To preview the course, you may create a free account here:
Use this enrollment key (case-sensitive):
preview-IR-13
The preview is the FULL mini-course as students experience it. There are three parts:
Optional Pretest - we recommend you DO NOT start here. The Pretest is quite challenging and was created as a means for students who have completed previous editions of Information Researcher an opportunity to "test out" of the course. Of course, you are welcome to try it. Just realize it requires fluency in several demanding search and evaluation competencies which are covered in the tutorials. The Pretest can be turned off if this feature is not needed.
Tutorials - Start Here. This is where anyone new to Information Researcher should start. There are eight step-by-step tutorials with sequential descriptions and interactive challenges. The idea here is to introduce students to key online research skills and then provide practice using them. Answers are provided after incorrect answers or solutions, to speed up learning. Any interactive challenge may be repeated to try other responses. Tutorials must be completed in the order shown, however, they may be reviewed in any order once completed.
Posttest - this ten-item Certification Exam provides challenges in all the essential information fluency competencies. The goal to reach is 70%, the point at which we consider individuals to be fluent. No one is expected to score 100%, since search perfection is not realistic on the Internet.
What you will not see in the Preview are reporting tools to see how your students are performing. Reports may be sorted by high scores, levels completed, names of students, etc. Reports may also be copied and pasted into Excel spreadsheets for further analysis, if desired.
We recommend NOT using this assessment/tutorial tool as the basis for assigning grades. Mastery finding, evaluating and ethically using information online is not exactly quantifiable. What matters more is that students continually improve. Most students start the course with scores in the 50% range and finish around 70% or higher.
As for licensing, we use a sliding scale that depends on the numbers of students who create accounts. For 1 person, a license is $10, for 2 to 10 persons, the costs drops to $5/person. Above that, a typical class is $4/person, a school is $1-2/person and a district is $1/person or less. If you know how many students are likely to enroll, we can give you a more precise cost estimate.
Enjoy the preview, but be prepared to be challenged!
Carl Heine
Dennis O'Connor
Bob Houston
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