SEARCH SKILLS (SL) AND INFORMATION LITERCY INTEGRATION (IL).

I have gained a lot of knowledge under digital literacy and have come to realize that when it comes to technology integration in education. It is not just a matter of using computers in the teaching.

And having realized the importance of search skills, I plan to help my learners develop the following search skills.

1. Check the Sources

Evaluating information found in your sources on the basis of accuracy, validity, and appropriateness for needs, importance, and social and cultural context.

As a class, discuss the benchmarks for evaluating a website: currency (Is the information up to date?), security (Does the site ask for too much personal information or prompt virus warnings?), scope (Is the information in-depth?), and authority (Does the information come from a trusted expert?). Challenge partners to find one site that meets these benchmarks and one site that fails to do so. During research projects, encourage students to check the benchmarks off a list for each of the sources they use.
 

2. Ask Good Questions

Developing and refining search queries to get better research results.

Give small groups three search terms each, ranging from the general to the specific.

3. Go beyond the Surface

Displaying persistence by continuing to pursue information to gain
a broad perspective. Invite students to create fact trees about whatever they are researching. The starting question is the root of the tree. 

4. Be Patient

Displaying emotional resilience by persisting in information searching despite challenges. Challenge teams to come up with a well-researched answer to a question that isn’t “Google-able.”.

5. Respect Ownership

Respecting intellectual property rights of creators and producers. By inviting students to write about what it would feel like to get a record deal, star in a movie, or have a book published. As a class, discuss the emotions involved. 

6. Use Your Networks

Using social networks and information tools to gather and share information. Talk to students about when you might use social sites for research.

What is information literacy and how I plan to integrate it in my teaching?

Information literacy is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner.

 Being able to access and manage information competently is a vital twenty-first-century survival skill. The current information landscape is constantly changing, with internet searches now commonplace, the move to user-generated content such as blogs and wikis, and the widespread use of social networking tools such as Facebook, YouTube and Flickr. Many people today – our current and future students – are confident in using technology, and in generating their own content. However, this also raises skills issues:

From the experience I have gone through so far in Digital literacy with IL I feel my students should have the following skills:

v Understand the information landscape.

v Plan and carry out a search.

v Critically evaluate information.

v Manage and communicate your results.

 I therefore plan to integrate information literacy in my teaching by helping my students to;

1.     Formulate questions for research based on information gaps or on re-examination of existing, possibly conflicting, information;

2.     Determine an appropriate scope of investigation;

3.     Deal with complex research by breaking complex questions into simple ones, limiting the scope of investigations;

4.     Use various research methods, based on need, circumstance, and type of inquiry;

5.     Monitor gathered information and assess for gaps or weaknesses;

6.     Organize information in meaningful ways;

7.     Synthesize ideas gathered from multiple sources;

8.     Draw reasonable conclusions based on the analysis and interpretation of information.

We’ve got to give people the skills to be able to make their mind up themselves.