Teaching the Ten Steps to Better Web Research By Mark E. Moran & Shannon A. Firth Dulcinea Media

1. Teaching the Ten Steps to Better Web Research By Mark E. Moran & Shannon A. Firth Dulcinea Media

2. Links to studies & articles discussed are at the end of this presentation and at http://bit.ly/teachtensteps The PowerPoint version may be found at www.SlideShare.net/SweetSearch

3. Dulcinea Media provides free content & tools that help educators teach students how to use the Internet effectively. More about us and our products: http://www.DulcineaMedia.com Check out SweetSearch, A Search Engine for Students www.SweetSearch.com Sign-up for our free daily newsletter: http://www.findingdulcinea.com/info/newsletter.html Follow us on Twitter: @findingDulcinea & @findingEdu

4. “It is very likely that our students’ brains have physically changed– and are different from ours – as a result of how they grew up.” 1 -- Marc Prensky

5. Our generation

6. Their generation

7. So, are “digital natives” experts at searching the Web?

8. After a year long information literacy program, most fifth grade students continued to rely entirely on Google and “never questioned the reliability of the websites they accessed.”2 • -- Vrije University Netherlands

9. Even when high school students found a good source they did not recognize it and instead launched a new search. A high level of browsing is carried on at the expense of thinking and planning. 3 -- Shu Hsien L. Chen

10. “Electronic media can “overwhelm youth with information that they may not have the skills or experience to evaluate.” And literacy skills overlap with safety skills. 4 -- Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, March 2010

11. Students without access to librarians teaching Web research skills show up at college “beyond hope”….”they have learned to ‘get by’ with Google.” 5 -- University College London

12. Not one of the 600 college students surveyed "could give an adequate conceptual definition of how Google returns results….the word ‘magic’ came up a lot.”6 --ERIAL study (Illinois)

13. In 2010 Dulcinea Media Surveyed 300 middle school and high school students in New York.

14. How do you begin your search? • Almost half of middle school students chose “I type a question.”

15. If a search doesn’t give you good results...

16. ... what do you do next? • I try another search engine. • I try different keywords but if I still can't find an answer, I just think real hard for an answer. • I focus on the encyclopedia.

17. I punch the screen. Just kidding, LOL.

18. How do you decide if an online article is a good source to use for a school report?

19. It’s a good source…. • if it has the information I need then it’s good for me. • if it sounds good, I know it’s right, and it has good vocab.

20. Actual Answer: “I don’t know. I just go with it.”

21. How often do you check the author of an article?

22. About 2/3 of students “rarely or never”check the author.

23. “It doesn’t really matter who wrote it.”..”

24. How often do you check to see when an article was written or last updated?

25. Half of high school students and about 3/4 of middle school students say they “rarely or never”check the date of an article.

26. I can’t find it.

27. In Conclusion…. A majority of students: • don’t know how to form a sound search query; • don’t have a strategy for dealing with poor results; • can’t articulate how they know content is credible; • don’t check the author or date of an article.

28. In other words...

29. WE’RE LOST

30. Improving Internet skills starts with educators

31. “Students see educators • modeling an effective • research process and • learn from it.” • Colette Cassinelli • librarian/ technology teacher • Portland, OR

32. “Librarians must be • able to retool and • stay ahead of • teachers and students.” • Joyce Valenza • media specialist • Springfield Township, PA

33. Recognizing reliable sources + consider infinite options + Understanding intellectual property rights + Engaging modern audiences with conclusions = EFFECTIVE USE OF THE WEB

34. Models & Resources for Web Research • Review the Big6 model.7 • Share the Ergo search model with students. 8 • Teach Ten Steps for Better Web Research. • http://www.SweetSearch.com/TenSteps

35. How Do Effective Researchers Behave? • Start general with several keywords • Try new combinations in a systemic manner • Use more precise, or even natural language. 9 • Look well beyond the first few results, and return often to favorite, reliable sites.

36. No Quick Fix • Effective web research skills cannot be learned in a week, a semester, or a year. • They must be taught year-round, throughout primary school years, and can be mastered only as students mature and gain experience.

37. A New Approach? • Authors of ERIAL study: teach broad concepts and strategies, not use of specific tools.

38. "Unless we can demonstrate some measurable payoff to searching, students aren’t going to do it.”6 - Lisa Rose-Wiles librarian Seton Hall University

39. “Use better interfaces and more sophisticated indexing methods to nudge students, incrementally, toward competence.”6 - Casper Grathwohl Oxford University Press

40. Step 1: Where to Search • The Internet may not be the best place to start; databases may help you find what you’re seeking far faster.

41. Step 1: Where to Search • Don’t count on search engines to do all the work for you. Ask a librarian or teacher to recommend individual sites. • Use student-friendly tools for aggregating your own favorite sites. e.g. Symbaloo or Diigo.

42. Step 1: Where to Search • Give students • a list of 10 sites; include • two poor sources. • Students must defend their sources and point out weak links. • - Michelle Baldwin • Vocal Music Teacher • Omaha, NE

43. Step 2: Try Several Search Engines • Suggest a two-week “Google Holiday” to lessen dependency. • Introduce meta-search engines (eg. Zuula). • More about search engines: http://bit.ly/bO7FbB

44. Step 2: Try Several Search Engines….. • SweetSearchsearches 35,000 websites that research experts have evaluated and approved. • SweetSearch4Me features sites for emerging learners. • We created these, yet don’t use them exclusively– we use the full range of resources.

45. Step 3: Dig deep for the best results • Many websites rank high for reasons unrelated to the quality of their content. • Professionals and academics don’t practice Search Engine Optimization. • Don’t stop at the first page!!

46. Step 3: Dig deep…. • Google and other search engines optimize their results for adults, who want to know “what happened today.” Google recently promised to deliver “50% fresher” results. • For school research, “fresher” is not usually better.

47. Step 3: Dig deep…. • With Yolinkusers can browse search results in context without opening them. ALL educators and students should use it. • Integrated into SweetSearch, Yolink can be used on other sites through a browser add-on. • SweetSearch = “better indexing,” Yolink = “better interface” suggested by Oxford University Press.

48. Step 4: Think Before You Search “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up somewhere else.” - Yogi Berra

49. Step 4: Think Before You Search • Define your task. • Have students rewrite • assignments in their • own words. • - Angela Maiers • education consultant • Maiers Education Services

50. Step 5: Make Search Engines Work for You • Connectors AND and OR can be moderately effective. • Quotation marks are a critical tool students should know when to use. • But advanced search options are the best way to mandate or exclude certain words.