Internet Skills Framework

This week’s lesson focused on literacy goals and the research model.  We looked at four different research models and needed to think about which one would we would be most likely to use.  I posted that I would most likely use the BCTLA’s Research Quest.  First of all, I like that it is local.  I also like that there are 5 steps in the research process and all of them have student-friendly language.  Although many of the stages are similar to the Big6 model, I liked the language of “Communicate” rather than “Synthesis” for presenting the information.  I also preferred “Reflection” to “Evaluation” for the last stage of the process.  I think that students reflecting on their process and product is a better term than evaluating.  Students need to think about what they learned and what they could do differently next time.  I’m afraid that “Evaluation” would just have them thinking about judging the final product. 

Others posted about how poorly they’ve seen a research project used.  They’ve seen students just given a topic and sent to the computer lab to research it.  Of course they just type the topic into Google and then try to filter the results.  I agreed with them that this is not how student should be taught to research and they need to to be explicitly taught how to research and that it doesn't just involve typing the topic or subtopic into Google.  I liked one of my classmate’s ideas of requiring the students to use a minimum of six reference materials for their project.  Students must be taught, though, how to use each of these reference materials and then how to synthesize the information in order for it to be effective.

At my school, I believe that there is a need to promote an “Information Skills Framework” .  In the upper grades (Grade 6-12), there is an IT teacher who teaches some of these skills, alongside the other subject-based teachers.  In the lower grades (K-5), it is up to each individual homeroom teacher to teach the skills and nothing has been formally mandated by the school.

In order to accomplish this, we would have to change how our library and TL is used.  Currently each class from K-5 goes to library once a week, while their homeroom teacher has a prep.  There is little collaboration between the homeroom teacher and the TL and so library becomes a time for book exchange and story time.

I believe that the TL and the library would be better used if homeroom teachers collaborated with the TL to come up with and teach information literacy lessons together.  This means that teachers would come to the library with their class and that these classes would be coordinated with what was happening in the classroom.  In order for this to happen though, the library would have to upgrade its technology as well.  There are currently only two computers in the library, but we have a MAC cart with many laptops which could be brought in for some of these lessons.