Throughout studying ETL
501 ‘The Dynamic Information Environment’, I have established a greater
understanding of the importance of developing an effective online resource,
searching, locating, selecting, organising and evaluating a range of online,
digital and print resources to enhance the teaching and learning of students.
Prior to studying this subject my knowledge of web evaluation tools, search
strategies and use of search engines how to attain and evaluate these resources
was quite limited
One of the most influential
learnings that I reflect on is that students’ needs come first and should be
the primary influence when delivering curriculum content, acquisitioning print
and digital resources and developing educational resources. Furthermore, from
initial subject content, previous posts (Edwards, 2016) and readings, I believe
scaffolding work using the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (Loose, 2016) while
delivering curriculum content, modelling best practice and implementing
instructional practices based on Constructivist and Behaviourist educational
theories (Pardoe, 2009;
Pritchard, 2009; Johnson, Cooper & Johnson. 2009) will
develop student self-efficacy, self-esteem and self-regulation, developing
intrinsic learners, equipping them to thrive not just survive in the 21st
century.
My knowledge has extended
to recognise that searching for information has become paradoxically simpler
and more complex for everyone, as you don’t know what you don’t know (Zickuhr, 2014, p. 35). I found that during
my search for resources for my selection criteria, website evaluation model and
electronic pathfinder there were many quality resources but it required me to
explore and develop my skills and search strategies as I attempted to complete
these tasks. As I would expect my students to do, I used information literacy
skills to skim read, analyse and evaluate online resources, highlighting the
great opportunity for Teacher Librarians to teach students of all ages to
navigate print, online and digital resources (Pinkham, Wintle, Silvernail, & University of Southern
Maine 2008, p. 3).
While creating the
electronic pathfinder and working through the subject content and further
readings, it was highlighted that web based resources are the most common way for teachers, Teacher Librarians and
students to access information (Herring, 2011a, p. 36;
Warlick, 2007, p. 3,
Hay, & Todd, 2010, p. 10, Pulver & Adcock, 2009, p. 18, Herring,
2011b, p. 22). Furthermore, student
research methods are changing, it’s now a fast paced process where students are
gaining just enough information to complete tasks or assignments, diminishing
their ability to think critically. (Purcell,
Rainie, Heaps, Buchanan, Friedrich, Jacklin, & Zickuhr, 2013, p. 13).
This highlights the need for the development of a search strategy, selection
criteria, web site evaluation model and the acquisition or development of
quality online resources to enhance the teaching and learning of students.
Completing this pathfinder
allowed me to further develop a search strategy to locate information I required.
It was developed for a year 9 HSIE mixed ability class consisting of boys and
girls with the best intentions to cater for the various cognitive abilities,
different learning styles and information search preferences used by this
cohort of students.
Through conversations
with the staff of the HSIE faculty it was decided that they would benefit from
an electronic pathfinder focusing on the depth study of World War 1 (Australian
Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2016a). This pathfinder
required students to move from resources that provided overviews of World War 1
topics to progressively more specific and pertinent resources (Crow, Nancy
& Lori 2011, p. 34).
This pathfinder combined
with the Information Search Process (NSW Department of Education and Training,
2007) requires students to build on prior knowledge, explore and evaluate a
variety of resources and develop critical and creative thinking skills by
questioning historical data and the reliability of resources, particularly
online resources within the subject context World War 1, and apply literacy
skills of reading to understand, skim reading and scanning for key words,
terms, dates and people to extract information they required. (Australian
Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2016b).
The developing and
evolving search strategy I incorporated to obtain these quality resources
consisted of many key aspects from Boswell (2016), and key learnings from
developing a selection criteria and web evaluation model in assignment 1.
I used Google and
DuckDuckGo search engines using the advanced search option where possible. To
search for key terms I utilised the school’s membership to SCIS Web (School
Catalogue Information Services, 2016), discovering that typing the terms such
as’ War 1914-1918’ followed by a specific topic such as ‘Conscription’ into
search engines delivered the best results. I also used authority collection
sites such as Scootle to search for quality resources. The selection criteria I
developed in assignment 1 and many of Schrock’s (2001; 2002 & 2014) ideas
for evaluating websites were also used to obtain what I believe to be quality
resources for this student cohort.
I believe that this
pathfinder will enhance the students’ use of informational literacy skills by
reducing the time to search for reliable source allowing for more opportunities
to extend on prior knowledge, guide and expose students to quality resources
modelling best practice and initiating the development of their own search
strategy.
