Geographical Resources

Marilyn Rivers-Bowerman attracted my attention with her discussion on geographical resources.  

She concluded, "I think that the "best" geographical resource is dependent upon the purpose and the type of research assigned. If I want quick and easy locations, I would use a print atlas, recently published, and that has a clear, alphabetized index. However, if I am looking for more detailed and specialty information, certain online sites would be an excellent place to start. The bottom line is to evaluate these reference sources for authority, scale, currency, index, and format."

Marilyn has hit the nail on the head as far as I am concerned.  It is important for teachers to know, as well as teach their students, exactly what the purposes of their research are.  Once their purposes are clearly defined, it is much easier to know where to start looking; print resources such as atlases, or electronic resources such as the CIA World Factbook database.  If a student is researching the geography of a country, they should look for resources that reflect this focus such as maps and population statistics.  If they are researching the culture of a country, their focus would not be to find maps and population statistics.  

Databases

Its your friendly, neighbourhood teacher librarian here with some thoughts on databases and google!

When working with my partners for Assignment 3, Tosha and Jennifer Kennedy, Tosha inspired me with a resource titled, "Its google.com, not google.edu!"  Although this is something that, as teachers we all recognize, it is important to remember that our students will probably not make this distinction automatically.  When I ask my grade 6 and 7 students if they know that some of the information that they find on the internet is not true, they all answer yes, but they do not seem concerned with presenting false information in their projects.  The students of mine that come to the library to do research are quite used to me directing them to the Encyclopedia of BC online, or World Book online, (these sites are provided free by the Surrey School District), but the information they are looking for is often not in these databases.  In a perfect world, we would have access to fabulous databases on Freddy Adu (soccer star), Chris Brown (R and B singer and dancer - and boyfriend of Rhiana), and Trevor Linden (probably needs no expl.).  Unfortunately, when doing biographical research on people who are somewhat recently popular, students have no choice but to use a larger search engine such as google.  I have made an effort to stock my library with books on these recent popular icons (there is an awesome NFic series called "Hip Hop" by Mason Crest publishing that has titles such as Mariah Carey, LL Cool J, Chris Brown etc) but it is impossible to cover everyone.  In short, databases are best for the topics that they cover but we need access to more inclusive databases with current and popular topics and information to better serve our students.  Regarding the more current, popular topics I will continue to teach my students how to ethically and efficiently research on Google.

Library Navigation and Critical Analysis of found Information

“Collaborative teaching is awesome” you think, as you and a colleague give 25 students a carefully planned assignment that uses research skills, critical thinking, and has room for a creative spin.  Oops, one problem, you have been so busy with challenging your students that you have forgotten to give them the basics of navigating a library and evaluating the information that they discover and they turn into MONSTERS! AHHHH!

That is a dramatization of what happened to Barbera Ripp Safford one sad day and it inspired her to re-visit the basics!  Her article, “How to help students handle the information overload” speaks to the importance of teaching students to be self sufficient and knowledgeable in locating resources and to be able to determine the value of the information that the locate.  She states, “[m]ost important to the search process… is teaching students to critically analyze their search results and choose the best information for their particular needs."  It is vital that students know how to choose the best information for their topic of research.  To be effective teacher-librarians (media specialists), we must teach our students to analyze the information they find and understand that the top website, top article or first section in a non-fiction book may not be the best for their research needs.

In my school library, I spend a great deal of the month of September doing lessons with my students on how to successfully navigate all of the different areas of the library.  My lessons are hands on and very successful as I do not get many “where is -----” questions after students have completed them.  Safford’s article has inspired me to spend more time on teaching my students how to analyze the information that they are able to locate to determine the best information for their needs.  I will now spend more time teaching my students to look at all of the information they find with a critical eye and explaining how to determine the best information for their research needs.  

Safford, Barbara Ripp.  "How to help students handle the information overload."  School Library Media Activities Monthly.  Vol. XXIII, Oct. 2/06.

