Transcript Five Things Digital Natives Cannot Do Carl Heine, Ph.D.
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Five Things Digital Natives Cannot Do
(And What You Can Do To Help) Carl Heine, Ph.D.
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy 1
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Advanced Search What digital natives don’t do well What they tend to do instead
Turn a question into a query Choose the right database Recognize information when they find it Find better keywords Verify the credibility of information Rush ahead toward an answer, either grabbing the whole question “as is” or missing an important part of it Enter words or phrases into Google Rush past important information and clues, continue to browse Stick with their original words and browse Accept what they find at face value, hoping somewhere in the information there is an answer 2
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‘digital natives’ and the top hit is: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20 %20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language.
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Verifying the credibility of information Finding better keywords
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Translating a question into a query Choosing the best database Recognizing information that’s relevant 4
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1. Translating a question into a query
Starts with a question or a problem to solve.
Task: Translate a natural language question or statement into language that is understood by a search engine.
Search engines differ in how they process queries, but for the most part, what works on one big commercial search engine tends to work on the others. Search engines perform a variety of literal matching functions with Boolean and special operators.
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1. Translating a question into a query
Which of the following is the most effective query for 'find the top speed of earth's fastest animal'?
speed fastest animal what is earth’s fastest animal top speed earth’s fastest animal 6
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1.Translating a question into a query
Research Findings (IMSA second semester sophomores) 36% recognized the optimal query from a list of three queries. Only 14% of incoming 9th graders at a local high school identified the optimal query.
31% grasped that search engines perform literal matching.
17% regularly use natural language queries.
12% misinterpreted the research question.
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2. Selecting an adequate database
This failure occurs before submitting the first query.
Task: Predict where expert information may be found.
No search engine performs a live Internet search when you submit a query. (Otherwise, how could they come back with a page that’s not found?) That which is stored in one search engine’s database is invisible to another search engine (also called Enterprise Data) 8
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2. Selecting a good database
Research Findings (anecdotes from teachers) When permitted, most students prefer to “Google” 9
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3. Recognizing relevant information
This failure occurs when a student looks at the results returned by a search engine.
Task: Match findings with expectations, evaluate relevance Information on the Internet is not always found in predictable places.
Computers are made for speed, which encourages haste.
Hyperlinks and graphics can be distracting.
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3. Recognizing relevant information
Research Findings (junior honors students) 36% were able to identify web pages that contain supporting research facts from a selection of three pages.
25% -- same task, middle school students 11
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4. Finding better keywords
This failure occurs throughout the search process: before the initial query is submitted and as students look at the results returned by a search engine.
Task: Select and try increasingly specific keywords Frequently, effective keywords go unnoticed in snippets.
Our claim: Effective searching depends on keyword selection more than any other factor.
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4. Finding better keywords
Research Findings (high school) 14% of IMSA sophomores used alternate keywords when searching.
7% of junior honors students chose effective alternate words to find information.
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5. Evaluating credibility
This failure occurs after information has been located.
Task: Check the credibility of information, authorship Typically, students forego this decision altogether and uncritically accept whatever information they found. Depending on which database the information was taken from, information may be unedited, unendorsed and inaccurate.
Special operators (link:) makes external evaluation easier.
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5. Evaluating credibility
Research Findings (high school honors students) 0% were able to use special operators to evaluate the credibility of a web page.
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What You Can Do To Help
Question to query checklist
1. How many key concepts (important ideas) are found in the question?
2. How many key concepts will I search for?
3.
What keywords are probably effective “as is?” 4. For which concepts are more effective keywords probably needed?
5. Are there hyponyms or professional language for any of the intermediate words?
6. Are there words that have multiple meanings?
7. Did I use any stop words or clutter words?
8. Did I spell the words correctly?
9. Did I put the most important words first?
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Challenge: What is the top speed of earth’s fastest animal?
1. How many key concepts (important ideas) are found in the question?
2. How many key concepts will I search for?
3.
What keywords are probably effective “as is?” 4. For which concepts are more effective keywords probably needed?
5. Are there hyponyms or professional language for any of the intermediate words?
6. Are there words that have multiple meanings?
7. Did I use any stop words or clutter words?
8. Did I spell the words correctly?
9. Did I put the most important words first?
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What You Can Do To Help
Question to query tutorials
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What You Can Do To Help
Choose the best database
1. What person would know the answer I am looking for?
2. Where would I find that expert?
3. Use Google/Yahoo to get there and then use the proprietary search engine to go farther.
4. To find a relevant database use keywords like DATABASE, ARCHIVE, INFORMATION in combination with subject matter.
5. Use Beaucoup.com
to search for databases.
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What You Can Do To Help
Challenge: Classical guitarist John Williams has scored the music for only one motion picture. What is the name of the movie?
1. What person would know the answer I am looking for?
2. Where would I find that expert?
3. Use Google/Yahoo to get there and then use the proprietary search engine to go farther.
4. To find a relevant database use keywords like DATABASE, ARCHIVE, INFORMATION in combination with subject matter.
5. Use Beaucoup.com
to search for databases.
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Recognize relevant information
1. Practice reading snippets: Snippet Sleuth 2. Use the FIND Command
Challenge: Find the name of the poem that contains the line
to tell just what it knows
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Find better keywords
1. Practice with snippets and thesaurus: Soccer Challenge II 2. Practice with snippets: Soccer Challenge III , Snippet Sleuth
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Verify Credibility
External validation of content: Links to this site from other sites
Technique
- link: http://www.edutopia.org
1. Practice using the link: operator Evaluation Challenges
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How, When and Where can skills be taught?
Performance skills require hands-on practice
Search challenges Interactive tutorials MicroModules (example: FIND COMMAND ) Search Wizard
When and Where can these skills be taught?
In the context of research paper preparation Computer lab and non-digital applications 24
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keywords:
information fluency
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Carl Heine [email protected]
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