Welcome to the UK Premiere of Internet Detective Brought to you today by … Emma Place, RDN Training Manager, Institute for Learning and Research Technology (ILRT), University of Bristol Margaret Kendall, Senior Learning and Teaching Fellow, Manchester Metropolitan University

Coming Soon to a computer screen near you … A free online tutorial on critical evaluation of information found on the Internet. Designed to help students in higher and further education to use the Internet more effectively to help with their research for coursework and assignments.

Distributors The Virtual Training Suite (from JISC) (Intute = the new name for RDN) HEFCE-funded Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL)

Credits Institute for learning and Research Technology (ILRT) Department of Information and Communications HE Academy Development Fund

What’s the Story? Use of the Internet and online resources for research is now part of the UG and PG curriculum (QAA Benchmark statements) but: The Internet is getting bigger and more complicated every day Students can be over-confident in their Internet skills Staff are concerned about poor quality information from the Web being cited in essays and about the “Copy/Paste” culture Formal teaching in this area is piecemeal The old version of Internet Detective was well-used

Learning Objectives / Sections What's the Story? – understand the advanced Internet skills required for university and college work. The good, the bad and the ugly – see why information quality is an issue on the web, especially for academic research. Learn how to avoid time wasting on Internet searching, scams and hoaxes. Detective work – get hints and tips that help to critically evaluate the information you find on the Internet. Get on the case – try out your Internet Detective skills with these practical exercises. Keep the right side of the law – be warned about plagiarism, copyright and citation.

Available in two formats For optimum choice and flexibility 1.A “ready to go” web version Ideal for independent, self-paced learning – link to it from your web pages/VLE, course materials 2. Customisable VLE version Ideal for guided learning – adapt it to suit your needs

VLE version: special features Section selection Increase interactivity Communication tools Additional quizzes / assessment Blended learning Track student progress Use it in the way that suits you / your students !

Test screenings At Manchester Metropolitan University 28 MA/MSc Library and Information Management students 5 librarians from the InfoSkills team Through the LearnHigher CETL range of staff (teaching, learning support, librarians) and students from 16 partner institutions

Audience reactions so far Agreement that –tutorial is needed 94% –focus on academic information is appropriate 91% No-one disliked the tone / pitch of the tutorial –67% found it useful Format most likely to choose –“ready to go” 27%, VLE 30% –link to “ready to go” plus assessed quizzes in VLE 37% –not answered 6%

Reviews from librarians “I thought it was excellent. Concise and to the point, not too wordy and with enough self- tests and hands-on to retain interest.” “I loved the level and the tone - it’s easy to fall foul of cheesiness when you follow a theme, but it worked really well here. The graphics are excellent and really added to the tutorial” “It’s helpful to be able to show all resources as being accessible through the library web site”

Reviews from student librarians “the film noir style makes it more interesting and potentially engaging..” “very useful to know about internet hoaxes and where to find out more about them” “directed learning is more appropriate because some students may omit it and it is a really useful tutorial for all”

Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release Release Date: June 13 th 2006