As I noted at the beginning of the school year, the focus of Digital Literacy 2010 is Passion-Based Learning.  Although I have selected the technology skills that comprise the curriculum, the course content is specific to each student’s passion.  As they’ve learned to search effectively, tag and share websites, evaluate sources, and comply with copyright and fair use, they’ve done so through the topic of their choosing.  This approach has enabled them to explore something of great personal importance and acquire what are frequently referred to as 21st century skills.  Embedded among those skills is the idea of Network Literacy, which, in the words of Will Richardson, is “The ability to create, grow and navigate personal learning networks in safe, ethical, and effective ways.”

With ~150 students in 10 sections working on specific (although frequently overlapping) topics, there is no possible way for me, as their teacher, to serve as a content-area expert.  While some topics such as soccer or geology are well within my domain of experience, I know nothing of Irish folk dancing, mountain climbing, the violin, or many of their other interests.  And this limitation, as it were, creates the perfect opportunity to empower students to experience the benefits of networked learning.

Image Source: http://www.squidoo.com/socialnetwork-it

To actively foster this concept, we have employed Schoology as a private network where students can truly create, grow, navigate, and perhaps most importantly, connect with their peers.  Learning groups were created for each research topic, and the students encouraged to join the group(s) related to their passion.  By designing a safe, controlled environment, students are free to experience the important but frequently overlooked social, informal, and networked aspects of learning.  Unburdened from the pressures communicating in a public space, they are discovering how to post status updates, create discussions, and share links and files in safe, ethical, and effective ways.

While some of the learning groups have been more active and successful than others, this endeavor has connected students in meaningful ways.  A pair of girls who didn’t know each other discovered they both enjoy interior design, have become friends, and are trading ideas for the final project .  One of my most reserved boys found his voice online and is a regular and respected online contributor.  The students in the Video Game group have exchanged dozens of links, tips, and tricks, and have arranged to meet outside of school to play and discuss their game creations.  When viewed through the lens of the traditional 3R’s curriculum, these examples may seem trivial at best.  When viewed from the perspective of adolescents who live in a hyper-connected world, they demonstrate the power and potential of networked learning.

Yes, such an undertaking does not come without its challenges.  Some students will behave inappropriately.  Strong personalities may dominate a discussion at the exclusion of others.  The number of friends in one’s network can become a popularity contest.  Much of the content posted is often little more than electronic chatter.  But given that these students are or will soon be interacting in social networks that are beyond our influence, is it not better to learn these lessons within the confines of a secure, supportive environment?

If you haven’t yet afforded your students the opportunity to develop their network literacy, I would encourage you to explore the possibilities; there is much we can teach them, and even more they can teach each other.

The much referenced information overload/filter failure debate aside, in this post-Gutenberg age, when anyone and everyone is a publisher, web evaluation is a critical,  life-long skill that students must master.  Even though sites like the ever-popular Wikipedia do benefit from peer review, and researchers are developing new algorithms to detect misinformation, the ultimate burden of quality control still falls to the learner.  Fortunately, there are a number of excellent resources available for website evaluation, including those created by Kathy Schrock and Joyce Valenza.  To guide our students, we utilize elements of New Mexico State University’s Evaluation Criteria as outlined by Susan Beck and adapted into this Website Evaluation Form:

• Authority: Is the author(s) of the site identified and qualified?
• Accuracy: Is the factual information correct and are the sources cited?
• Objectivity: Is the site free from bias or does it try to sway your opinion?
• Currency: Is the content up to date and do all the links work?
• Coverage: Is the information useful, detailed, and in depth?

As an introductory exercise, this Internet Search Challenge from the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy drives home the point that information should not be used until verified.  Take a moment to follow the image-link and try the exercise yourself:

Hopefully you fared better than the 99% of my students who readily accepted the answer found in this caption.  Lest you feel too badly, it’s worth recalling that two years ago United Airlines stock lost over a billion dollars in value in less than an hour because of a false bankruptcy report that spread to Bloomberg News.

Because they lack content-area knowledge and are still developing their critical  thinking skills, students need guided practice identifying and evaluating these elements.  For those wanting to implement a thorough literacy program, the Evaluation Module from Information Fluency provides a free and easy solution appropriate for middle school.  For more advanced learners who have moved beyond the familiar (and hopefully obvious) hoaxes like The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus and the Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Center, there are numerous sites available for honing their skills.  Here are a handful of my favorites; please note that by describing a site as “legitimate” I am in no way endorsing the site but rather merely indicating it is not an intentional hoax/fake website.

