Poster Session: Information Fluency Games

1. Poster Session: Information Fluency Games Prepared for the 2005 NMC Online Conference on Educational Gaming Carl Heine, Ph.D., Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy The 21st Century Information Fluency Project provides educators with instruction and resources to promote information fluency: the ability to Locate, Evaluate and Use information from the Internet efficiently, effectively and ethically. Two popular approaches under development are tutorial games and interactive challenges using Flash. [next]or use navigation buttons below

2. Using games to improve Information Fluency What do you need to know to be good at searching the Internet? To begin with, you need to know what you are looking for. As simple as that sounds, many frustrated searchers don’t take the time to consider WHAT information they are looking for. Thinking about important keywords and ideas before searching saves a lot of time and energy. Knowing WHERE to find better keywords leads more quickly to the right information. The activities featured here focus on preliminary search skills. Our intention is to slow down the decision-making process and strengthen language abilities through interactive practice, a perfect application for game-like activities. [next] For a full list of Information Fluency competencies, click here.

3. Question to Query: the Keyword Challenge • The first step in good searching is to know what you are looking for. To turn a question into a good query requires thinking about words and ideas that are important. Keyword Challengesengage players in evaluating every word in a challenge, sorting them into four categories. Based on actual searches, points are earned for identifying words that are: • Important “as-is” • An important idea for which there is probably a better word (nym) • Words that are likely to have little effect • Stop words ignored by a search engine • Flash aspects of this tutorial include text that can be dragged, collision detection to determine if words are placed in the right categories, feedback to correct and incorrect answers and a scoring device. A template is used to create new Keyword Challenges. [next]

4. Snippets: finding better keywords for queries • Snippets is another name for the brief descriptions returned by search engines to a query. Our Snippet Sleuth tutorial encourages players to think about keywords by evaluating the outcome of word choices. Operating as a closed, practice database, the tutorial determines whether a keyword or combination retrieves the desired web page in the top 100 hits and its ranking. Since the activity allows “do-overs”, players can try to improve their scores by searching with words that appear only in the snippets. • Flash aspects of this tutorial include 24 swf snippet files that correspond to all the possible combinations of important keywords from the challenge, an array of the effective keywords for the challenge, an input box that operates like a search box, action script that matches a player’s words with the array and associated responses that provide specific feedback depending on the words entered by the player. All the information is based on real search results captured fall 2005. [next]

5. Are you good at finding information on the Internet? • One way to find out is to try a live Search Challenge. In this activity, you compete against the clock to answer a challenge question using only the Internet and your search skills. • Search Challenges are statistically reliable in measuring individuals’ information seeking skills. We use them in our Internet Basics assessment packages. • Flash aspects of each challenge include a timer that starts and stops with button presses, opening Google in a new browser window and an input text box by which the player submits an answer to the challenge. The correct answers are matched by the Action Script and provide the player with appropriate feedback. A template is used in constructing new challenges: only the question, a related graphic and the correct answers need to be changed. The hardest part is developing a question that has only one correct answer and requires specific search tactics. Since the Internet is always changing, questions (and answers) need frequent updating. [next]

6. Short Play Package: Soccer Challenges • Most of our challenges are still in development and aimed at educators. During a recent field test, someone suggested we create a challenge about soccer. We combined this with our desire to experiment with very specific skills. The Soccer Challenge packageincludes three short play activities which emphasize different skill sets involved in formulating a query: • Soccer I Identify important search words and ideas • Soccer II Find effective nyms: synonyms, hypernyms and hyponyms • Soccer III Find effective nyms using snippets • Feedback on any of the activities in this presentation is welcome!Contact the author • Visit our web site for more free resources: 21cif.imsa.edu