Re-thinking my Bias to a Reference Source

After reading section 4 of lesson 4, “References and Teacher-Librarian Bias,” I have decided to give some online sources that I discouraged my students from using another chance.  One example of a source that I will give another chance to is Wikipedia.  One of the reasons that I have steered my students away from Wikipedia in the past is that it is unreliable in the area of Accuracy, Authority, and Bias.  Because anyone can write into or change an entry in Wikipedia, it is impossible to know if the information is accurate and free of bias.  This area or accuracy however is only one of Reidling’s (and my) criteria for the evaluation of reference materials and although important may not be a reason to completely disregard an information source.  The accuracy of information on Wikipedia can be confirmed by simply comparing the information gained on the site with information gained from other sources and making sure that it is consistent.  The advantages of Wikipedia are its scope is often the perfect depth for elementary students, it is presented in a user-friendly layout, it is extremely current and it is free.  Those are a lot of advantages!  I will be recommending Wikipedia as a good source of reference to my students in the future but will be warning them about the accuracy problem and explaining to them the importance of comparing the information they glean from Wikipedia to other sources of information to make sure it is consistent.

Evaluation Processes for Reference Material

Reading Jenny’s discussion about Rieldling’s approach to evaluation process for reference materials has given me some food for thought.

 Jenny writes:

“For example, one of Riedling’s criteria is to consider if the resource material is similar to other ones the library already has. I believe that this rule may need to be “bent” a bit in order to accommodate for special cases in the school (ESL, special needs, etc.). The language used in some resources may be too difficult or complex for some students and they will need modified works so they can be independent learners and researchers too. Additionally, it is possible that the library will need to have many similar books that can be read by low and moderate readers such as with entry level ESL students vs. level 2 ESL students.”

 I find a lot of truth in Jenny’s discussion of Reilding’s criteria for the evaluation process of reference materials.  In my library, I am often bending criteria, shaping it to fit my unique school make-up.  My school in Surrey is made up of about 530 students of which about 90% are ESL.  Many reference materials that are excellent, well written, well organized works are simply too challenging for most of my students to read.  For example, most of the students in grades 4 and 5 read at about a grade 3 level, (World Book is too challenging for them to read).  A few years ago, however, the Surrey School District provided an opportunity for TL’s to update their reference sections for free and most libraries that I have worked in, including the one I presently work in, have a set of World Book Kids encyclopedias that have large font, more pictures and easier vocabulary.  These encyclopedias would definitely pass Reidling’s criterea. They are written at about a grade 3 level and are an excellent reference resource for any school, especially a high ESL school.  

Something to remember

Reidling quotes the American Library Association's definition of information literate individuals,  "...people who have learned how to learn.  They know how to learn because they know how knowledge is organized, how to find information... These people are prepared for lifelong learning." 

As a teacher-librarian, I am constantly working not to answer students' questions but to ask them questions in return that will help them discover how to figure out the answer themselves.  Once they learn that they can do this, I have noticed that they will often use the knowledge they attained from their last discovery and apply it to figuring out the answers to new questions.  Fabulous!

Technology Literacy

A statement and its repercussions have attracted my attention from lesson 1.  

Statement  "Students are much more comfortable and familiar with computer technologies than previous generations."

Repercussion  "It is still questionable whether students are "technically literate" and other skills such as problem solving/thinking skills may have been neglected."

I agree with the idea that students are more comfortable and familiar with computer technology now than in previous generations.  That said, the repercussion that accompanies this statement is obvious to me every day.  Many students believe that because they can google something, they know all about it.  I have often encountered a student who has found some great information on a topic and when I ask them to explain it to me, they are completely unable.  Their critical thinking skills are not being drawn upon and they do not seem to understand that it is not just the locating of information that is important but the understanding and applying of this information.  A grade 7 teacher that I work with tells me that no matter how long she takes explaining to her students that copy/pasting from the internet is plagiarism, she always receives a few assignments directly from the internet.  It is important to work with students to stress the importance of really synthesizing the information that they locate and turning it into something that is meaningful to themselves, their peers and teachers!