Saturday, July 25, 2009

Electroninc Liturature 101: Hyper-Link Reading & Understanting

  • Electronic literature uses links, images, sound, navigation, as well as text to convey meaning. Electronic literature is ergodic, and thus it is up to the reader to piece together the materials as the reader goes through the work. Elit 101explains how these elements work to convey meaning and provides examples and exercises for each element.

    Tags: writing, writing across the curriculum, 6-traits

    • Electronic literature uses links, images, sound, navigation, as well as text to convey meaning. Electronic literature is ergodic, and thus it is up to the reader to piece together the materials as the reader goes through the work. Elit 101explains how these elements work to convey meaning and provides examples and exercises for each element.
    • This is a beta-launch. I would like to work directly with some high school/college classes to refine the exercises. Please contact me at deenalarsen AT yahoo.com.

      Thanks.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of Information Fluency group favorite links are here.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Twitter your next library job!







Posted from Diigo. The rest of Information Fluency group favorite links are here.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Project Tuva: great video lectures wrapped in Web 2.0 tools


  • A new project from Bill Gates that provides a series of video lectures to "explore core scientific concepts and theories". Includes "..searchable videos, transcripts, notes and interactive extras." Free, requires installing a Microsoft plug-in called Silverlight. Currently there are 7 lectures from the 60's by Richard Feynman. Includes links to extras that are rich and varied. This resource is a treasure for all.

    Tags: tuva, physics, lectures, feynman, research, microsoft, science, lecture, 21cif

    • A new project from Bill Gates that provides a series of video lectures to "explore core scientific concepts and theories". Includes "..searchable videos, transcripts, notes and interactive extras." Free, requires installing a Microsoft plug-in called Silverlight. - By Dennis OConnor

Posted from Diigo. The rest of Information Fluency group favorite links are here.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Google for Educators






Posted from Diigo. The rest of Information Fluency group favorite links are here.

Greenroom - a Great LearningTimes Podcast Series

Viewing Feed (Subscribe to the Greenroom)
  • Here's a way to subscribe to the Learning Times Greenroom. This is one of the very best produced ed-tech podcasts I've listened to. Professional production values, fascinating topics, and professional production standards. Stay on the cutting edge of web 2.0 by listening to Susan Manning and Dan Balzer!

    Tags: podcast, podcasting, ed-tech, web 2.0

    • Here's a way to subscribe to the Learning Times Greenroom. This is one of the very best produced ed-tech podcasts I've listened to. Professional production values, fascinating topics, and professional production standards. Stay on the cutting edge of web 2.0 by listening to Susan Manning and Dan Balzer! - By Dennis OConnor

Posted from Diigo. The rest of Information Fluency group favorite links are here.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Google Image Search - Creative Commons Filtered Search










  • Official Google Blog: Find Creative Commons images with Image Search

    Tags: Google, Images, fairuse

    • Find Creative Commons images with Image Search


      7/09/2009 09:47:00 AM

      Let's say you're a blogger. You've just returned from a trip to New York City, and you're writing a post on New York landmarks. You want to illustrate your travel guide with an image — as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. It's easy to find images of New York online. But you want to make sure that you don't use images without the permission of their owners, and you can't afford licensing fees for professional photographers.
    • To enable this feature, go to our advanced image search page. Under the "Usage rights" section, you can select the type of license you'd like to search for, such as those marked for reuse or even for commercial reuse with modification. Your results will be restricted to images marked with CC or other licenses. Once you confirm the license of the image and make sure that your use will comply with the terms of the license (such as proper attribution to the image's owner), you can reuse the image. Some of you may already see these options, and we'll be rolling this feature out to everyone throughout the day.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of Information Fluency group favorite links are here.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Open the Door to Free Google Goodies: Google For Educators









Posted from Diigo. The rest of Information Fluency group favorite links are here.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Safe Surfing in a Wikipedia World














  • One of the evaluation methods 21CIF has been promoting is verification of facts using external links. We also promote triangulation of data; finding three substantive resources that agree on the same fact.

    This article calls into question the essential building blocks of Wikipedia, with good reason!

