Information literacy

To get more information about information literacy, I started my search in Google with the search term" INFORMATION LITERACY PROCESS" which resulted in 6,840,000 results  and the process of information literacy ended up in a number of questions. The website below  shows a sequences of process of IL
http://palmdps.act.edu.au/resource_centre/info_lit/projects/mascots1.htm

some of the search ended up in finding valuable resources on information literacy. some of them are:

Internet Web-Searching Instruction in the Elementary Classroom: Building a Foundation for Information Literacy.

Y Kafai… - School Library Media Quarterly, 1997 - eric.ed.gov
... Title: Internet Web-Searching Instruction in the Elementary Classroom: Building a Foundation
for Information Literacy. Full-Text Availability Options: ... Title: Internet Web-Searching Instruction
in the Elementary Classroom: Building a Foundation for Information Literacy. ...

EJ894249 -Personal author, compiler, or editor name(s); click on any author to run a new search on that name.Whitehurst, Angela P. ,Information Literacy and Global Readiness: Library Involvement Can Make a World of Difference

As the search provided lots of information, I wanted to refine my search. so I tried "INFORMATION LITERACY PROCESS +PRIMARY SCIENCE". The results were refined to 274,000 results  and I could extract the relevant information from the vast amount of information. My further inquiry showed me different models of science based learning processes such as as follows

 

More inquiry on the topic led me to get more specific information by the search terms"INFORMATION LITERACY PROCESS+PRIMARY SCIENCE+RENEWABLE ENERGY" which showed  only 24,500 results and I found  this provided below link which will be  most useful  link for the students and teachers.
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/jmresources/energy/renewable.html

search tools

In order to find out more on Information Literacy, I decided to locate my search through Google scholar and the results of my inquiry using the search terms "INFORMATION LITERACY AND SEARCH TOOLS" were about 880,000. 
Some of the links such as  http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1097-4571%282000%299999:9999%3C::AID-ASI1038%3E3.0.CO;2-R/full  illustrates the need of developing research skills in students and it also covers various physical and cognitive emotions in children which is represented in Kuhlathau's inquiry model. Then I realized that, further inquiry on Google scholar  introduced me a variety of journals on information literacy and databases such as 'Science direct'. 


Sometimes,I could not locate information as it showed 'no hits' because some keywords could not locate specific information.  The research using several search terms  pointed out the need of changing keywords to get relevant and specific information.  So the research on information literacy, developed my skills in information seeking using different search terms and search strings such as Boolean operators-and, or etc.

Wonder wheel:  Then  I decided to experiment with Wonder wheel . I used the search terms"information literacy" AND "science classes",about 10,900 results were found.

Then I tried to refine my search by clicking on the link"information literacy and classes year science", 491,000 hits were found.

My further research hits include:

• "inquiry learning"AND "renewable energy" -3,800  hits

• "inquiry learning" AND "nuclear energy"- 1,690 results

Thus,we can see  that, further search with refined  keywords can  be  more effective  than using general keywords and the educators should be able to develop these research skills in order to provide efficient inquiry based learning. The changing information literacy era  also demands highly  web experienced educators with  excellent knowledge of different search engines and keywords that can be used in the information literacy.


Now I am thinking of finding out some the  links showing search tools for images and some links as follows provided a better understanding of different search strategies on guiding students on the effective selection and use of  images:


http://www.kidsclick.org/psearch.html
This is a great opportunity to locate images relevant to student needs in a simple and speedy manner.
http://www.pics4learning.com/ 
http://www.pictureaustralia.org/
my search results on Image search tools resulted in information on different images. for example,

AltaVista/Images AltaVista appears to be the best-protected search engine because of its 'Password Protection' option for its filter preferences.  Ditto.com Ditto.com is a visual search engine, enabling people to search the Web through pictures.  AlltheWeb/Pictures AlltheWeb has an Offensive Content Filter that can be turned on or off. When trialled, some images did slip through with the Offensive Content Filter turned on  Google/Images Searchers are offered the following options: • Use strict filtering (Filter both explicit text and explicit images) • Use moderate filtering (Filter explicit images only - default behaviour) • Do not filter my search results. It is recommended that each computer should be set to the Use strict filtering options

Reference:
http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/search/search4.htm#searchengineimages

More research on guided inquiryand renewable energy

Then,  my research through Google scholar, I searched for "inquiry learning" AND "teacher role", I  find out different websites which will help educators to view inquiry from different angles. This was a more refined search which produced only 497 hits. one of the links below gives  information on some inquiry

strategies in literacy world.

