November in Springtime
I started this Internet column in September to thwart the tech birds of prey. They began circling when I retired and so I was shamed into “making a contribution.” But as Martha says, “It’s a good thing”- I hope for all.
October’s issue concerned plagiarism which continues to make the front pages of the NYTimes from Colin Powell’s use of a plagiarized report at the UN to the latest journalism scandals of Jayson Blair. These are critical matters and I want to conclude the NJECC season on a serious note. We have important issues in our profession and many of them stem from the 3 W’s as well as the 3 R’s.
Fran Patton and I participated in an Alan November workshop at Morris Union Jointure Commission. If you have never taken advantage of their workshops, I strongly advise you to consider their educational offerings–good stuff!) The topic:” Teaching Zack to think.”
In his presentation he discussed the SCANS Report that sets forth skills and competencies needed in the Info Age. However, there are 3 essential skills, according to November: to be self-directed, to work well with others and to understand and implement “information literacy.” According to the ALA’s 1989 Report, Information Literacy is to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."
We all know how the internet has enhanced our ability to locate information but what are the caveats that go with easy access? What have we done for our teachers and for our students to bring the definition and concepts of Information Literacy to a practical level? Here Alan November offers great help. In this workshop and his article November emphasizes the need to evaluate web addresses, starting with identifying the purpose. Why was the website created, what is the bias, what are they advocating? Who is teaching students how to evaluate the purpose of a website?
The next line of attack in Information Literacy is to uncover the author. Books have authors and editors; so do webpages. Here you will find a tutorial to learn about the authors of webpages and more about domain names. He uses the infamous www.martinlutherking.org as an example. You will also find a student activity sheet there also.
His third category involves the use of meta-web information, how a webpage fits into the context of other webpages. Understanding a URL and all its parts plays an important role but using the link command to understand context is another valuable tool. There is also a student activity for understanding how meta tags work.
Alan November certainly provides a great deal of help in dealing with these issues, but the serious questions remain –
How much do you, your teachers, and your students truly understand how to evaluate material from the internet?
Do you have a staff development component to deal with this?
You have the summer to think and prepare for November.
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www.mujc.org - Morris Union Jointure; staff development
www.academicinnovations.com/report.html - SCANS Report
www.anovember.com/articles/zack.html - Teaching Zack to Think
www.anovember.com/infolit/owner.html – Tutorial on authors of webpages
www.anovember.com/infolit/domain_name.htm - Understanding Domain Names
www.anovember.com/infolit/author_act.html - Student Activity Sheet-Authors
www.anovember.com/infolit/adress.html - Understanding a URL
www.anovember.com/infolit/link.html - The Link Command Explained
www.anovember.com/infolit/metatag.html – How Meta Tags Work
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www.infolit.org/ - Information Literacy-National Forum
www.cas.usf.edu/lis/il/school.html - K-12 Projects, Programs and Initiatives
tilt.lib.utsystem.edu – TILT – Texas InfoLit Tutorial – GO THERE! Great site.
www.big6.com/ - workshop offerings (remember Ferdi Serim?), examples and some lesson plans
www.denison.edu/ohio5/infolit/ - Tutorial
www.denison.edu/ohio5/infolit/b5webresearch/web8.htm - how to evaluate web info - good
sunsite.berkeley.edu/calheritage/k12project/infoliteracy.html – InfoLit, K-12, from the Digital Fellows at Berkeley, VG
www.habits-of-mind.net/ - Habits of Mind, Critical Thinking, K-12, Art Costa