Application+of+Information+Literacy

Christine and I are creating a chapter for our Wikibook on Information Literacy. It is a work in progress, but here is where we will start to compile our ideas and our eventual paper. Thanks!

Here is what Christine and I have! I have been working on this for a little bit of time, trying to get my ideas in order. We have received great comments from lots of classmates and from our professor. Wherever our chapter ends up (Application or Tools) I hope it benefits other teachers. We would like to know what people think about where it should go. Just drop a note, because either is fine, just want it to have the greatest impact! Thanks~Meredith

//Nice job. As a teacher who is trying hard to figure out ways to use wikis and podcasting in her third grade classroom, can you expand a little more with scenarios or examples of how to use them with students. I like the resources on the blogging activities. Very helpful. Lauren B.// Well done. I do have a couple of suggestions though.You are focusing on tools in your page more than application. Your application could be pulled out more. As teachers, we need to teach our students to be information literate. Our students need to learn how to learn and relearn. Emphasizing this through tools is good but my suggestion is to be more specific on the hows and whys then the tool itself. Such as, using Inspiration or another mindmap tool to to encourage students to think about identifying, accessing, evaluating and applying needed information.... Somehow, before our students will become information literate we as teachers need to figure out how to embed the necessary skills into our teaching, activities, assignments, etc. We need to tailor our classrooms and the tools that we use to focus on information literacy skills such as,

> Or something like that. What do you think about tying your text into the skills needed to be information literate? Otherwise, I think you could incorporate the text that you have into the tools section of our book. Either way, great start. TC I went through and tried to incorporate more of this into our paper. You'll notice a few changes from before. Let me know what you guys think!
 * how to locate information from different sources;
 * how to apply information to real world situations;
 * how to understand information;
 * how to research for information;
 * how to interpret information using case studies, newspapers and magazines;
 * how to seek alternative information such as that from journals;
 * how to collect and analyze information (particularly from Web sites);
 * how to question the validity of certain information and how to be more critical of the use of information; and
 * more concern to ensure that overseas students (in particular) understand the assignment and examination requirements and expectations.

REVISED EDITION JUNE 29, 2008:

As mentioned in the “Tools” section <span style="color: rgb(240, 51, 51)">(you may want to provide a link to this page, when there is one! TC ), Information Literacy in the Digital Age, requires students and teachers to be able to access and manipulate a variety of technological instruments. With so many tools to choose from, proper application of a tool can some times be difficult to figure out. When should we use a blog vs. a Wiki? And at what point should the librarian step in to help our students understand how to utilize the technological tools available to them?<span style="color: rgb(235, 0, 0)"> media type="custom" key="889371"
 * Application of Information Literacy**

The Wiki is an instrument of collaboration and cooperation. A teacher can use the Wiki to help students improve their writing as well as their editing and revising skills.<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0)"> Through a small research project, or written assignment, students can work in small groups to peer edit or collaborate on written assignments<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0)">. Wikis can also be used for distance learning with students who have a variety needs (Birch, 2008) Ideas for using wikis in the classroom include: Look to [|Wikispaces] and [|PBwiki] to help you begin! More Ideas can be found at Ideas with Wikis! and [|How do educators use Wikis?]
 * <span style="color: rgb(251, 9, 9)"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0)">Wikis **
 * storing websites and bibliographies that might enhance a research project, as well as critique these websites for the information provided
 * groups mind-mapping and brainstorming of ideas
 * connecting with home schooled children to discuss assignments and papers
 * editing and annotating lessons to help students see how to and what to edit in their papers using proper techniques
 * post critical or analytical statements directly on the work being looked at, students have a better time when they can write directly on a piece and see the correlation of their ideas to the work itself
 * collaborating with distance learners in another district or country--the more students interact with others who have different values and ideals, the more understanding, tolerant and worldly they become (perhaps even running a community outreach program or generating ideas for community service project