    Tags: wikipedia, fact checking

    • The process of rectifying those mistakes was more disturbing to Duguid than the original errors he had discovered: "My corrections were undone by people who clearly had little idea what they were talking about almost as quickly as they were made by me (who knew a little of what he was talking about)." Well-intentioned but "ill-informed editors" added their corrections to the article without offering meaningful sources for verification or entering the discussion on the discussion page. "People point to the instantaneous revision process as an indication of Wikipedia's quality-assurance mechanism," says Duguid. "These problems - of earnest but inept changes - are to me much more significant than simply finding errors."
    • Duguid and Nunberg agree that the key to using any source of online information is to know its strengths and limitations. "We don't think Encyclopedia Britannica would have a definitive article on Madonna," says Duguid. "Instinctively we just know that. We need to develop those same instincts around tools like Wikipedia."
    • Nunberg, who delivers commentaries on language for National Public Radio's "Fresh Air" program, evinced no surprise at the errors on Wikipedia. "You throw it open so that anyone can contribute, and people are shocked it's a flawed research tool?" he asked rhetorically. While admitting that Wikipedia is "surprisingly good" on some topics - in particular when dealing with concepts familiar to many people, such as "the undead and zombies" or the chi square - he says it falls short in treating "broader cultural topics" such as "Hitler, World War II, or the rise of the novel.
    • Wikipedia's collaborative process treats information as though it is "modular and granular," says Duguid. The problem is that "once you say that information is the basic building block, the assumption is that a lot of people can contribute these blocks and what we'll end up with is the Taj Mahal." Wikipedia's methodology is more likely to result in a patchwork quilt, he says, one that, in Wikipedia's case, is "simply an amalgam of facts." Such an approach, he says, isn't how good encyclopedia articles get written.

Creative commons image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oahu_North_Shore_surfing_hand_drag.jpg

Posted from Diigo. The rest of Information Fluency group favorite links are here.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Big LIst of Small Search Engines (some not so small)


Posted from Diigo. The rest of Information Fluency group favorite links are here.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Son of Citation Machine 5.0 / Warlick Video

  • Here's the latest edition of the very popular Son of Citation Machine from David Warlick. It handles MLA, APA, Turabian and Chicago. I've included a video from David so you can learn about from the source!

  • Video tutorial by David Warlick on Citation Machine 5.0



This is a promising and well designed online citation system from the Hekman Library at Calvin University in Michigan. It does an excellent job with MLA, APA, and Chicago citation styles. Includes customized forms for Multimedia, Anthology, Periodical, Communications, and Online Only. First Rate!

Posted from Diigo. The rest of Information Fluency group favorite links are here.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Information Forensics Goes to School: See you at NECC 2009!




Website Investigator: Information Forensics Goes to School

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[Formal Session : Lecture]
Carl Heine, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy with Dennis O'Connor
Tuesday, 6/30/2009, 3:30pm–4:30pm WWCC 146 B

Motivate students to evaluate websites with information forensics. Track down elusive authors, dates, check the accuracy of claims, and more using investigative search techniques. Recommended by ISTE's SIGMS



Theme/Strand: 21st-century Teaching & Learning—Literacies for the Information/Creativity Age
Audience: Technology Integration Specialists, Technology Facilitators, Technology Coordinators, Teacher Educators, Teachers, School Board Members, Staff Developers, Principals, Library Media Specialists, Curriculum Specialists
Level: All
Video on Demand: Yes


NETS•S: 3
NETS•T: 3- 5
NETS•A: II, VI
Keywords: Information Fluency Evaluation Credibility Searching


URL: http://21cif.com/


Purpose & Objectives

For most students, online research just doesn’t come naturally. Locating relevant information is not easy. Determining if the information is credible is even harder and requires investigative skills to evaluate sources.

The purpose of this session is to provide participants with an understanding of efficient methods for evaluating online information and to demonstrate effective ways to teach these information fluency skills in classrooms.

The new generation of NETS standards for students (ISTE, 2007), is based on the premise that efficacy and productivity depends on students’ abilities to conduct research and manage digital information fluently. An essential skill is the ability to evaluate information from a variety of sources and media.

