Beyond search: A skill set for online literacy
Monica Bulger
Questions
• What is “online literacy”? Turn to the
person next to you to discuss.
• Preliminary understanding of online
literacy.
– Online literacy is: faster (content delivery,
dynamic medium); more than a sub-set of
general literacy…involves computer;
navigation skills; beyond idea of browsing or
surfing
– Online literacy is not: traditional; simply
reading
Beyond search
Bulger | Fall 2006
Preliminary definition
• Online literacy is the process of gathering,
evaluating, and integrating information
from multiple online sources.
Beyond search
Bulger | Fall 2006
Approaches to study
• Given your academic background, what are
some questions you would ask about online
literacy? Turn to another person next to you to
discuss
• Possible questions:
– How are we defining online literacy? Is the online
medium expanding what we consider literacy?
– What are the cognitive processes involved?
– How would you further improve the interface?
– Dire cultural loss of literacy…has the experience of
online literacy put traditional book reading at risk ?
– Are other languages dying as a result of dominance of
English language online?
Beyond search
Bulger | Fall 2006
Interdisciplinary approach
• Media studies: What are the
consequences of participation? How is
reading online different?
[focus on the medium]
• Psychology: What are the cognitive
processes involved in online literacy?
[focus on how people learn]
• Computer Science: How can interface
be improved?
[focus on the system/architecture]
Beyond search
Bulger | Fall 2006
Interdisciplinary approach
• Education: How can we teach and assess
these skills?
[focus on pedagogy]
Beyond search
Bulger | Fall 2006
My approach
• Gathered research from cognitive
psychology, education, library science,
media studies, and computer science.
• Made table of cognitive and theoretical
models.
• Compared differences and similarities
between models.
• Developed preliminary model of online
literacy process.
Beyond search
Bulger | Fall 2006
Next steps
• Define key terms: literacy, reading, online
literacy
• Identify skill set: process information from
multiple sources
– gather
– evaluate
– integrate
Beyond search
Bulger | Fall 2006
Online literacy process
Set goals
Gather
Reading
skills
Integrate
Evaluate
Visual
literacy
Writing
skills
Computer
literacy
Document
literacy
Multimedia
literacy
Beyond search
Bulger | Fall 2006
Assess skill set
• Develop study to assess skill set
• Identify what classifies someone as highly
proficient
• Can these skills be taught? If so, how?
Beyond search
Bulger | Fall 2006