BOOK] Inquiry strategies for science and mathematics learning

[PDF] from ucr.ac.crD Jarrett… - 1997 - cimm.ucr.ac.cr
... effective man- agement strategies in place, the teacher considers one of her primary curricu-
lum ... manipulating concrete objects, conferring with peers, pursuing their own line of inquiry, and
creating ... It takes a skillful teacher to guide students' learning, to keep students on- task ...
Cited by 25 - Related articles - View as HTML - All 7 versions


Today I decided to search in Proquest education Databases to find out more on information literacy. I just tried "information literacy" and I could notice that there were 14 hits. But when I tried "information literacy" AND "primary classes", not hits could be found. This interested me and  I continued to search by using several other search terms such as 
"guided inquiry"-no results
"inquiry based learning"- 2 results
"information inquiry" OR "research" - 1 result.
more search confirmed that I could get the more specific information from Proquest databases and there are limited spaces for the search terms. 

I also found out  an interesting game related to the renewable energy for primary kids when I searched for "games AND renewable energy" in Google.

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/games/crossword_puzzles/

One of the searches  ended up in a  you tube link which  provides much more ideas on renewable energy. The search was done by 'Renewable energy' -you tube  on Google.

 

Can you see the endings?

A+ education

I am thinking of searching on A+ education today. I started my search using different search terms. The results were:

"information literacy" -649 results

"information literacy" "primary" OR "elementary"- 2372 results

"information literacy" AND" science" AND OR NOT "renewable energy" - 101 hits

"guided inquiry" OR "inquiry based learning" AND "elementary schools"- 36 hits

"inquiry based learning" AND "science classes"- 2 results

"guided inquiry" OR information inquiry" AND "science"- 87 results

Information Search Process Model :

These researches led me to experience the same stages of Kuhlathau's model of guided inquiry process. 

 

At the time of initiation of  Unit 'Information Learning Nexus" I was not sure about what the information literacy concepts were.I really stuck with some problems in my research and learning. this was my uncertainty and confused stage  where I struggled to find out more relevant information on topic. 
Then I had a time where I experienced selection of appropriate  articles from a wide variety of resources on the topic according to the assignment  criteria.The  first article I found useful was:

"The Theory and Research Basis for Guided Inquiry in learning in the 21st century, : Kuhlthau, Carol C. ; Maniotes, Leslie K. & Caspari, Ann K. (2007).

The search went on  through further reading and web searches where  my exploration stage became active. In this stage, I had to go through a  most confused stage as I had satisfy some questions on which information will be important to me , what will be the format of presenting ideas, my status of inquiry according to the requirements etc. 

 

An overview.... what's up?

Third Reflection

1. Take some time to think about your topic. Now write down what you know about it.

According to me, engaging students in a curriculum with lots of innovative resources and learning activities which promotes web based education is the present view of Information Literacy. This indicates the importance of resource based learning where the user needs, collaborative efforts and choice of relevant information literate materials. In order to facilitate learning inquiry in a productive way, the educator should be a sharp researcher and guide where they can direct them to find out the possible ways of their related inquiry and ethical use of technology and web tools. Thus, a constructivist approach is encouraged to engage students in co-operative learning context and prepare  them for being active contributors of future by enriching social skills in addition to the deep understanding of the content. In addition, I also noticed that the students in the global multimediated context should  develop a critical thinking by reflecting their own ways of learning as in GeST model, Lupton and Bruce (2010,p.5) describes,"To experience literacy as ‘critical reflection’, one would need to reflect upon the experience of applying skills and knowledge, and upon the personal, professional and social implications of applying skills and knowledge."

