Information Fluency

HCPS Staff Development

Locate

Definition-Locating information on the Internet consists of:

  • Users enter specific criteria for their search (keywords)
  • Web crawlers (spiders) search millions of web pages and files indexed on public databases and retrieve the pages (They do not search the world wide web- they search databases of information)
  • Pages are analyzed, indexed, and stored in large databases
  • When you search for a topic, web crawlers return a list of the best matching web-pages, usually ranking pages with the best results first (These results vary widely among search engines- especially between academic and non-academic database searches.)

Rationale- By 2010, information is expected to double every 11 hours. Students must be able to demonstrate knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems as well as problems posed by teachers in a school setting.

Learning to search effectively using real-world search engines (Google, Yahoo, Ask) and library databases is important skill for our teachers and our students. What are our choices when trying to locate the information we need quickly and accurately? Where and how do you find what you need?

Library Databases- http://catalog.henrico.k12.va.us/libhome.html

The HCPS library provides strong, research-based databases for students and teachers to use. Media specialists can provide training for teaches and their students on the use of the multiple databases that can be accessed from the library home page. These resources are highly structured and pre-evaluated for you. Contact your librarian for information on these resources.

Search Engines- Google, Yahoo, Ask

21st century learning focuses on real-world problem solving and critical thinking. Students must be able to demonstrate knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems as well as problems posed by teachers in a school setting.

Question: When you search for something on the Internet, what search engine do you use?

  1. Google is the most used vehicle to search for information online. In July, 2008, there were over 9.9 billion Google searches performed. Google garners 61.9% of all searches done on the Internet each month and that number continues to grow monthly.
  2. Examples of real-world Google use
    1. Employers google people before hiring
    2. Colleges and universities google potential students.
    3. Teachers google their student’s term paper to see if they have plagerized or purchase term papers on line.
    4. Solve math problems
    5. Spelling
    6. Shopping
    7. Find people, phone numbers, and businesses.
  3. Googling has become such a popular term that Merriam Webster added it to the dictionary as a verb in 2006.
  4. Whether you believe Google is the search engine of choice or not, chances are that your students do. It’s the real world’s current choice to find information about anything and everything.

Essential Question: What skills do students and teachers need to effectively find information on the Internet?

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