Transcript Online Resources

English 805
Online Resources

Karin Westman
15 September 2003
Goals for Today
• Reminders about range of online resources
available to students.
• Strategies for helping students develop their
“information literacy,” so they can use
online resources effectively for their
research.
But before we begin…
What fears or concerns do you
have about students using
online resouces for research?
Why I’m interested in helping
students with online resources:
• Students have difficulty “reading” online
resources for credibility and bibliographic
information.
– A student from one of my Expos 2 classes and her web
source on women’s body image
– Found information she wanted to use, but had no idea
about her source
• “Dads & Daughters” at <http://www.dadsanddaughters.org>
• “BBC News” dated 21 February 2001
• Results of a survey Naomi Wood and I
conducted Fall 2001
– Purpose: to evaluate how students enrolled in English
courses (300-700 level) use and view technology
– Participants: English Majors and Minors, Education
Majors, and others.
– 18 General Questions
• “How often do you access the Internet?”
– 7 Discipline-Specific Questions
• “When you need information for an English course, which
research method are you most likely to use first?”
Technologies KSU students
typically use
• 60% access the web daily; 30% several times
a week
• 80% use the internet primarily in order to
access their e-mail
• 74% have accessed a course web page
during a previous semester
(Fall 2001)
Of the 686 students surveyed,
62% use an internet
search engine such as
Yahoo, Excite,
Google, or Lycos to
conduct research
Before
any other online resource,
such as electronic full-text
or abstract databases
available through the library
or a catalog of library print
materials.
But does use = information literacy?
Information Literacy
“The ability to conduct searches, evaluate,
and create new ideas”
(Cynthia Bowman, 2000)
To be literate for the online
information age, students need to
be able to “read” a web page.
What about students
in Expos I?
• 4000+ in Expository Writing each academic
year
• Next stage of our research has gathered data
from this group about its information literacy
Information Literacy Surveys
(Fall 2002)
• Students’ previous experience with online
resources before Expos I
• Importance of developing their information
literacy in Expos 1
• Results
We need to make sure our
students know how to evaluate
online documents, since they are
already seeking them out.
Developing Information Literacy
1. Making students aware of the range of
online resources available when they sit
down at the computer to begin their
research.
2. Teaching students to develop their critical
reading skills for this online environment.
Online resources available to
KSU students
1. Listings of print sources available from
the KSU library stacks and Inter-Library
Loan
–
–
Located through the library’s online catalog
and its online subscription databases.
Include book-length studies, academic
journals, government documents, print copies
of newspapers or magazines.
Online resources available to
KSU students
2. Print sources which are now also available
in a digital format through a subscription
database.
–
–
Located through one of the library’s online
subscription databases.
Include print magazines, newspapers, and
academic journals.
Online resources available to
KSU students
3. Print sources which are now also available
in a digital format from a company’s or
organization’s web site.
–
–
Located through an internet search engine.
Include print magazines, newspapers, and
government documents.
Online resources available to
KSU students
4. Sources available from free-access web
sites or web pages which are only
available in a digital form.
–
–
Located through internet search engine.
Sites/Pages might be corporate, advocacy,
news, or personal.
Educating students to this range
of online resources is the first
step in helping them determine
the credibility and usefulness of
an online source for a particular
research project.
Classroom Strategies for
Developing Information Literacy
•Textbook resources
•Sample lesson plans
•Other resources and suggestions
Textbook Resources for Expos I
The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing
(3rd edition)
• Chapter 22 “Finding and Evaluating
Sources”: Skills 2, 3, 4, and 5.
– Excellent “Rhetorical Overview of Print Sources” and
“Rhetorical Overview of Web Sites.”
– Flow-chart graphic “Licensed Database Versus FreeAccess Portions of Internet” (593)
– Assistance for students in “Determining Where You Are
on the Web” (598)
– The now-standard “Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites”
(612)
Sample Lesson Plans
High Tech (computer classroom)
Low Tech (overhead projector)
Sample Lesson Plans
1. Modeling types of online searches for
students
–
Select a key word or phrase and search
•
•
•
–
the library’s online catalog
one of its online subscription databases (Academic
ASAP, Lexis-Nexis)
the free-access portion of the web using Google or
your favorite search engine
Have students discuss and compare the results
of these three searches.
Sample Lesson Plans
2. Modeling evaluation of an online source
from the free-access portion of the web
– Use a key word search to select a potential
source for a selected topic
– As a class, apply the “Criteria for Evaluating
Web Sites” to determine the credibility of the
web page
– Discuss under what circumstances the web page
would be an appropriate source
Sample Lesson Plans
3. Have students evaluate an online source
from the free-access portion of the web that
they are considering for their own research
project
– Respond to their questions individually as they
apply the criteria for evaluation (at home or in
lab classroom)
– Lead a general discussion at the end of class to
consider the results of the class’s experience
Other Resources and Suggestions
• When assigning your research paper:
– Decide in advance if you have any preferences
or restrictions about students’ using online
resources
– Clearly indicate these preferences or
restrictions in your assignment.
Other Resources and Suggestions
• Assign relevant chapter in textbook and
then set aside some class time to discuss
online sources.
• Remind students to print out a hard copy of
a free-access web page as soon as possible.
• Alert students about using Remote Access
to enter KSU’s subscription databases.
Other Resources and Suggestions
• Reserve a room in Hale Library to model
research strategies with your class
– Hale 408
• Room for 25 students; instructor’s computer; 16 computers.
– Hale 407
• Room for 25 students; instructor’s computer; 7 computers.
– Hale 113
• Room for 30 students; only an instructor’s computer.
– Contact Ron Ratliff [email protected] asap to reserve
a room, if interested.
Other Resources and Suggestions
• New Online Patron Modules developed by KSU
Library available through K-State Online
– Guide students through library’s resources and research
tools
– All students have access to modules with a free K-State
Online account.
• Have your students participate in a pre- and postassessment survey about their use of technology
for research
– If interested, please let me know as soon as possible.
Questions?

Karin Westman
[email protected]
532-2171