• Boilerplate: The Victorian Era Robot: Hoax site complete with references to Amazon.com and endorsements from leading publications.
• FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform):  Legitimate (non-hoax) site that claims to be non-partisan but demonstrates lack of objectivity.
• Jacopo di Poggibonsi: Hoax site detailing the life and times of fictitious medieval artist Jacopo di Poggibonsi.
• Martin Luther King JR–A True Historical Examination: Legitimate (non-hoax) revisionist history site hosted by White Nationalists.  Note: This site is not suitable for younger students.
• RYT Hospital: Hoax site for the world’s most innovative and extraordinary healthcare.
• Texas Indians: Legitimate (non-hoax) site that lacks bibliographic documentation and seeks financial donations from students and teachers.

Just as learning to search effectively takes time, so does perfecting the art of evaluating  the information found.  Left to their own devices, most students  will accept as fact the results returned (just ask anyone who thought the Transformer sculpture was a Citroen C2).  Regardless of your discipline or grade level, if your students use the web I hope you’ll make an effort to actively engage them in becoming critical consumers.  The resources I’ve shared are only a starting point; please add your suggestions to the comments below.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, it’s a Citroen C4.

Digital books, online book resources, and portable e-readers are amazing tools for education and discovery because of the wide array of content they can harness for students. Google Books is a constantly growing archive of public domain and out-of-copyright titles that are often harder to find or available only at research libraries; in October 2009, it was announced that more than 10 million books had been digitized and scanned into the archive. That’s a stunning technological achievement and an invaluable one for the classroom. No longer will teachers be forced to live without certain texts. The more books are scanned, the more materials will be available to teach students about literature, history, and the forgotten stories that captured those moments.

One of the ways those digital books can get to students is through portable e-readers. These products aren’t new — Amazon’s Kindle debuted in 2007, and Barnes and Noble’s Nook in 2009 — but the field of digital readers is likely in for a boost with the release of Apple’s iPad. The tablet is being marketed as a new way to utilize the Web but also as a premiere, full-color e-reader that’s integrated with the digital bookstore. A classroom of students provided with iPads could download relevant books much easier than they could be ordered and distributed physically, and there’s no wear and tear as with the texts and novels handed down from class to class.

But one the greatest ways digital books can enhance the learning process is by helping people redefine their concept of books in general. Technology isn’t bound to paper and cardboard, but can digitally deliver everything from war stories to math lessons to, yes, Shakespeare. By bringing the same learning tools to students in different ways, new generations will learn the bigger lesson that it’s not the delivery method that matters but the product that’s being delivered. Students won’t just learn the facts; they’ll learn that there’s always another way to get them.

This guest post is contributed by Alvina Lopez, who writes on the topics of accredited colleges online .  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: alvina.lopez@gmail.com .

There are a number of excellent resources available for website evaluation, including those created by Kathy Schrock and Joyce Valenza.  To guide our students, we utilize elements of New Mexico State University’s “Evaluation Criteria” as outlined by Susan Beck:

• Authority: Is the author(s) of the site identified and qualified?
• Accuracy: Is the factual information correct and are the sources cited?
• Objectivity: Is the site free from bias or does it try to sway your opinion?
• Currency: Is the content up to date and do all the links work?
• Coverage: Is the information useful, detailed, and in depth?

Although written for a collegiate audience, these five points are applicable and appropriate for middle and upper school students.  This simple evaluation form can lead students through these elements:

web_eval

Although we explored and discussed sites that illustrated each of the five criteria, a “one-time” lesson will not make students competent at web evaluation.  To reinforce their skills,  students were asked to evaluate this site; does it appear reputable to you?

Web evaluation is a critical,  life-long skill that students must master to live in the post-Gutenberg age.  If you’d like to help your students become more informed web consumers, Phil Bradley has compiled an excellent (though slightly dated) list of examples to aid in teaching this critical topic.  I encourage you to check them out and remember; don’t believe everything you read….

