21st Century Information Fluency
Workshop
April 27, 2007
CESA 10
Jan Adams and Diane Plantz
Think of something you had to search
for using the Internet.
Did you find what you were looking
for?
What is the proper way to cite Creative Commons material?
Digital information trends
In 2002 about 5 exabytes of new
Where
is
all
the
New
information was created.
Film, Optical &
Other
0.0775
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bytes
Dat
Paper/Print
0.0003
Magnetic Media
0.9222
Digital natives
What “digital natives” don’t
do particularly well
What they tend to do instead
Turn a question into a query
Rush ahead toward an answer, either
grabbing the whole question “as is” or
missing an important part of it
Choose the right database
Enter words or phrases into Google
Recognize relevant information when
they find it
Rush past important information and clues,
continue to browse
Find better keywords as they search
Stick with their original words and browse
Verify the credibility of information
Accept what they find at face value, hoping
somewhere in the information there is an
answer
Photograph used by permission of cesarastudillo's photos, 2007. Attribution-ShareAlike license.
Digital natives
What “digital natives” don’t
do particularly well
What they tend to do instead
Turn a question into a query
Rush ahead toward an answer, either
grabbing the whole question “as is” or
missing an important part of it
Choose the right database
Enter words or phrases into Google
Recognize relevant information
when they find it
Rush past important information and
clues, continue to browse
Find better keywords as they search
Stick with their original words and
browse
Verify the credibility of information
Accept what they find at face value,
hoping somewhere in the information
there is an answer
21st Century Information
Fluency Project
http://21cif.imsa.edu/

The goal is to build the capacity of librarians,
educators and students in Illinois to



Locate
Evaluate
Ethically use digital information resources

Funded by the US Department of Education

3-5 year project to work with 1200 schools

Create a national model
21st Century Information Fluency
21st Century Information Fluency is a
sub-set of Information Literacy and
Technology Literacy
“Fluency” rather than “literacy” to
emphasize that the abilities involved
are more than basic abilities
Traditional
Library Skills
Technology
Skills
Translating a question
into a query
Verifying the
credibility of
information
Finding better
keywords
Selecting the
best database
Recognizing
information
that’s relevant
Digital information fluency – Big 6
Locate
Evaluate
Use ethically
Search strategies
Subject
Directory
Search
Engine
Browsing
Browser tip: page searching
Ctlr+F
Use the Find Command to locate a
term you are looking for on a
web page.
Today’s agenda

Translating question to query


Selecting an adequate database


Activity
Using operators effectively


Activity
Finding better keywords


Activity
Recognizing relevant information


Activity
Activity
Evaluating credibility

Activity
Today’s agenda


Explore Full Circle Resource kit
 Login as educator
 Activity
Create a personalized search engine
 Create an account
 Activity

Lunch

Afternoon activities
Explore Full Circle Resource kits



We will be working as students
No login required
Let’s get started by bookmarking!
Translating a
question into a
query
Translating a question into a query
Research Findings from IMSA


36% recognized the optimal query from a list
of three queries
31% understand that search engines perform
literal matching

17% regularly use natural language queries

12% misinterpreted the research question
Translating a question into a query




Start with a question or a problem
Task: Translate natural language into
language that is understood by a search
engine.
Search engines differ, but what works on one
tends to work on others.
Search engines perform a variety of literal
matching functions with Boolean and special
operators.
Question to query checklist








How many important ideas are in the question?
How many key concepts will I search for?
What keywords are effective “as is?”
Which concepts require hyponyms or
professional language?
Are there words that have multiple meanings?
Are stop words or clutter words included?
Are words spelled correctly?
Are the most important words first?
Translating a question into a query

Which is the most effective query for
'find the top speed of earth's fastest
animal'?

speed fastest animal

what is earth’s fastest animal

top speed earth’s fastest animal
Search challenge: Great Wall
Who first claimed that China’s Great
Wall can be identified from space?
Go to: Public Index
Find the Great Wall keyword
challenge
Search challenge: continue

Try other Keyword Challenges
Selecting
the best
database
Selecting the best database



Failures occurs before submitting the first
query.
Task: Predict where expert information may
be found.
No search engine performs a live Internet
search when you submit a query. (Otherwise,
how could they come back with a page that’s not found?)

