How can teachers help students learn to select and use websites for research purposes?
In our increasingly digital world, the Internet has become an unavoidable reality in the lives of children and young adults. Educators can no longer afford to ignore its importance, and they must find a way to find a place for the Internet in their classrooms and libraries. There are many challenges to this effort, but despite these obstacles, it is more critical now than ever to equip students with the tools they need to become "Internet savvy" in preparation for their future schooling, careers, and lives. According to Leu and colleagues (2004), "In an information age, we believe it becomes essential to prepare students for these new literacies because they are central to the use of information and the acquisition of knowledge. Traditional definitions of literacy and literacy instruction will be insufficient if we seek to provide students with the futures they deserve." This fundamental shift in the understanding of literacy is evident in any discussion of students accessing the Internet.
According to the National Forum on Information Literacy, information Literacy is defined as "the ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand" (NFIL, n.d.). The American Library Association defined the term in 1989 as a user being able to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information," and this definition still resonates so many years later. According to Melissa Jacobs (n.d.), today's educators struggle to teach information literacy to students who think "My research is on the Internet" and "I can just Google it." The pressing need for online information literacy presents both opportunities and challenges for all users, but especially younger users in the school environment. The Internet presents an almost unimaginable wealth of information at one's fingertips; websites exist for every imaginable purpose and interest, and information is closer to students than it has ever been before in history. However, challenges also persist, including the filtering and blocking of many websites within schools and the concern of parents and community members over the content that students can access while on school property. Educators especially struggle with issues of appropriateness and content online within the school environment (Harris, 2011).
Information literacy is a key skill for everyone in our digital age. Students may learn important lessons about using the Internet in the classroom, but the competencies they develop will have long-lasting and critical implications in their larger lives. Our world continues to be more digitally connected every day, and the ability to locate accurate and reliable information online will be an important and perhaps even necessary skill for students as they pursue higher educations and careers—and even their own personal adult lives.
In recent years, much has been said about the "digital divide": the gap between those who have access to information and communication technology and those that do not (Roberts, Foehr, & Rideout, 2005). Increasingly, however, the digital divide has become less about physical access to technology as more and more schools across socioeconomic levels are able to provide access to computers and other electronic devices. But physical access to a computer and an Internet connection does not mean a student has crossed the river that is the digital divide; without the proper tools to navigate the waters of the web, the student may drown in a sea of information without the ability to drink in any of it. According to Frances Jacobson Harris (2011), "credibility assessment is one of the greatest challenges young people face when searching for information on the Web" (p. 43).
Jacobs points out that many schools have embraced information literacy standards, but many teachers and students still don't connect with the concepts. A critical test for educators is locating appropriate websites and search engines for the age and maturity level of the student audience (Lindroth, 1996). The greater challenge becomes not just directing students to these pre-approved websites but guiding them to understand how to make the same judgments themselves so they can be prepared for their future school, life, and work online lives. The Internet offers students a wealth of opportunities from information gathering and socializing to lifelong learning, but it also presents a seemingly never-ending list of challenges for both students and educators who must deal with issues of To borrow a cliche, students need more than a net; they need to know how to fish online. And educators are important mentors and guides for them in this endeavor.
The most common in-school use for Internet searching is for research purposes. The following lesson plans are designed to help educators introduce key information literacy skills to students so they can learn to select and use websites for research purposes.
4th grade lesson plan
7th grade lesson plan
10th grade lesson plan
Additional resources
Kidsearch, a resource for safe Internet browsing and kid-friendly search engines
Common Sense Media offers additional lessons in how to choose a search site
The best Internet reference sites for students
References
American Library Association. (1989). Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, Final Report. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency
Harris, F. J. (2011). I Found It on the Internet (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
Jacobs, M. (n.d.). Integrating Information Literacy in Elementary Schools. Retrieved from http://www.njla.org/njacrl/usered/mjacobs.ppt
Leu, D. J., Jr., Kinzer, C. K., Coiro, J. L., & Cammack, D. W. (2004). Toward a theory of new literacies emerging from the Internet and other information and communication technologies. In R. B. Ruddell & N. Unrau (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (5th ed., pp. 1570–1613). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Lindroth, L. K. (1996). Internet connections. Teaching Pre K–8, 27(3), 58.