• Basic Literacy
• Visual/Media Literacy
• Information LIteracy
• Citizenship and Ethical Literacy
• Network Literacy
• Intercultural Literacy

With summer only a few short months away, we are revisiting some of these topics with the intent of crafting a cohesive, spiral approach to literacy in the curriculum that can be implemented this fall.  Basic literacy, which includes mastery of core subjects and technology literacy, is our first area of focus.

The U.S. Department of Education defines technology literacy as “computer skills and the ability to use computers and other technology to improve learning, productivity, and performance.”  NCREL/Metri describes this literacy as, “Knowledge about what technology is, how it works, what purposes it can serve, and how it can be used efficiently and effectively.”  However it is defined, at a fundamental level, technology literacy implies an understanding of computers:

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We’ve drafted seven major sub-categories of technology literacy, each with supporting detail, that we feel define the basic knowledge and skills students should posses by the time they leave the Middle School:

In developing this document, we avoided naming specific applications (tools change frequently but knowledge and skills are more lasting), limited ourselves to what we felt could be reasonably achieved (we are incorporating technology literacy into the content-area classrooms, not teaching “computer skills” in an isolated course), and omitted references to online research and ethical use because we feel they are literacies unto themselves.

As this is a work in progress, we seek and welcome your comments and suggestions for improvement.  Once we have refined the framework, our next task is to establish the sequence for introducing, reinforcing, and mastering these concepts.  When completed, we will have a program that will help prepare our students for lives as truly literate citizens.

If you have not yet had an opportunity to read Johanna’s work, you can browse the entire book online and gain some valuable insight from our Q and A session.

Enjoy!

In the Introduction, you frame a brief yet persuasive argument for incorporating visual literacy into the classroom.  In your experience, how responsive are teachers to making visual literacy part of their students’ “daily educational landscape”?

Teachers and media specialists have been including visual literacy reflexively for a long time, in the way that they urge young readers to frame context and make sense of textual information through the accompanying imagery of illustrations. Art teachers try to pass that skill along, too, in the ways that they encourage students to interpret, and create, works of art. I think of those approaches as “traditional visual literacy”, and I believe that most teachers can identify with those techniques. The world of multimedia has broadened the concept of literacy-including visual literacy–exponentially. Today’s teachers have a full plate! They need to understand the relevance behind the concepts they are asked to embrace. If you teach teachers the why and how of visual literacy, they will find ways to incorporate it, because they will understand it’s place in the world of meaningful learning. It is my opinion that visually literacy training is a natural incorporation in project based learning initiatives and technology and information literacy courses. I hope to see more of it appearing in pre-service teacher training courses across the globe.

You have experience as an art teacher and library media specialist; how can teachers without those skill-sets become “visually literate”?  Does it require substantial professional development or can it simply be learned through practice and experimentation?

There are combinations of factors at work in knowledge gathering. If you reflect on your earliest remembrances, you may recall information gleaned through combinations of traditional and visual literacy. That osmosis might have taken the form of associating the familiar golden arches with French fries (visual literacy) or the letters O-A-K with a street sign that pointed the way home from the park (visual/textual literacy). My point is that there exists some inherent response within humans to meaning making through a range of literacies. But, for most of us, sophistry in those forms of communication requires learned skills, and thus, the teaching of those skills. That’s education.

In my book, I compare visual literacy training to reading instruction. I learned to read early in life, because I was able to make sense of the alphabet, it’s sounds, the assemblage of words, and connect that to meaning. I needed a teacher to spell out diphthongs, blends, and other anomalies of the English language in order to grow in traditional literacy. And I am absolutely certain that the required hours of reading courses were instrumental in preparing me to pass on, through sequential teaching and scaffolding of skills, the art of reading to my students. Visual literacy works the same way. While visual literacy is included in current literacy standards, there seem to be few formal training programs in visual literacy techniques for classroom teachers.

I think that many educators are acquiring visual literacy skills informally, through independent study such as that provided by the Center for Media Literacy (http://www.medialit.org/ ), and integrating what they learn into their classroom environment, with varying degrees of success. And, believe me, the success will vary! I could write a sequel to Engaging the Eye Generation entitled It Seemed like a Good Idea at the Time!

How does a school go about establishing a cohesive, spiral approach to literacy that follows a natural progression from kindergarten through fifth grade?