   2. How interested are you in this topic?  Circle the answer that best matches your interest.  

  

Not at all           Not much         Quite a bit       A lot  

The interest tempts me to find out more activities and resources for the students to develop their abilities and skills especially in using web tools.

3. How much do you know about this topic?   Circle the answer that best matches how much you know.

Nothing          Not much                          Quite a bit                         A lot

I know that as Information Literacy  and technology are inter-related,the ways of learning methods are changing everytime. So the role of educators is to introduce the students to the new technologies  and tools to mould students as lifelong learners by enhancing active involvement in information Literacy.Information Literacy  activities are modified "to prepare teachers and students for participation in lifeworlds that are increasingly multimediated and globalised" (Kapitzke ,2003,p.6).

4. When you find out information about a topic, what do you generally find easy to do? Please list as many things as you like.

·         I find it easy to use various web tools such as link to make my information learning process easier.

·         My search results are limited by using Boolean operators such as AND which help me to concentrate on relevant information quicker. 

5.  When you find out information about a topic, what do you generally find hard to do? Please list as many things as you like.

• I find it hard to organise information in a sequence which made it difficult to synthesise  and co-relate selected information to present into a complete formatted Project.
• It was also complicated to control the flow of information after the reading the course materials and researched materials. As a result, it was hard to limit ideas into paragraphs.

6. What did you learn in doing this project? Please list as many things as you like.

This Project was an inspiring force for dealing with the research tools and developing a deep understanding of the scope of information inquiry through Information Literacy activities.

·        It made me to think about various quick ways of finding relevant information and critically evaluate the information to check the reliability and accessibility.

·        It guided me to walk through the steps of Information Search Process where I could reflect by comparing student responses on learning activities and identify my own strengths and weaknesses.  

·        It provided a basic idea of creating a blog, embedding video and images.

·        It enabled to improve my search skills and technical skills.

·        The readings and other course materials widen my professional qualities by strngthening my vocabulary and  by picking up ideas  from vast source of information on the Topic. It also  intensified my potential to form a strong information literacy perceptions.

Lupton, Mandy and Bruce, Christine. (2010). Chapter 1 : Windows on Information Literacy Worlds : Generic, Situated and Transformative Perspectives in Lloyd, Annemaree and Talja, Sanna, Practising information literacy : bringing theories of learning, practice and information literacy together, Wagga Wagga: Centre for Information Studies, pp.3-27.

Kapitzke, Cushla. (2003). Information literacy: a review and poststructural critique Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 26 (1), 53-66.

Inquiry and Problem Based Learning

Second Reflection


1. Take some time to think about your topic. Now write down what you know about it.
More research and reading make me to think differently than before when I go through my second reflection about Information inquiry. The nature of Information inquiry depends on the complexity of the task, cognitive needs and the educational contexts. It also introduced a broader concept of information seeking process where it defines information Literacy as the ability to familiarize “complex contextualised practices, processes and interactions that enable access to social, physical and textual sites of knowledge” (Lloyd, 2006). The inquiry also outlined how effective the present system of information inquiry than the past system. This video compares the past and present system of information inquiry.


2. How interested are you in this topic? Circle the answer that best matches your interest.

Not at all             Not much               Quite a bit                A lot

I have developed more interest in the topic as I came to know more about the topic. It has created an inspiration for me to be involved in more findings of web tools which can be useful to save our time and effort. I have searched through different search engines such as Google and Google scholar which guided me to find out relevant information on the Topic as well.


3. How much do you know about this topic? Circle the answer that best matches how much you know.

Nothing         Not much          Quite a bit             A lot


When I came across different ISP models, it reminded me various stages of information inquiry where student experiences include certain cognitive, exploration and formulation stages. It also reflected my own experiences when I do Project.      


4. When you find out information about a topic, what do you generally find easy to do? Please list as many things as you like.

• The feedbacks by my teachers and peers on drafts make me to think about other ways of doing things and polishing my skills.
• As far as I am concerned, the extension to the assessment helped me a lot to be involved in the process of information seeking through internet searches.

