembered when students establish connections with their prior knowledge. Clearly stated expectations and authentic assessment tend to improve the quality of the final product. [6]
Designing motivational research projects that incorporate constructivist principles, enable the acquisition of information literacy skills, and are creative enough in their expectations of original thinking to make Internet-fostered plagiarism impossible is a challenge. We must connect research to students’ interests and prior knowledge, give them meaningful choices, and create inquiry-based projects whose outcome is not predetermined. It simply requires looking at the old curriculum in new ways.
If we acknowledge student anxiety and discomfort at the beginning of a research project, we can also recognize that teachers feel anxious and uncomfortable in a learning environment that fosters active learners producing unpredictable results. Strategies to incorporate technology and information literacy in the classroom should be part of our professional development efforts.
VII. Conclusion
Appendix A
Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning
The student who is information literate
National Educational Technology Standards for Students
Basic operations and concepts
Internet Sites Cited
Information Power: Nine Information Literacy Standards
for Student Learning http://www.ala.org/aasl/ip_nine.html
National Educational Technology Standards for Students
http://cnets.iste.org/index2.html
Home Web page of Arthur R. Butz http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~abutz
Kathy Schrock, "ABC’s of Web Site Evaluation" http://www.school.discovery.com/schrockguide/presentations/abc.ppt
Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators http://www.school.discovery.com/schrockguide
Encyclopaedia Britannica’s Guide to the Internet http://www.eblast.com/
BUBL Link Catalogue of Internet Resources http://bubl.ac.uk/link/
Librarians' Index to the Internet http://www.lii.org
Ask Jeeves http://www.askjeeves.com
Northern Light http://www.northernlight.com
Debbie Abilock, "Choose the best search for your purpose"
http://nuevaschool.org/~debbie/library/research/adviceengine.html
Big6 Skills http://www.big6.com
WebQuests http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/overview.htm
Janet Murray, "Applying Big6 Skills and Information Literacy
Standards to Internet Research" http://www.surfline.ne.jp/janetm/big6info.htm
References