That’s such a great question! I have a very low tech, low cost response, based on my own experience as a media specialist. I unrolled two expanses of butcher paper (the kind we use to back bulletin boards), laid them across several 6-foot tables, and labeled the whole shebang “Literacy Skills”. I divided the paper into 6 parts, labeled each section vertically from K-5, and penned a question at the top of each swath of paper: “What do you want your students to know when they enter your classroom?” and “What do you expect them to be able to do when they leave?” Over the course of several weeks, classroom teachers dropped by and filled in the blanks. I measured their responses to national and state standards in literacy—using language arts standards, technology standards, and visual art standards—and shared those results with my faculty, filling some suggestions for gaps and scaffolding. When we came to agreement, I put it all together, and shared the results with my school community. That little piece of work formed the backbone of the multiple literacy work that we undertook through our media programs, and set the stage for an environment of collaboration and broad thinking about what literacy really means in our current age.

The text and still image examples that you provided were very powerful.  Does visual literacy extend to video? Have you tried any lessons/projects that utilize video in the classroom?

Moving from still images to digital story making to video production seems like a natural progression to me. My students and I began with our morning news show, which was, at its conception, a live broadcast interspersed with short video clips from students—interviews, announcements, and so on. Video became part of our wider classroom experience after we had worked with sequential stills for a while. We began with short, whole group projects, such videotaping a science experiment and outlining the scientific process. As the students gained skill with the production process, they began to collaborate on small video projects, such as the persuasive shorts described on page 113. Originally, we used Premiere Elements—it was smooth transition from Photoshop Elements, and included in the classroom pack we purchased. Later on, the district supplied each media center with a Mac and imovie. We submitted some of our work to the International Student Media Festival (www.ismf.net). Winning projects were uploaded to School Tube, courtesy of ISMF. Others were included in Best of Festival collections produced by the same entity. Adobe also came and made an educational short about the students’ work with Elements. You can view that at http://21centuryconnections.com/node/34

You address research in chapters four and five; at what age/grade level do you feel students should move from working with teacher-selected material to locating their own resources?

My fifth grade students participate in independent research projects. An essential part of that experience is locating, evaluating, and selecting their own resources. We dedicate some time to learning how to analyze resources in our media classes. It is an important aspect of giving students control over, and responsibility for, their own learning. That is foundational to the ultimate goal of creating life long learners. When students begin to select their own resources, I encourage them to “rate the resource” and explain why that particular source was effective or ineffective for their needs. And you know, they are not always going to select the best resources. Our philosophy about selecting resources is that “we have no failures, only successes we’re not too proud of.” When students have the skills to understand that a resource isn’t working for them, analyze the reasons, and make a deliberate substitution based on that analysis, they are heading in the right direction– acquiring a valuable skill It’s all about research and learning for understanding, versus “grab and copy” that students sometimes mistake for the research process. Like all authentic learning, it takes time.

I prepare students in the lower grades by providing a range of resources on a topic—for example, field guides in varying balances of textual and visual information, written on different grade levels, and let them select and evaluate the guide that is best for their personal use. In tandem with that is practice in making sure that students understand what they have read, and can communicate that information in a way that others can understand. Again, we are a talking about a literacy—information literacy. Like other forms of literacy, information literacy is a learned and sequential process.

Technology-facilitated learning often focuses on the appearance of the final product at the expense of establishing a meaningful process.  What advice can you give teachers in regard to ensuring a balance between the two?

My years in the field of visual art have left me well acquainted with this reality. As teachers, we are dedicated to student learning. Learning is process driven. Yet, skill and craftsmanship are part of that process. In addition, there is an art form involved in creating visual literacy, which means leans in favor of right brainers, and may tempt us to be subjective in our evaluation. After all, we know what we like! The rubrics that I describe in my book went a long way toward helping me, my colleagues, and my students find that balance between process and product, skill and art. When teachers and students work together to consider the multiple goals of a technology infused project, and spell out the objectives, they are creating, in effect, a road map for integrated, project based learning that will ultimately lead them to an excellent product. I consider revision and re-learning an important part of the process, so our rubrics always include a space marked “Not Yet”. That allows the student to go back and revisit some aspect of process that they may have failed to address, and to include that skill or concept in their final outcome. Each product will look different, because creative processes result in many outcomes, but the standards established for measuring will allow the students and teachers to stay on track, and analyze their work objectively. It’s important to remember that we are looking at this kind of learning through the lens of communication. Those “fuzzy shots” or jumping images a’la MTV can be richly communicative– if the student is able to explain the intention behind such “artistic” choices.