5. When you find out information about a topic, what do you generally find hard to do? Please list as many things as you like.

.
• I find it hard to select appropriate information from the course materials and search results.

• I find it hard to match relevant sources of information and information technology with appropriate academic writing paragraphs.

• At some stages, I experienced confusion and stress because of the limited time, more number of assignments due at the same time and my unavailability to work with the topic. So it made me to limit my understanding of the Topic to a certain level.

• Uncertainty in finding a relevant SPP site at the proper time was also a reason for making a deeper understanding of the Topic.

My First Reflection

1. Take some time to think about your topic. Now write down what you know about it.

When I think about my present knowledge about Information Learning Nexus, it gives me less confidence to state something professionally. As the teaching and learning can be happened in different contexts, influence of Information Literacy varies according to the contexts and learning activities provided. Presently, Information seeking is interconnected by technology and the information explosion makes it hard to access relevant information, teacher guided inquiry incorporates active student involvement in the learning process. In the guided inquiry, the students can make their own choices on the topics where they are guided by answering the basic queries which help them to think logically and make decisions.

   2. How interested are you in this topic?  Circle the answer that best matches your interest.  

  

Not at all           Not much         Quite a bit       A lot  

The information enquiry process is intended to develop lot of research, technical skills and evaluation strategies. This means that as the educators, we will be able to direct students towards a better educational environment. Thus the current Topic including different models of Information Literacy is quite interesting to me as I think the readings and research on the topic will enable me to practice and reflect professionally throughout the future.

3. How much do you know about this topic?   Circle the answer that best matches how much you know.

Nothing          Not much          Quite a bit          A lot

As this is the beginning stage, I am not sure about the topic to present something professionally.

4. When you find out information about a topic, what do you generally find easy to do? Please list as many things as you like.

·         When I find out information about the topic, I would be excited.

·         I usually enjoy reading and take notes regarding the topic

·         This encourages me to do more research on Topic

·         As the course materials are in computer format, I find easy to store and use relevant information in seconds which saves my time and effort.

5.  When you find out information about a topic, what do you generally find hard to do? Please list as many things as you like.

·         When I do research, I find it hard to sort the information according to the relevance in the project context.

·         I find it hard to locate accurate information within the short time.

·         Also sometimes, I miss the correct location of information because of inadequacies in recording.

·         I find it hard to present my ideas logically into paragraphs with correct grammar and appropriate selection of information

Inquiry based searches- my search begins.....

I continued my research  by finding results of  "Guided inquiry and  Primary classes"in the Google  and the results were immense, around 172,000 results . 
Some research results are as follows:

1.      http://www.springerlink.com/content/133k7787450m42lk/-

Then I tried "guided inquiry in Primary science lesson"  and was able to find out 75,800 results. Further search ended up in narrow search results as:

1. http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edsci.htm     

2.

"Alternative energy in primary school and guided enquiry"

search results- 193,000 results

one of the results showed me a gateway of numerous relevant information from

1. Primary School Science And Technology

Energy And Cars: What Does The Future Hold? Lesson where students consider the types of alternative energy sources that are currently under research. ...
www.primaryschool.com.au/scienceresults.php?kla...unit... - Cached - Similar

This search led me to find out  a series of useful links  related to ' renewable energy 'from the website:

http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/jmresources/energy/renewable.html#bio

2. Another search  on 'lesson plans' led me to find out more information on   

Renewable Energy Lesson Plans

http://www.infinitepower.org/lessonplans.htm 

3.I found out a website of 'Adventrues of Cyberbee' where a lot of internet based learning activities are introduced which I think might be very useful for educators.

 http://www.cyberbee.com/intclass.html

This page serves as an index of the renewable energy lesson plans available on this website. ... educators and renewable energy experts and now include teacher resource guides, ... Teacher Resource Guide for Middle School Units of Study ...www.infinitepower.org/lessonplans.htm - Cached -

Information Inquiry and Me!!

This Blog analyses the inqury learning process and critical reflection of Information Literacies in the project context