The Google Generation & Information Literacy

The Google Generation&Information Literacy JAMES BRADLEY, M.S. INSTRUCTION LIBRARIAN Wilmington College 2005

Literacy • Illiterate • Verbal – reading and writing Wilmington College 2005

Types of Literacy • Verbal • Computer/Digital/Technology • Cultural • Financial • Health Wilmington College 2005

Assessment • Testing basic skills fairly easy • Save a file to disk • Locate the author of a specific book • Testing higher level skills such as critical thinking is much more difficult Wilmington College 2005

What is Information Literacy? • “Information Literacy: The ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand.” http://www.infolit.org/definitions/ Wilmington College 2005

What is Information Literacy? • When do I need information? • Where should I search? • What is a good source of information? • How do I incorporate material? Wilmington College 2005

Challenge • Information is expanding at an unprecedented rate, and enormously rapid strides are being made in technology for storing, organizing, and accessing the ever-growing tidal wave of information. Wilmington College 2005

Information • Newspapers/Magazines/Journals • Books • Flyers/Brochures/Pamphlets • Television • Internet websites Wilmington College 2005

Google Generation • Studies, observations, and anecdotal evidence all point to a lack of IL competence • Issue: students often arrive without the necessary skills to do research • Today you can’t be IL without computer skills • Google Generation • “ease and speed of Internet search engines • Quantity but not all quality Wilmington College 2005

Questions • Do they know the difference between info from the CDC or NIH and a commercial website or personal homepage? • Can they recognize a scholarly journal article vs. a magazine? • Do they know the difference between reading a book review and the book? • Can a returning adult student use the necessary technology to access the info they are searching for? Wilmington College 2005

Observations • Can’t differentiate between a magazine, scholarly journal, or news story • Student’s don’t always question the source • Take something from the first results page of a search engine – don’t dig deeper • Use the minimum number of sources, mostly Internet Wilmington College 2005

Reality about 10% of students have even used the advanced • Features of a search engine….which means they are not focusing • Their searches Wilmington College 2005

Observations • Sometimes confused about the difference between Databases and the Internet • Looking for full-text articles in the catalog of books and videos • Don’t know about or how to use a thesaurus esp. with databases Wilmington College 2005

Observations • Observed behavior is students take the first book or website that they feel satisfies the assignment without much thought Wilmington College 2005

Instructor Comments • Don’t know the difference between a book review and quoting from the actual book • Don’t know that the catalog contains books and videos not journal articles • Better quality and variety of sources after library or classroom orientations Wilmington College 2005

Traditional Age Students • Prefer electronic sources • Comfortable • Perception faster & easier • Limited attention span • Reading • Choosing websites & materials Wilmington College 2005

Adult Students • Sometimes technology is a barrier • Apprehensive initially • Perform well with guidance • Sources • More aware of types of materials & use • More likely to question validity Wilmington College 2005

Traditional Age vs. Non-Traditional Wilmington College 2005

Students • Self - perception – highly skilled searchers • Large number results = success? • Everything is on the Web??? • Subscription databases • Little overlap between top search engines • Students respond to technology • Can we educate and embrace? Wilmington College 2005

Student Comments • Conduct orientations earlier • Time conscious • Don’t appreciate redundancy • Practical application of skills • Productive – time well spent searching Wilmington College 2005

Result • Without specific guidelines: • weak research • Bibliography • Fewer books & journal articles • More web sites Wilmington College 2005

Hybrid • Increasing number of students taking hybrid courses • Less time on campus • Increased guidance by faculty and librarians Wilmington College 2005

Alan Greenspan • To succeed, you will soon learn, as I did, the importance of a solid foundation in the basics of education--literacy, both verbal and numerical, and communication skills. But beyond that you will need to acquire the on-the-job skills that you will need as you move from one job to another. At some point, almost all of you will lose a job and will want to be reemployed as quickly and as productively as possible. That means you will need the capability of learning a wholly new activity. http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2004/20040513/default.htm Wilmington College 2005

Our Students • Employability • Communication Skills • Ability to Learn New Skills • Technology Skills • Lifelong Learning • Health Info. • Legal Info. • Informed citizens Wilmington College 2005

Lifelong Learning • Upgrade job skills • Gather medical data – 80% of Internet users • Major financial or investment decisions • Seeking new job • Choose a new school • 32 million – self or children 1. • Transfer IL skills to their own lives…Pew..Health info • About 80% of Internet users look up health info • Obvious importance of teaching IL skills • Politically informed and able to discuss issues Pew Internet & American Life Project, pewinternet.org, Research Briefing, Use of the Internet at Major Life Moments, Kommers & Rainie Wilmington College 2005

National Importance • “The manner in which our country deals with the realities of the Information Age will have enormous impact on our democratic way of life and on our nation's ability to compete in an international marketplace.” http://www.infolit.org/about/index.html Wilmington College 2005

Effects of the Internet on Research • Cornell Study – long term study on multi-college undergrads • Bibliographies grew but included fewer scholarly resources • 1/3 @ library • 1/2 @ home – upfront guidance • Students believe web is a time saver • Libraries offer workshops, tutorials, and pathfinders • Effect of the Web on Undergraduate Citation Behavior: Guiding Student Scholarship in a Networked Age, Philip M. Davis Wilmington College 2005

Promising news • “…students will meet the expectations of the professor when those expectations are clearly articulated and enforced.” • “…students tended to cite scholarly sources when the professor provided clear and enforceable guidelines in his class assignment” Wilmington College 2005

Irony • Employers are spending millions on literacy and technology training • Ford $300 M – all employees have computers and printers at HOME-Goad • Lack of qualified technology jobs – outsourcing or immigration Wilmington College 2005

Companies are spending millions on workplace literacy training in some • Cases to train competent workers on technology or to improve • Or maintain their skills Wilmington College 2005

Comm. Skills • Comp literacy • Lifelong learning – continuous..variety of skill sets Wilmington College 2005

Students need to learn better research skills • Internet searching • “They need guidance on how to evaluate sources / material” 1. • “Students are overwhelmingly susceptible to misinformation” • “Lack critical thinking skills” 1. • 1. “Of course it’s true; I say it on the Internet!” Critical Thinking in the Internet Era, Lisa Haney, Communications of the ACM, May 2003 Wilmington College 2005

Where do we go from here? • Perspective • First Step • Increased Collaboration & Planning • Spring Faculty Development Day • Learn more & begin to discuss solutions • Set Standards Wilmington College 2005

Ways to tackle the issue • Library orientations • Classroom visits or discussions ( if instructors are comfortable) • BlackBoard • Online tutorials • Ongoing development of resources • to give students the skills And tools they need to conduct research Wilmington College 2005

Spring Faculty Development Day • Dr. Steven Bell – University of Philadelphia • Break-out Sessions Wilmington College 2005

Spring Faculty Development Day • Adjunct faculty • Opportunity to learn about I.L. • Full-time faculty • Enhance their awareness • Implement higher level assignments • Discuss appropriate but challenging tasks Wilmington College 2005

Thank You • Jane Bruton’s Presentation & Comments Wilmington College 2005

The Google Generation & Information Literacy