Many thanks to Johanna and Stenhouse Publishers for visiting Technology in the Middle and making this great opportunity available to educators everywhere!

Engaging the Eye Generation

In a recent post, I shared the news that  Stenhouse Publishers have invited readers of Technology in the Middle to participate in a book blog tour for Johanna Riddle’s Engaging the Eye Generation: Visual Literacy Strategies for the K-5 Classroom.  The entire book is free to browse online and offers practical suggestions, based on Johanna’s extensive classroom experience, for incorporating visual literacy into the curriculum.  Visual literacy, or the ability to make meaning from images, is one of several important and emerging literacies:

• Basic Literacy: The language and mathematics skills needed to function successfully on the job.
• Scientific Literacy: The ability to understand scientific concepts and processes to make good personal and social decisions.
• Economic Literacy: The ability to identify and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of public policies and economic conditions.
• Technological Literacy: The ability to understand and use the tools of technology to reach identified objectives.
• Visual Literacy: The ability to interpret, use, and create visual media in ways that advance thinking, decision making, communication, and learning.
• Information Literacy: The knowledge and skills necessary to find, analyze, and synthesize information using technology.
• Mulicultural Literacy: The ability to understand and respect differences among cultures.
• Global Awareness: The ability to understand the world’s interconnections.

*NCREL/Metri Group

Johanna’s book also touches on information literacy and the research process, and the scope of her work can be applied far beyond the elementary classroom.  I would invite you to read Engaging the Eye Generation and then submit questions for her either by leaving a comment or via e-mail. On March 9, Johanna’s responses will be posted at Technology in the Middle; check this space as the date approaches for more information.

Time Spent Online

Last week, Dr. Aric Sigman published The Biological Implications of Social Networking in the journal Biologist.  The report generated a considerable amount of media attention, including the article Is Social Networking Killing You from the New York Times, and this clip in which Susan Greenfield, professor of pharmacology at Oxford University, shares some of her thoughts on the study with Britian’s Channel Five:

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Her fear that “these technologies are infantilizing the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment” stands in contrast to the MacArthur Foundation’s Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project.  Released in November of 2008 after a three year study, the report suggests that “spending time online is essential for young people to pick up the social and technical skills they need to be competent citizens in the digital age.”

Opinions (and research) on the issue of social networking are sharply divided, but regardless of where you may stand it’s important to see multiple perspectives.  These two studies form a nice framework for understanding the many facets of life in the digital age.

Johanna’s book (which can be browsed in its entirety here) addresses the concept of literacy in the 21st century and shows educators how to update their curriculum to meet the needs of today’s learners.  Although the title indicates a K-5 focus, her approach to utilizing technology and visual media can be applied to a much broader audience.   Building from the premise that observation and creation jointly form the foundation of visual literacy, she clearly illustrates how traditional and visual literacy can be aligned to prepare students for the world in which they will need to be able to “decode, comprehend, and analyze the elements, messages, and values communicated by image.”

Anyone seeking to understand visual literacy, improve their instructional practice, and create authentic, engaging learning experiences would be well served to explore Johanna’s work.  As such, I would invite you to read the free online version of Engaging the Eye Generation and then submit questions for her to address (either by leaving a comment or via email) when her book tour stops here on March 9.

I’ll post more specific information/details regarding her visit as the date approaches, but in the meantime, enjoy the book and don’t hesitate to share any questions you  may have for Johanna.

Happy reading!

• Basic Literacy
• Visual/Media Literacy
• Information LIteracy
• Citizenship and Ethical Literacy
• Network Literacy
• Intercultural  Literacy

I’ve previously addressed the first four of these concepts, and the nature and value of Global Literacy are known to most everyone.  To conclude our introduction to 21st Century Literacy, I will focus on one of the most critical yet least understood of the new literacies: Network Literacy.

The Power of the Network

We have all seen commercials from Cisco, Verizon, and other high-tech corporations extolling the virtues and power of “the network.”  And while these advertisements are designed to sway consumers, they carry an important message for educators; there is strength and knowledge in numbers.  In today’s world, knowledge is decentralized and easily distributed.  The nature of networks, be they professional, social, or academic, has changed.  The constraints of time and space no longer apply, and we are shifting from a culture of isolation to connectivism.   As author and elearning expert Jay Cross noted,

“What can you do?” has been replaced with “What can you and your network connections do?”  Knowledge itself is moving from the individual to the individual and his contacts.