<span style="color: rgb(251, 9, 9)"> <span style="color: rgb(248, 37, 37)"> Blogs are used for more personal reflections, journaling, or responding to prompts. Students can use them for book discussions, publishing daily work, getting to know one another, or as writing practice (Barret, 2006; Barrios 2004). Teachers may find blogs useful for posting homework assignments, updating classroom activities, and observing/creating classroom portfolios (Teaching Today 2007). Look to [|Classblogmeister], [|Blogger] and [|Edublogs] for starting your blog space
 * Blogs**
 * publish daily, by responding to prompts given by the teacher to think critically on course content and its application to the world
 * give updates to real world issues: surviving after an environmental disaster, overcoming an illness, losing a loved one--have students reach out with their blog to offer support and keep up with current events to share in class
 * provide links to interesting facts and ideas that will effect the students like rezoning of a school district, budget increases/decreases, implementation of school uniforms etc. Have the students think critically and respond to the situation, while also commenting on fellow classmates blogs
 * Post daily homework problems for mathematics that the students can write out a small paragraph describing the thought process to discovering the answer
 * Have students use blogs to post questions and allow other students to help respond and answer each others questions--it encourages community and critical thinking in the classroom
 * Use the blog to post important due dates for students work. If there are any questions about assignments, students can take the initiative to post and discuss on the blog with their instructor.

Finally, librarians are just as much a part of our classrooms as our students are. So, having the librarians be information literate is critical. Librarians can use wiki’s to have students involved in book reviews or they can create podcast on how to use the library. Here are some websites with ideas for librarians on how to incorporate the “new tools” into their classroom the library(Washington State Library 2001; Loertscher and Woolls 1997; Dalhousie University 2008). Librarians can also be asked to step into the classroom to demonstrate using a blog space or a wiki. Through demonstration, the students will all be brought up to at least the same level of information. This way all can understand what to do when they are asked to use the webspace. Consult your librarian about putting together a powerpoint or [|screencast] to enhance the learning process about the desired web tool. <span style="color: rgb(248, 13, 13)">
 * <span style="color: rgb(221, 14, 14)">Library Resources **

Using the new tools: wiki’s, blogs, podcasting, etc. in your classroom will create a learning environment that the students enjoy being part of. They LOVE technology and are eager to learn how to use new tools. You as a teacher can also learn from your students because for most of us, our students know more than we do when it comes to technology.When it comes to assessing what students are actually learning by using the tools. It is the same way you assess them every other day, expect that you have to be willing to allow the students to be more creative with their final products. A good source of information is: <span style="color: rgb(239, 67, 67)"> [|Rating Scale.] There are a wide variety of opinions when it comes to using the “new tools” in the classroom. However, we live in the digital age and we must prepare our students for an even more technology competitive world if we want them to succeed!
 * More Importantly: Why?**

<span style="color: rgb(250, 20, 20)">**SOURCES**: Barret, T. (September 2006) //Blogging Activities//. Retrieved June 21, 2008, from http://classroomblogging.wikispaces.com/Blogging+Activities Barrios, B. (2004) //The Year of the Blog//. Retrieved June 20, 2008, from http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/barrios/blogs/index.html Birch, T.S.A. (April 18, 2008) //Teaching Wikis: Ideas for incorporating technology in the classroom//. Retrieved June 20, 2008, from http://teachingtechnology.suite101.com/article.cfm/teaching_with_wikis Dalhousie University (June 12, 2008). //Information Literacy Tutorials//. Retrieved June 21, 2008 from http://www.library.dal.ca/How/Tutorials/ Loertscher, D.V. and Blanche Woolls. (June 1997). //The Information Literacy Movement of the School Library Media Field: a preliminary summary of the research//. Retrieved June 22, 2008 from http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/courses/250.loertscher/modelloer.html Sethl, R. (2007) //15 Educators Respond: "How would you use your PBWiki in your classroom?"// Retrieved June 29, 2008 from http://blog.pbwiki.com/2007/08/24/15-educators-respond-how-would-you-use-pbwiki-in-your-classroom/ Teaching Today (2007) //Teaching Today, How To: Blog Basics//. Retrieved June 20, 2008 from http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/blog-basics Washington State Library (2001) //Online Guide to Smart Information//. Retrieved June 22, 2008 from http://www.librarysmart.com/working/home.asp
 * //What about Wikis...I think there is potential here too!// Retrieved June 29, 2008 from http://classroomblogging.wikispaces.com/%3E+Using+Wikis