Transcript Slide 1
Frankenstorm 2012 Hurricane Sandy A horrific environmental disaster ... And a lesson for me about checking my sources, no matter what ... So, I’m at the hair salon ... I decided I had to check to see if anyone else had seen them: She might even be able to submit the photos to CNN or CBC So I went to the Internet And I searched “Hurricane Sandy + shark photos” Google found hundred of websites for me so I clicked on the first one on the list: www.snopes.com Hmmmm .... Uh oh ... www.snopes.com is a website that exposes fake photos & news stories What is INFORMATION LITERACY? • our ability to identify: – WHAT information is needed; – understand HOW the information is organized; – identify the best sources of information for a given need or WHY the source works for you; – locate those sources (WHERE); – evaluate the sources critically by looking at WHO is the author; – and share that information WHEN your teacher collects the assignment. Let’s check out my literacy: What: cool shark photos from Hurricane Sandy How: on an iPhone camera roll Why: I have no reason not to trust this person & they’re awesome Where: at my hair salon Who: an employee When: interest; to show others; WOW How did I do? Why do you and I need good INFORMATION LITERACY SKILLS? • We are surrounded by a growing ocean of information in all formats; • Not all information is created equal: – some is authoritative, current, reliable; – some is biased, out of date, misleading, false; • The amount of information available is going to keep increasing so … • So we need a way to distinguish between what is GOOD INFORMATION AND WHAT ISN’T. THIS IS CRITICAL THINKING • Is the ability to find a fact or a piece of information; • Show that it’s relevant (important); • And then ... – show how or why it is relevant. Where do you go to research a topic? Websites • written by anyone (you don’t have to be an expert); • Content is not necessarily checked by anyone so it may be inaccurate; • Information for citations is rarely available; • Usually not organized to support student research needs; • May not be current information or indicate when a page was last updated; • Available to anyone with an internet connection inside or outside the library. Databases • Also websites but require a paid subscription; • Information is from published works (magazines, journals, newspapers); • Gives you access to full-text articles that can be printed or e-mailed; • Are selected by your friendly librarians to meet your needs specifically; • Get their information from experts in the field; • Facts are checked and double checked; • Easy to cite (often they do it for you); • Updated regularly; • Can be accessed at school and at home. We have so many to choose from...