If we are to leverage the potential of this new, interconnected environment, we must come to understand the nature of networks as they relate to teachers, students, and the teaching-learning process.

The Networked Teacher

In May, we were fortunate to have Dr. Alec Couros, a professor of educational technology and media at the University of Regina, visit our campus and share his insight on Networked Possibilities.  Alec’s presentation provided an excellent overview of networking and is well worth revisiting.  Consider this image he created depicting the Typical Teacher Network:

Although familiar to all, this paradigm will not foster Network Literacy.  Instead, we need to collectively shift our practice to reflect the nature of the Networked Teacher:

Alec’s graphic illustrates a personal learning network (PLN), a dynamic, interactive collection of resources that extends beyond the classroom.  Notice that the elements of the typical teacher network are not replaced in this new model, but rather are complimented by myriad tools that support a bi-directional exchange of information and ideas.  The Networked Teacher benefits from being part of a system that truly expands possibilities.

The Networked Student

Students have ample networking opportunities that begin at a very early age. From preschoolers exploring Club Penguin to teens interacting on Facebook, social networks have become prevalent for many of today’s youth.  While these social sites have received considerable attention as of late (and not all of it positive), the Networked Student also understands the academic advantages of networking:

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Learning can be social and collaborative, and we can help students develop personal learning networks that mirror our own.  We must remember, though, that while we may be the center of our PLN, we might not be the center of theirs.

Teaching, Learning, and Network Literacy

In the words of Will Richardson, Network Literacy is “The ability to create, grow and navigate personal learning networks in safe, ethical, and effective ways.”  Students will engage in the networked world with or without us; our guidance can help them make responsible choices.

The teaching-learning potential for approaching education as a collective effort, as opposed to an isolated endeavor, can be transformative.  The network is always learning and more knowledgeable than its individual components…and that’s the power of the network.

A Whole New Meaning

As with the other literacies we’ve explored, Information Literacy is not a new concept.  The issue did not come into national prominence, however, until the 1989 Presidential Committee on Information Literacy Report from the American Library Association.  Their definition of Information Literacy is perhaps the most commonly cited and easily understood:

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. The information literate individuals are those who have learned how to learn.

While this definition is nearly 20 years old, it is still applicable today and is not substantially different from those being applied in other countries.  The challenges of locating, evaluating, and effectively using information in the 21st century, however, give the definition a whole new meaning.

Information Abundance, Relevance, Reliability, and Richness

Abundance: We live in an age of information abundance.  The technology firm IDC determined that the world generated approximately 40 exabytes of new information in 2007; that’s approximately 300,000 Libraries of Congress.  This summer, Google announced that it had indexed one trillion unique URLs and estimated that the web was growing at a rate of several billion pages per day.  Locating information is not the problem; locating relevant, reliable information is the real issue.

Relevance: For many students, the Internet is a familiar yet overwhelming space.  Of the several hundred million searches performed each day, many (and quite possibly the majority) are done without any degree of sophistication.  Students must be taught how to formulate effective queries, both in terms of how to search and where to search.   If they are to truly learn how to access relevant information, their toolkit must be expanded to include resources beyond the World Wide Web.

Reliability: In this post-Gutenberg economy, where we publish and then filter, the task and importance of evaluating information has never been greater.  Anyone can publish anything, and with complete anonymity.   While this may not mean the death of culture as some would assert, it does mean that students need to learn to be discriminating consumers of information; they can no longer equate published with reliable.

Richness: Applying credible information to simplistic problems does little to foster literacy.  Students must be given opportunities to investigate rich questions that require multiple resources, promote deep thinking, and help students “learn how to learn.”  Only by going beyond that which can be Googled will our students develop Information Literacy in the modern sense.

Next Steps

To move forward, we must reconsider our approach to information abundance, relevance, reliabiity, and richness.   Information problem-solving strategies such as The Big6 can useful in framing the research process, and we must be intentional in guiding students through the processes of locating, evaluating, and using information effectively.  Tomorrow will bring a few billion more web pages and several thousand new books; it would seem there is no time like the present to get started.