While developing this pathfinder
I found it very difficult to write annotations for the student cohort that were
at their reading level. I used the online resource Readability Score (2016), to
determine if the annotations for the resources allowed for the scope of this
student cohort. This is a great reminder of the importance to differentiate the
resource and content I deliver in the classes and how students need to be
taught and guided on how to select analyse and evaluate print and online (Jin Soo & Neuman, 2007, p.
1508).
Students learn
differently and teachers teach differently. Analysing how your students learn,
evaluating the effectiveness of educational resources and reflecting on
teaching practices to gauge the success of your instructional approach will
ultimately enhance the educational outcome of students providing them with the
necessary skills to be lifelong learners and thrive in the 21st
century.
References:
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting
Authority. (2016a). 7-10 History:
Curriculum. Retrieved from
Australian
Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2016). General Capabilities in the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and
Social Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/overview/learning-area-specific-advice
Boswell, W. (2016). Web Search Made Simple. Retrieved
from http://websearch.about.com/od/searchingtheweb/tp/web_search_simple.htm
Crow, S., Thomas, N. & Franklin, L. (2011).
Information Literacy and Information Skills Instruction. : ABC-CLIO. Retrieved
from http://www.ebrary.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au
Edwards, S. (2016, July 28). ETL Learnings 1 [Blog
post]. Retrieved from http://scotttl.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/etl-501-learnings-1.html
Hay,
L., & Todd, R. (2010). School libraries 21C: School library futures
project. Report for New South Wales Department of Education & Training,
Curriculum K–12 Directorate, School Libraries & Information Literacy Unit.
Sydney: Curriculum K–12 Directorate, NSWDET. Retrieved from http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/assets/pdf/21c_report.pdf
Herring,
J. E. (2011a). Improving students’ web use and information literacy: A guide
for teachers and teacher librarians. London: Facet Publishing.
Herring,
J. E. (2011b). Web site evaluation: A key role for the school librarian. School
Librarian, 27(8), 22-23. Retrieved
https://maureensresources.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/websiteevaluationlibrarian.pdf
Jin Soo, C., &
Neuman, D. (2007). High school students' Information seeking and use for class
projects. Journal of The American Society For Information Science &
Technology, 58(10), 1503-1517. doi:10.1002/asi.20637
Johnson, J.,
Cooper, R. & Johnson, A. (2009). Introduction to teaching: Helping
students learn. Lanham MD: Rowan and Littlefield.
Loose, J. (2016) More than English: Teaching language
and content to ELLs. http://morethanenglish.edublogs.org/
New South Wales Department of Education and Training.
(2007). Information Skills in the School. Retrieved from
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/teachingideas/isp/
Pardoe, D. (2009).
Towards successful learning: Introducing a model for supporting and guiding
successful learning and teaching in schools. 2nd ed., London: Continuum
International.
Pinkham, C., Wintle,
S. E., Silvernail, D. L., & University of Southern Maine, C. E. (2008).
21st Century Teaching and Learning: An Assessment of Student Website Evaluation
Skills. Center For Education Policy, Applied Research, And Evaluation.
Pritchard, A.
(2009). Ways of learning: Learning theories and learning styles in the
classroom. 2nd ed., Abingdon, Routledge.
Pulver, B. A., & Adcock, D. C.
(2009). Evaluating information. Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library.
Purcell, K., Rainie,
L., Heaps, A., Buchanan, J., Friedrich, L., Jacklin, A., & Zickuhr, K.
(2013). How Teens Do Research in the Digital World. Education Digest, 78(6),
11-17.
School
Catalogue Information Services. (2016). SCISWeb. Retrieved from http://www2.curriculum.edu.au/scis/scisweb.html
Schrock,
K. (2001). The 5W’s of Web Site Evaluation. Retrieved from http://www.schrockguide.net/uploads/3/9/2/2/392267/5ws.pdf
Schrock, K. (2002). Teaching Media Literacy in the Age of the Internet: The ABCs of Website
Evaluation. Retrieved from http://www.kathyschrock.net/uploads/3/9/2/2/392267/weval_02.pdf
Schrock, K. (2014). Critical Evaluation of a Website. Retrieved from http://www.schrockguide.net/uploads/3/9/2/2/392267/evalmidd.pdf
Warlick, D. (2007). Literacy in the new information
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20-21.
Zickuhr, K. (2014).
Teens and Tech: What the Research Says. Young Adult Library Services, 12(2),
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