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Welcome!  This is an online, self-paced unit on searching and evaluating resources found on the Internet, a sub-skill of the bigger concept called information literacy.  It should take you approximately 2-3 hours to complete.  Within this unit, you'll be exploring the concept of information literacy and specifically, locating and evaluating Web resources through a realistic classroom scenario.  You will practice these skills yourself, as you work through the unit.

Objectives:
  • define information literacy 
  • describe the process for identifying, locating and evaluating Internet resources
  • effectively locate Internet resources using search strategies
  • evaluate Internet resources based on criteria
  • integrate the ideas of information literacy with other classroom objectives, standards and teaching strategies

Standards:

Teacher Standards
InTASC
Standard #8 Instructional Strategies
8(o) The teacher understands how content and skill development can be supported by media and technology and knows how to evaluate these resources for quality, accuracy, and effectiveness.

ISTE-T  #3 Model Digital Age Work and Learning
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers:
d. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.

Student Standards
ISTE-S: #3 Research and Information Fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:
a. plan strategies to guide inquiry.
b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.

AASL (American Association of School Librarians)
Learners Use Skills, Resources, & Tools to:
1. Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge.
1.1 Skills
1.1.1 Follow an inquiry-based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects, and make the real-world connection for using this process in own life.
1.13 Develop and refine a range of questions to frame the search for new understanding.
1.1.4 Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions.
1.1.5 Evaluate information found in selected sources on the basis of accuracy, validity, appropriateness for needs, importance, and social and cultural context.
1.1.7 Make sense of information gathered from diverse sourced by identifying misconceptions, main and supporting ideas, conflicting information, and point of view or bias.
1.1.8 Demonstrate mastery of technology tools for accessing information and pursuing inquiry.

For more information and more AASL standards, please see: http://www.ala.org/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/standards

Tips for Online Unit Navigation:

  • Download the Student Sheet. You will use this at various points within the online unit. 
  • Navigate to each numbered section using the links on the left hand side of the page.
  • Within each numbered section, there will be several activities. 
  • It is highly recommended to go through the sections and activities in order.
  • Some of the activities will require you to record things on your student sheet.  These directions are written in orange text.
  • Other activities require you to read, think, or try things.  When the directions are not written in orange, you do not have to record your answers.
  • The last activity in the online unit is 6b.  Please note that "Section 7. Additional Resources" contains a list of optional resources you can refer to for more information.
  • You will be discussing this online unit in class.  Be prepared by coming to class with your completed student sheet on the day assigned by your instructor.



Ready to begin?  Go to section 1.