Select appropriate database/search engine
(Deep Web)
Selecting the best database
Research Findings from IMSA


90% search with Google more than half of
the time.
32% use Google exclusively.
Selecting the best database




Who would know the answer I am looking
for?
Where would I find that expert?
Use Google/Yahoo to get there and then
use the proprietary search engine to go
farther.
Find a relevant database by using
keywords in combination with subject key
words
 Database
 Archive
 Repository
Strategies for deep web searching
Invisible Web Video
http://21cif.imsa.edu/tutorials/micro/mm/invisible/video/invisible_web.htm
Database challenge tutorial


Go to Index
Play “Can Google google it?”
 Try
another Database
Challenge!
Strategies for deep web searching
How many movies has John Williams, the
classical guitarist, scored?
Search
the SWICKI for Williams
Select John Williams Movie Challenge
Keywords:
?? + database
Strategies for deep web searching
What airplane finished the Sport
Qualifying race in second place at the
Reno Air Races, September 11, 2002?
Go to Index
 Reno Air Race Challenge

Keywords: ?? + database
Recognizing
information
that’s relevant
Recognizing relevant information




This failure occurs when a student looks at
the results returned by a search engine.
Task: Match findings with expectations and
evaluate relevance.
Computers are made for speed, which
encourages haste.
Hyperlinks and graphics can be distracting.
Recognizing relevant information


Practice effective scanning. Use one of the
Gold Rush activities (access through Index)
Read snippets carefully. Use Snippet Sleuth
(access through Index)
Finding
better
keywords
Finding better keywords




This failure occurs throughout the search
process: before the initial query is submitted
and as students look at the results returned by
a search engine.
Task: Select and try increasingly specific
keywords.
Effective keywords go unnoticed in snippets.
Effective searching is dependent on keyword
selection (as important as reading).
Finding better keywords

Finding more keywords in snippets: Use
Snowsport II (access through Index)

Try the Kermit the Frog Challenge
(access through Index)
Using operators effectively



This failure occurs while building a query.
Task: Increase the effectiveness of
keywords with Boolean and special
operators
Students generally do not use operators,
but when they do, they tend to use them
inappropriately.
Using operators effectively
Research Findings from IMSA



36% used AND incorrectly (by including
stop words and typing in AND)
54% misused the “ ” operator (using it
with only one word or with words that
would be more effective with AND or OR)
60% misused the OR operator (using it
with only one word or with words that
would be more effective with AND)
Using operators effectively
Practice with operators: Use Pirates and Piranhas
(access through Index)
Use Operators Tutorial (access through Index)
Verifying the
credibility of
information
Evaluating credibility




This failure occurs after information has been
located.
Task: Check the credibility of the information
and its source
Students often forego this decision and
uncritically accept whatever information they
find
Depending on database information may be
unedited, unendorsed and inaccurate.
Evaluating credibility
Should I keep searching?
(Revision Decision)

Evaluate the
Source
 Author
 Publisher
 Bias
 Links From

Evaluate the
Content
 Evidence
 Accuracy
 Date
 Links To
Evaluating credibility


Use the Evaluation Wizard (access through
Index)
Use Flash MicroModule Companions: you may
want to also look at the review information
(access through Index)





Author
Publisher
Links to (who links to this page?)
Bias
Try a Use it or Lose it Evaluation Challenge
(access through Index)
Evaluating credibility

Evaluate Golf Cross or another Bad Apple,
using a techniques covered this morning.

(author, date, links to, etc.)
Ethical use
Ethical Use
Try
Citation Challenges (access through Index)
Try
several of the Tutorial MicroModules




Flash
Flash
Flash
Flash
MicroModule
MicroModule
MicroModule
MicroModule
Companions:
Companions:
Companions:
Companions:
(access through Index)
Copyright
Citation
Plagiarism 1
Plagiarism 2
Explore Full Circle Resource kit


As an educator – login
Check out EVENTS (past) for
agendas and event materials.
Create a personalized search engine

Use Google Coop
http://google.com/coop/cse/Google coop
What practical strategy or
information did you learn today
that you can share?
Source: 21st Century Information Fluency Project
Illinois Mathematics and Science
April 2007