Information+Literacy

toc =Research and Information Fluency= == Information Literacy is the ability to identify what information is needed, understand how the information is organized, identify the best sources of information for a given need, locate those sources, evaluate the sources critically, and share that information. It is the knowledge of commonly used research techniques.

[|IMSA 21st Century Information Fluency Project - Search Help for Students of All Ages] [|Information Literacy] - Activities from Regina Public School Division [|21st Century Literacies Homepage] [|Workshop Supplementary Handbook] - A pdf authored by Alan November

Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:
 * Plan strategies to guide inquiry.
 * Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
 * Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
 * Process data and report results.

Identify A Topic

 * Select suitable topic**
 * What do you want to know about a topic?
 * Developing a question from a broad topic can be done in many ways, including brainstorming and concept mapping
 * Broaden and narrow**
 * Identify key concepts and words**
 * Prepare for searching by identifying the central concepts in your research question.
 * List synonyms and related terms in order to effectively search. A computer search cannot "guess" as to your intended topic.

Searching For Information

 * Databases**
 * Saskatchewan Learning Databases
 * Search Engines**
 * Subject Directories**
 * Library Collection**
 * Human Resources**
 * Primary vs. Secondary Sources**

Locating Information

 * Citation**
 * Understand the purpose and parts of a citation
 * Understand how the citation helps you locate a source online or in a library
 * Locating Sources**
 * Understand library collections and services
 * Understand how to locate sources using library classification systems such as Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress

**Credibility**
Evaluate the content, author, and publisher to determine potential biases and validity of the content > institutional affiliation (where he or she works), educational background, past writings, or experience? Is the book or article written on a topic in the author's area of expertise? Use the various Who's Who publications or use online sources to help determine the author's affiliation and credentials. > Search catalogs or databases. Have you seen the author's name cited in other sources or bibliographies? Respected authors are cited frequently by other scholars. For this reason, always note those names that appear in many different sources.
 * What are the author's credentials?
 * What other works had the author written?
 * Is the author associated with a reputable institution or organization?

**Usefulness**
Decide whether or not an information source is useful in the context of your research
 * Objectivity
 * Quality
 * Current
 * Coverage

**How To Evaluate Web Sites**

 * http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/webeval/eval12.htm
 * http://news.ala.org/ala/alonline/resources/selectedarticles/10reasonswhy.cfm
 * http://www.umbachconsulting.com/miscellany/velcro.html
 * http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html
 * http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html
 * http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/eval.html
 * http://library.sasaustin.org/webEvaluation.php

**Identifying Hoaxes**

 * Overview**
 * http://whs.d214.org/results/whslibspecial/researchhelps/fakesites.htm
 * http://www.gananda.org/webpages/hslibrary/index.cfm?subpage=311003


 * Hoax Sites**
 * All About Explorers - [] - suitable for grade five and middle level students
 * http://www.buydehydratedwater.com/ Dehyrated Water
 * http://www.thedogisland.com/ Dog Island
 * http://www.malepregnancy.com/ Male Pregnancy
 * http://www.sree.net/stories/feline.html Cat Stories
 * http://zapatopi.net/afdb/ Deflector Beanie
 * http://www.ovaprima.org/ Ova Prima Foundation
 * http://www.bigredhair.com/boilerplate/ Boiler Plate
 * http://www.fulkerson.org/ancestors/buyanancestor.html Buy an Ancestor
 * http://home.inreach.com/kumbach/velcro.html Velcro Crop
 * http://www.cimms.ou.edu/~doswell/Conference_papers/SELS96/WoO.html Tornado
 * http://www.dhmo.org/ DiHydrogen
 * http://www.google.com/jobs/lunar_job.html Google Jobs
 * http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html Pigeon Rank
 * http://www.umich.edu/~engtt516/index2.html Poggibonsi
 * http://city-mankato.us/ Mankato, MN
 * http://www.dreamweaverstudios.com/moonbeam/moon.htm Moonbeam
 * http://www.weathergraphics.com/tim/fisher/ Fisher Price Airplane
 * http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/ Tree Octopus

**Web Sites For Comparison**

 * J. M. Barrie sites: http://www.jmbarrie.co.uk/ vs. http://www.pixyland.org/peterpan/
 * White House - http://whitehouse.com/ vs. http://www.whitehouse.gov/