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Identify the basic online skills you consider essential to your students and your lesson.
For more depth on the subject, there are excellent performance standards and indicators from established sources such Wisconsin's Model Academic Standards and Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.
LESS: Not to worry, if you get confused by all the current jargon about information/technology/computer/communication/literacy - click here.
MORE: Details concerning the information literacy theory behind this practical list.
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1 - COMMUNICATION SKILLS
- Access and subscribe to current, relevant online resources (news and other online subscriptions, e-alerts, Web feeds or RSS feeds)
- Communicate online (e-mail, global penpals, weblogs, discussion groups, wikis). Here is a terrific model of a science teacher who uses a blog to host classroom discussions in science. Click for Blog and Wiki subscriptions.
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2 - SEARCH SKILLS
KEYWORD
- Do an effective keyword search with GOOGLE (How Good a Googler Are You? lesson)
- Do an effective internet search in general (tutorial for your students)
- Use GOOGLE services and tools, including scholar and/or language translation tools
SIMULATIONS
- Manipulate interactive simulation websites: e.g. GOOGLE EARTH, Biology labs
DATABASES: TEXT
- Retrieve information from text-based Databases
- (e.g. magazines)(EBSCO, GALE, PROQUEST),(EBSCO tutorial)(EBSCOhost Trainer Guide) multi-media database archives, (archive tutorial), using skill subsets (E.g. Scanning, sorting abstracts, evaluating, extracting information)
DATABASES: NUMERICAL
- Retrieve information from Numeric Databases using skill subsets (E.g. Deduce summary information from the data, Perform basic statistical analyses, Draw conclusions and make recommendations. (Help)
- Access scientific data and use analysis tools provided
- Extract Meaning from Data - E.g. BC Statistics, (tables, charts, diagrams, maps)
- Here's a Database User's Tutorial
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3 - CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
Evaluate websites for relevance, reliability, and readability
Ethically use information
- Understand the Creative Commons, open source (e.g. WIKIPEDIA), open access science as well as copyrighted material (Canada). Cite sources for text, images, sounds, (using online citation tools).
Solve real-world problems and make predictions
- Use computer application/tools that organize and process data
- Use graphic organizers, spreadsheets and databases using skills of reasoning, inquiry and communication.
- Use computers to develop models to guide research.
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4 - TECHNOLOGY SKILLS
(Brief examples only - taught in depth as content of Information Technology courses)
- Screen literacy: understand hyperlinks; manipulate multiple windows, cut-and-paste, etc.
- Create documents in basic applications of Word Office: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