National Forum on Information Literacy. (n.d.). What is NFIL? Retrieved from http://infolit.org/about-the-national-forum/what-is-the-nfil/ Washington, DC: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
According to the National Forum on Information Literacy, information Literacy is defined as "the ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand" (NFIL, n.d.). The American Library Association defined the term in 1989 as a user being able to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information," and this definition still resonates so many years later. According to Melissa Jacobs (n.d.), today's educators struggle to teach information literacy to students who think "My research is on the Internet" and "I can just Google it." The pressing need for online information literacy presents both opportunities and challenges for all users, but especially younger users in the school environment. The Internet presents an almost unimaginable wealth of information at one's fingertips; websites exist for every imaginable purpose and interest, and information is closer to students than it has ever been before in history. However, challenges also persist, including the filtering and blocking of many websites within schools and the concern of parents and community members over the content that students can access while on school property. Educators especially struggle with issues of appropriateness and content online within the school environment (Harris, 2011).
Information literacy is a key skill for everyone in our digital age. Students may learn important lessons about using the Internet in the classroom, but the competencies they develop will have long-lasting and critical implications in their larger lives. Our world continues to be more digitally connected every day, and the ability to locate accurate and reliable information online will be an important and perhaps even necessary skill for students as they pursue higher educations and careers—and even their own personal adult lives.
In recent years, much has been said about the "digital divide": the gap between those who have access to information and communication technology and those that do not (Roberts, Foehr, & Rideout, 2005). Increasingly, however, the digital divide has become less about physical access to technology as more and more schools across socioeconomic levels are able to provide access to computers and other electronic devices. But physical access to a computer and an Internet connection does not mean a student has crossed the river that is the digital divide; without the proper tools to navigate the waters of the web, the student may drown in a sea of information without the ability to drink in any of it. According to Frances Jacobson Harris (2011), "credibility assessment is one of the greatest challenges young people face when searching for information on the Web" (p. 43).
Jacobs points out that many schools have embraced information literacy standards, but many teachers and students still don't connect with the concepts. A critical test for educators is locating appropriate websites and search engines for the age and maturity level of the student audience (Lindroth, 1996). The greater challenge becomes not just directing students to these pre-approved websites but guiding them to understand how to make the same judgments themselves so they can be prepared for their future school, life, and work online lives. The Internet offers students a wealth of opportunities from information gathering and socializing to lifelong learning, but it also presents a seemingly never-ending list of challenges for both students and educators who must deal with issues of To borrow a cliche, students need more than a net; they need to know how to fish online. And educators are important mentors and guides for them in this endeavor.
The most common in-school use for Internet searching is for research purposes. The following lesson plans are designed to help educators introduce key information literacy skills to students so they can learn to select and use websites for research purposes.
4th grade lesson plan
7th grade lesson plan
10th grade lesson plan
Additional resources
Kidsearch, a resource for safe Internet browsing and kid-friendly search engines
Common Sense Media offers additional lessons in how to choose a search site
The best Internet reference sites for students
References
American Library Association. (1989). Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, Final Report. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency
Harris, F. J. (2011). I Found It on the Internet (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
Jacobs, M. (n.d.). Integrating Information Literacy in Elementary Schools. Retrieved from http://www.njla.org/njacrl/usered/mjacobs.ppt
Leu, D. J., Jr., Kinzer, C. K., Coiro, J. L., & Cammack, D. W. (2004). Toward a theory of new literacies emerging from the Internet and other information and communication technologies. In R. B. Ruddell & N. Unrau (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (5th ed., pp. 1570–1613). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Lindroth, L. K. (1996). Internet connections. Teaching Pre K–8, 27(3), 58.
National Forum on Information Literacy. (n.d.). What is NFIL? Retrieved from http://infolit.org/about-the-national-forum/what-is-the-nfil/ Washington, DC: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.