This session directly addresses this information fluency standard by helping participants…

1. Understand the role of investigation (information forensics) in evaluating information:
• Two types of searching: how investigation differs from speculation;
• Determining when investigative searching is necessary and when it is not;
• Effective means of finding critical information with limited clues;
• Using specialized search engines and browsing techniques to track down information;
• Analyzing results to determine credibility of the source and content.

2. Observe effective methods for helping students exercise speculative search skills:
• Off-line 'readiness' activities;
• Group and individual Search Challenges;
• Interactive tutorial games;
• Think-aloud searches;
• Evaluation reporting;
• Group discussion about credibility.

Outline

Introduction to Information Fluency and NETS for Students (5 minutes)

The big picture: Obstacles to Information Fluency--research discoveries: (5 minutes)
• Problems with speculation: using the right words with the right databases
• Homing in on increasingly relevant information
• Problems with investigation: evaluating credibility

Determining when to use investigative searching: (5 minutes)

Effective investigative strategies and techniques—teaching demonstrations involving audience participation (35 minutes)
• 'Readiness' off-line teaching and learning activities
• Selected Information Forensics tutorials (finding the author, publisher, date)
• Selected Search Challenges (think-aloud)
• Determining a basis for credibility (group discussion)

Questions (5 minutes)

Supporting Research

Burton, V. T., & Chadwick, S. A. (2000). Investigating the practices of student researchers: Patterns of use and criteria for use of Internet and library sources. Computers and Composition, 17 (3), 309-328.

Heine, C. (2006). Evaluating digital information. Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. Retrieved Sept. 23, 2008, from http://21cif.imsa.edu/rkitp/ features/v1n4/leadarticle_v1_n4.html

ISTE. (2007). National Educational Technology Standards for Students: The Next Generation. ISTE. Retrieved Sept. 23, 2008, from http://www.iste.org/Content/ NavigationMenu/NETS/NETS_Refresh_Forum/NETS_for_Students_2007.pdf

Press release. (2006, March 24) School library media programs critical to high school reform. American Library Association. Retrieved April 11, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=121131

Presenter Background

Main presenter: Carl Heine, Ph.D. is Director of the 21st Century Information Fluency Project at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Aurora Illinois. He oversees research and the development of interactive learning games and interactive media used in the Project. He conducts numerous Information Fluency workshops each year in Illinois and other states, including the Illinois Principals Association, the Illinois Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the Illinois State Library Media Association, the Illinois Educational Technology Conference, the Missouri Association of School Librarians, the Wisconsin Educational Media Association and the Alabama Educational Technology Association.

Carl earned his doctorate in curriculum and instruction at the University of Chicago for research in flow and mathematical achievement. Previous leadership assignments include managing the Center for Youth Education at the College of DuPage (Glen Ellyn, IL) and directing educational programs at churches in Washington and California.

Co-Presenter: Dennis O'Connor was an elementary and middle school teacher for 25 years. At the turn of the century he left the face to face classroom to become an online teacher, course designer and educational technology consultant.

He earned an MS. in Online Teaching and Learning from California State University, East Bay (formerly CSU Hayward) where he also taught graduate students how to teach online. Mr. O'Connor recently earned an M.Ed in Instructional Design and Technology Integration at Western Governors University. He earned his undergraduate degree in English at the University of California, Berkeley.

In 1995, groundbreaking work in technology infused interdisciplinary teaching led to a Milken National Educator Award. After working online with the ISTE, National Educational Technology Standards Project in 1998, Mr. O'Connor became a project writer developing units of practice for ISTE-NETS, Connecting Curriculum and Technology. Dennis remains active as a subject matter expert, standards review consultant and project writer for ISTE.

Dennis previously worked as a Senior eLearning Architect for the 21st Century Information Fluency Program, which is sponsored by the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. He also teaches online professional development classes for the 21st Century Information Project and for the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where he is the program advisor for the E-learning and Online Teaching Graduate Certificate Program.

Last year, Carl and Dennis presented a similar lecture at NECC in San Antonio and the year before were recognized as a Best of the Best for their Power Searching workshop at NECC in Atlanta.