Frankenstorm 2012 Hurricane Sandy

A horrific environmental disaster...

And a lesson for me about checking my sources, no matter what...

So, I’m at the hair salon...

I decided I had to check to see if anyone else had seen them: She might even be able to submit the photos to CNN or CBC

So I went to the Internet And I searched “Hurricane Sandy + shark photos” Google found hundred of websites for me so I clicked on the first one on the list:

Hmmmm....

Uh oh...

is a website that exposes fake photos & news stories

What is INFORMATION LITERACY? our ability to identify: – WHAT information is needed; – understand HOW the information is organized; – identify the best sources of information for a given need or WHY the source works for you; – locate those sources (WHERE); – evaluate the sources critically by looking at WHO is the author; – and share that information WHEN your teacher collects the assignment.

Let’s check out my literacy: What: cool shark photos from Hurricane Sandy How: on an iPhone camera roll Why: I have no reason not to trust this person & they’re awesome Where: at my hair salon Who: an employee When: interest; to show others; WOW

How did I do?

Why do you and I need good INFORMATION LITERACY SKILLS? We are surrounded by a growing ocean of information in all formats; Not all information is created equal: – some is authoritative, current, reliable; – some is biased, out of date, misleading, false; The amount of information available is going to keep increasing so … So we need a way to distinguish between what is GOOD INFORMATION AND WHAT ISN’T.

THIS IS CRITICAL THINKING Is the ability to find a fact or a piece of information; Show that it’s relevant (important); And then... – show how or why it is relevant.

Where do you go to research a topic?

Websites written by anyone (you don’t have to be an expert); Content is not necessarily checked by anyone so it may be inaccurate; Information for citations is rarely available; Usually not organized to support student research needs; May not be current information or indicate when a page was last updated; Available to anyone with an internet connection inside or outside the library.

Databases Also websites but require a paid subscription; Information is from published works (magazines, journals, newspapers); Gives you access to full-text articles that can be printed or ed; Are selected by your friendly librarians to meet your needs specifically; Get their information from experts in the field; Facts are checked and double checked; Easy to cite (often they do it for you); Updated regularly; Can be accessed at school and at home.

We have so many to choose from...