Essential Skills for Today’s Learner

Holly Barton The Information Age has arrived in our schools... Widespread internet access and worldwide access to information Students and teachers communicate via Hardware and software abounds

Holly Barton We are seeing students... Overwhelmed with information choices Hitting the print button and thinking they’ve accomplished their research Spending an hour searching the internet for information easily found in an almanac or other print source Showing the inability to synthesize information found

Holly Barton We are seeing students… Failing to evaluate sources found, or their relevance to the project Clicking and not reading Engaging in rampant plagiarism. Cutting and pasting but not reading or understanding Regurgitating ideas of others - no original thought *

Holly Barton Information Access Physical Intellectual

Holly Barton Students Need Information Literacy Skills

Holly Barton Information Literacy happens when  we set students free to explore information and ideas.  we let them make decisions about how to use the information they have found.

Holly Barton Information Literacy  Ability to access and use information found in print and digital resources, and make it his own to create new knowledge  Ability to manage information from all available sources-- internet, media, periodicals, books, CD-ROMs, subject matter experts

Holly Barton Information Literacy:  A process  A shift in thinking  Vital to a student’s present and future success  Students apply knowledge to impact their lives

Holly Barton Students (and adults) are information managers and communicators who know how to manipulate vast amounts of information. Information Literacy

Holly Barton Information is not knowledge! It becomes knowledge when the learner: – Uses information to create his own discrete insights – Presents it effectively – Draws own conclusions – Uses Bloom’s higher order thinking skills throughout the process

Holly Barton Students Use Information to… Solve problems Apply information to real life situations Interact with information in meaningful ways Ask “why” and “what if” type questions

Holly Barton Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy Addressed through Information Literacy: knowledge comprehension application analysis synthesis evaluation

Holly Barton An Effective User of Information…  Realizes the need for information  Knows where to look for it  Finds appropriate information in a variety of sources  Makes critical decisions about authority, validity, currency, relevance  Comprehends information gathered  Synthesizes information to create new knowledge  Evaluates the process and the final product (All addressed in Information Literacy Standards)

Putting Information Literacy Skills to Work

“Schools need to develop consistent approaches reinforced at all levels which move students towards a higher level of thinking beyond the simple act of finding information.” Loertscher, David Reinventing Your School’s Library in the Age of Technology

Holly Barton The assignments and projects we give must change to reflect our information-rich society.

Holly Barton To help students survive in the Information Age: Focus on the process that students follow as they gather information. Change the assignments to require the use and application of higher order thinking skills.

Holly Barton Focus on the Research Process Adopt an information problem- solving model like Big6®, Flip-it® or IIM® consistently across all curricular areas.

Holly Barton Big6® developed by Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz – General approach to solving information problems and can be applied to any information problem situation – A process to help students find their way – Web site, workbooks, manuals, give workshops

Holly Barton The Big6® Skills: 1. Define your task. What do you need to know? How much info do you need? 2. Apply information- seeking strategies. Make lists of all places to get info List possible keywords to look up Read a basic encyclopedia article for overview, get definitions of terms. 3. Locate and access information. Get books, bookmark web sites, use online magazine articles, talk to people 4. Use the information. Read, highlight, eliminate sources,take notes 5. Synthesize the information. Organize notes, outline ideas,focus on most important data 6. Evaluate Look at rubrics, analyze how well you used your time, check to make sure you have all needed components

Holly Barton In conjunction with a information process model: Utilize standardized note taking sheets, graphic organizers, for all research projects to help students organize and synthesize the information they find. – Inspiration software KWHL sheets – Note taking sheets FactFinder sheet

Holly Barton Teach students web evaluation skills – Must be trained to look for authority, currency, accuracy, timeliness, relevance Require bibliographies or works cited references for all projects – provide quick and easy access to bibliography samples and tools to create them.

Avoid teaching information skills which don’t apply to a real assignment or project --meaningless when taught in isolation!) – Like teaching swimming without going in the water! Give access to a wide variety of information sources. Encourage students to use a variety of resources to complete projects – Let students alternate between print and non-print resources – Solves problem of computer access and increases information literacy at the same time

Holly Barton Keep information sources and technology readily available, and in good working order Ensure that teachers as well as students are effective users of information Encourage collaboration – Cross-curricular – Teacher and LMS (strong partnership to develop information literacy skills

The Newest Issue: Plagiarism Electronic data encourages new forms of undetectable and effortless plagiarism(CA) Information literate projects have the added advantage of reducing plagiarism “What do we call it when a student copies information from an author?” “What do we call it when a student copies information from several authors?”

Holly Barton To prevent plagiarism: Emphasize the processes involved – Require proposals, outlines, drafts photocopies, print-outs of web sites, note sheets Require students to apply ideas not just describe them Require a “reflection” piece as part of assignment Give credit - Require bibliography or Works Cited

Holly Barton New directions in teaching and learning: Move away from simple “one-dimensional” reports or projects susceptible to cut and paste Discourage assignments that require regurgitation of information Introduce information resources as needed and “teach by walking around.”

Encourage the flow of information in many directions teacher to student student to student student to teacher allow students to compare, analyze, ask “why” and “what-if” kinds of questions involve sharing of project with class, school, community, world projects have relevance and purpose beyond handing in to single teacher for a grade.

Holly Barton New directions – Students fully participate in the learning process (they are engaged learners) – They interact with and make judgments about a variety of information sources – They create a unique end product in which plagiarism is almost impossible

Holly Barton Example: *Add your own example of a lesson here

Holly Barton Information Skills Used: Applying skills to determine relevance Critically evaluating web sites Detecting bias, opinion, propaganda Conducting effective searches Citing sources properly Using the right tool for the job

Holly Barton create self-reliant, independent, lifelong learners, skilled in using varied information sources, who don’t have to rely on others to dispense information. Goal: