Final TrackStar & Citizen Journalism Report

Links to my final project:

Citizen Journalism TrackStar

Citizen Journalism Photostory

Rough Draft of Report

Weekly Reading #10

How does the project detailed in the video support research process consistent with the kind of research people encounter in the workplace?

How does this project support new literacies?

• The Deforest Action project supports the research process consistent with the kind of research people encounter in the workplace by creating a real life engagement and a passion about the topic. 
• Students realize that they can make a difference in the world and it gives them a global voice and sense of shared responsibility. 
• This action project allows global participation and artistic expression on social networking sites which reinforces the social skills and cultural competencies that young people need to acquire to be full participants in the workplace and community. 
• Connecting the students with online collaboration creates an interactive learning atmosphere to support and easily share new ideas. 
• Students are motivated to help solve problems and take initiative to create positive change for the world. 
• Students take a leadership role and are assigned particular pieces of the project to make their contributions matter and care about the outcome. 
• This project supports new literacies by helping young people better understand their community involvement in this emerging digital culture. 
• This project enables the development of skills valued in the modern workplace, and a more empowered conception of citizenship. 

What Wikipedia can teach us about New Media Literacies

New Literacies and 21st century technologies

ISTE 2012 Wednesday Keynote: Dr. Willie Smits with Christopher Gauthier (Full-Length)
http://youtu.be/U7-qjllPCOo

Weekly Reading #9

"Teachers need to play an active role when incorporating wikis in their classroom by discussing critical and ethical issues surrounding them and facilitating their use to encourage individual voices in collaborative ways" (Asselin & Moayeri, 2011).

I agree with this statement, because students can contribute their own content to a class wiki based on their opinion. This could cause other students to automatically trust the information provided by their peers and to change their own opinion, rather than contributing a new idea. This is a great opportunity to teach the students about bias and trustworthiness of online information. The students should research, validate, and cite all the information, then come to their own conclusion based on factual evidence. Teachers are responsible for demonstrating this process and encouraging students to discuss and work collaboratively.

Link to Example Class Wiki

I like this class wiki because it includes guidelines for the students and various helpful resources. I think this teacher is playing an active role by incorporating the class wiki and providing information related to critical issues involving online collaboration. This class wiki relays the message to encourage students' individual comments in an ethical way. 

1. What makes a literacy practice a "new literacy"?

A new mindset about knowledge makes a "new literacy." It is a participatory knowledge to include creating and publishing content. Knowing how to locate information collaboratively and contribute with annotated web pages.

2. How does Citizen Journalism support the development of "new literacies"?

Learning how to read material with annotations is a new literacy skill. TrackStar includes annotations for the students to read and perform website validations. This helps them to become more efficient with searching and evaluating online information.

3. What is critical literacy and how does your Citizen Journalism project encourage critical literacy? How might you change your project to encourage critical literacy? 

Critical literacy views information through a political, social, and economic mindset. Citizen Journalism can encourage critical literacy by allowing students to examine a community issue and their perspective on it. The project enables students to go beyond conventional skills of evaluating information and incorporate digital texts.

4. What problems may arise when students use Web 2.0 tools for learning in school and how might teachers capitalize on these opportunities to promote information literacy?

• Students contributions to social networking sites and you tube can be be controversial. It is important for them to learn to be ethically and socially responsible.
• Students are encouraged to view commercial sites critically and detect potential bias and become critical consumers.   

Resources:

Asselin, M. & Moayeri, M. (2011). Practical Strategies: The Participatory Classroom: Web 2.0 in the Classroom. Literacy Learning: The Middle Years 19(2).http://ictandliteracy.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/practical-strategies.pdf

Collaboration - Social Studies Middle School Wiki
http://collaborationnation.wikispaces.com/home

Storyboard

Citizen Journalism Digital Story Storyboard
Child Poverty in West Virginia
Digital Media Tools: MovieMaker

Weekly Reading #8

“Rapid advances in digital technologies have resulted not only in a proliferation of the amount of information available to students, but also in the packaging of that information in an increasing variety of formats”(Grafstein, 2002).
I agree with this quote, technology is growing and information is readily available. Students need to be taught the proper way to use digital tools and interpret this abundance of information available to them. Educating students to search and evaluate online information and use digital tools effectively is critical today. Technology is not helpful to students if they do not know how to use it correctly. Young people should understand that not all information that is available is accurate and they need the skills to determine trustworthy information.

This video demonstrates the ever changing technology in our society. I think to fully be participating citizens, students should have the critical thinking skills to evaluate online information and use new digital technology correctly. 

Uploaded on Feb 18, 2010 by Joe McClary
Makes the striking case for how fast technology is changing our society. 
The video is by Karl Fisch and Scott Mcleod.




1. What is the difference between IL and BI and why is this distinction important?
Information Literacy (IL) is more inclusive, expanding on a variety of information formats. Concepts are taught over time and its focus is not exclusivley in the library. 
Bibliographic Instruction (BI) refers to instruction in traditional print or library resources.

2. Why should classroom faculty teach IL?
Information retrieval and source evaluation skills are required to locate and appropriately use information in any field. These skills are the essential characteristic of the process of information-seeking that apply across disciplines. Technology is advancing rapidly and students need the technical skills to effectively access this digital information and have the ability to understand it, evaluate it, and use it appropriately.


3. What is the role of classroom faculty in developing information literacy?

Teachers need to take an active role in developing information literacy. Students need to gain critical thinking skills through active and resource based learning by implementing technology to search and evaluate online information. Creating project based activities, such as blogs, wiki's, and citizen journalism videos can support digital literacy development. 

Information formats are expanding and a variety of digital information sources are available to students. Students need to be prepared to use these new research tools effectively to include the abundance of technology and information available. 

Information Literacy Competency Standards and Student Learning Outcomes

Resources:

Grafstein, Ann (2002), A Discipline-Based Approach to Information Literacy. Retrieved from

http://westmont.edu/_offices/provost/documents/Senate/Full/2009-2010/Discipline-Based%20Approach%20to%20Information%20Literacy.pdf

Fisch, Karl & Mcleod, Scott. (McClary Uploaded on Feb 18, 2010),

Makes the striking case for how fast technology is changing our society. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/kA2ytAcVsvg

Information Literacy Competency Standards and Student Learning Outcomes. Retrieved from

http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/issues/infolit/standards/using/standardsintro.pdf

Citizen Journalism TrackStar

Link to my Citizen Journalism TrackStar

Weekly Reading #7

Engaging young learners: The multi-faceted and changealenature of student engagement intechnology-ric learning projects

"As technology has become incorporated into teaching and learning, much research has focused on the efficacy of its use, and its ability to improve learning outcomes" (Adlington & Harvey, 2010).

There have been ongoing studies about technology in the classroom. This study considers the engaging factor of technology and demonstrates the importance of teaching the proper procedures to use technology for learning. Technology is a part of life that should be utilized in schools to teach students the needed digital media literacy skills to be knowledgeable and active citizens. Students must have access to the technical and digital skills necessary for success in the global economy and learn at a young age the critical procedures of researching information and the proper use that technology entails. 

Below is a link to a video involving a Website Validation Lesson for younger students. This technology project promotes behavioral, cognitive, and emotional student engagement. 

Using Critical Thinking to Find Trustworthy Websites

Below is a link to an article about the ongoing debate of technology in schools and a few quotes I found interesting in regards to the title.
The problem with technology in schools

By Alfonzo Porter, The Washington Post, Posted at 11:10 AM ET, 01/28/2013

"Quick access to information can lead to a lack of critical thinking about sources and quality of information, as well as an inability to “mine for data.”"

"Today students’ idea of learning about a topic is to believe what they read in online."

"Many education reformers tend to look to technology to solve some of the challenges that face our public schools. From online education to interactive games, the emphasis on exploring technological forms of pedagogy to raise student scores has generated a number of interesting projects and studies."

"The issues engendered by the reality of education technology demand that schools leap ahead in developing a “Digital Citizenship” curriculum to appropriately guide students beginning from kindergarten on technology’ usage."

1. How might your citizen journalism project resemble a technology rich project?

My citizen journalism resembles a technology rich project because it requires students to use the Internet for research, digital media literacy skills to validate online information, Google Form to create a survey, Moviemaker to create a digital story, along with recording and documenting observations and interviews with various digital tools. 

2. What did you learn about successful implementation of technology rich projects?

Successful implementation of technology rich projects can promote behaviorally, cognitively and emotionally engaged students.

Resources
Adlington, Rachel & Harvey, Hilary (2010), Engaging young learners: The multi-faceted and changeable nature of student engagement in technology-rich learning projects, Retrieved from http://acec2010.acce.edu.au/sites/acec2010.info/files/proposal/172/acec2010engagingyounglearners.pdf

Porter, Alfonzo, (2013), The Washington Post, The Problem with Technology in Schools, Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/the-problem-with-technology-in-schools/2013/01/28/cf13dc6c-6963-11e2-ada3-d86a4806d5ee_blog.html

Koch, Emily; Common Sense Media, Using Critical Thinking to Find Trustworthy Websites, Retrieved from http://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/using-critical-thinking-find-trustworthy-websites

Citizen Journalism Project

Project Requirements:

• The final product must be created with digital media in the form of a Podcast, Digital Story, Wiki, Blog. 
• Create a TrackStar to lead future students through the project. 
• Students must be directed to use non-traditional resources to conduct research (Blogs, Twitter, YouTube). 
• Students must participate in original data collection (interviews or observations) 
• Structure for Citizen Journalism Project 
• Choose a local issue or an issue of personal interest to research. 
• Students use Google and Wikipedia to gain an understanding of the context of the issue. 
• Students search for blogs, Twitter accounts, YouTube channels to find multiple perspectives on the issue. 
• Students choose two competing perspectives and use information literacy strategies to identify bias and validate the information. 
• Looking for Answers: Making Sense of the Bombing This is good example of how to help students analyze and synthesize perspectives on an issue. 
• Interview a local expert and/or collect observational data to contribute to the report. 
• Write the story 
• NPR's Scott Simon:How to Tell a Story
• Create a digital media product for dissemination on the Internet. 
• Tips for Journalists: How to create a great documentary

Students will create a digital story about Child Poverty in West Virginia.

Resources:

How to Create a Digital Story

What is Citizen Journalism?
EDTECH K-12
WV Center on Budget & Policy
Child Poverty in WV
WV Healthy Kids & Families Coalition
National Center for Children in Poverty
EyeWitness News
You Tube
Twitter
Google Search 
Wikipedia
Children's Defense Fund

Weekly Reading #6

“Keeping students “on task” during research time in the computer lab and off unrelated websites becomes a concern of many” (Bailey, 2012).

I agree with this statement completely! I teach Business Education and every day the students work on a computer in my classroom. This can become a challenge for some students to stay on task and not wonder off to the games or other sites of interest.  That is why I think the author makes a good point about making a research assignment authentic.  Creating lessons that do not engage the students in what they consider as interesting are doomed to fail.  When the students know that their peers will be reading their work, they are more likely to get involved and care about what they write.  Allowing the students to choose their own topics helps to motivate and gives us the opportunity to learn more about their personalities and interests. Giving the students the needed guidelines to follow and still permitting freedom of choice will encourage them to become an active participant in their role as a student.

Reference
Herrmann, Bailey (2012). Writing as an Exploration: Rethinking the Research Paper, Wisconsin English Journal, Volume 54, Number 2.  Retrieved from http://journals.library.wisc.edu/index.php/wej/article/viewFile/538/579

Introducing Students to Authentic Research

• Marie Frick, an educator at ASSETS School in Honolulu, Hawaii, introduced her students to authentic research by first completing a research question together as a class, then allowing each student to create their own research question pertaining to their own interests. The freedom of choice helped to motivate them, though she noted that they needed help to narrow their interest to a single question. The completed projects were displayed at their school's Interest Fair at the end of the year for others to see. Marie also stated that, "Their parents were impressed with the originality of the students' work and with the care and pride they took in their projects." This is an example of how authentic research can engage students to take an active role in their research assignment.

Reference
Frick,Marie. Introducing Students to Authentic Research. ASSETS School, Honolulu, Hawaii. Retrieved from http://www.pfr.com/dfrick/mfrick/m-ar.html

1. What is the difference between writing a report and "doing research"?

• When students conduct research it puts them in an active role of collecting data and constructing meaning.
• Writing a report does not require students to do research, but to report and reflect on the facts and findings of others and to draw conclusions based on reading.

 2. How might doing authentic research better prepare students for the 21st century work place? Give specific examples from the "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" reading.

• Authentic research would better prepare students for the 21st century workplace by giving them experience with real world activities such as: conducting an interview, administering a questionnaire, or keeping a journal based on observation. This type of activity would place students in an active role of collecting data and constructing meaning.
• Authentic research demonstrates workplace concepts of teamwork, social practices, and group problem solving aimed at building collective knowledge, where information skills are spread across a team rather than being centered on an individual (Lloyd, 2011).

3.Why might Constructivist type learning better prepare students for the 21st century work place than Behavioral approaches?

• Constructivist type of learning is transferable to situations in the real world. It emphasises active engagement of learners through interaction, problem-solving, and other 'active' approaches.
• Behaviorist approaches emphasise changing behavior through conditioning or rewarding correct performance. 

4. How does authentic research support new media literacies? 

• Authentic research can help young people better understand their involvement in the community and the digital culture. It actively engages students in cultural competencies and social skills which they need to participate in collaboration and networking.
• Authentic research can create a social connection with each other at least to the degree to which they care what other people think about what they have created.

References

Gordon, Carol. Students As Authentic Researchers: A New Prescription for the High School Research Assignment. American Library Association. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume21999/vol2gordon

Lloyd, A. (2011). Trapped between a Rock and a Hard Place: What Counts as Information Literacy in the Workplace and How Is It Conceptualized? Library Trends, 60 (2) pp. 277-296.

Jenkins, Henry. (2007, June 26). What Wikipedia can Teach us About New Media Literacies (Part One). Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/2007/06/what_wikipedia_can_teach_us_ab.html

Jenkins, Henry. (2007, June 27). What Wikipedia can Teach us About the New Media Literacies (Part two). Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/2007/06/what_wikipedia_can_teach_us_ab_1.html

Weekly Reading #5

1. What does the term "discursive practices" mean?

• Discursive practice addresses the processes by which cultural meanings are produced and understood. It is the specific set of rules for organizing and producing different forms of knowledge.

2. What does "discourse" mean?

• Discourse is the use of spoken or written language in a social context and generally used as a form of representation of language, or discussion of cultural and historic meanings. 

3. What is the "rock" and what is the "hard place"?

• The rock is the current conceptions of information literacy that represent information literacy as a skill or competency that is confined to information access and use, and associated with tools such as text or technology (Lloyd, 2011). 

• The hard place refers to attempts to translate this conception from the formal learning regimes of education and academic libraries to other sectors where learning is less structured or systematized, but is just as important (i.e., workplaces) (Lloyd, 2011.)

4. What are the differences between the skills prescribed for information searching in academic and workplace settings?

• The skills prescribed in searching for information, accessing and using it are formalized by particular rules, regulations, and curriculum that are underpinned by an instrumental rationality. This allows the acquisition of knowledge and ways of knowing to be measured against formalized sets of criteria. In this setting, primacy is awarded to knowledge that is canonical, objective, and explicit, and there is a focus on individual performance and the development of self-sufficiency through independent learning (Lloyd, 2011). 

• Workplaces offer another type of social setting, where the information landscape is often described as messy, complex, and distributed through a range of practices that entwine to contribute to the collective performance of work.  The creation of workplace knowledge and of knowing about the performance of work-its production, distribution, and circulation- is therefore reflective of the ongoing process of collaboration between people. It is also mediated by the material and social conditions of their practice settings, as they engage with learning that is sometimes formal and sanctioned through training, but more often is informal, embodied, and occurring at the moment of practice (Sawchuck, 2003).

5. How do academic notions of information literacy undermine workplace notions information literacy?

• Academic notions of information literacy undermines important workplace concepts of teamwork, social practices, and group problem solving aimed at building collective knowledge, where information skills are spread across a team rather than being centered on an individual (Lloyd, 2011).

6. How are information needs identified in work place setting like nursing and emergency workers?

• In the emergency services studies (Lloyd, 2009; Lloyd-Zantiotis, 2004) problem solving is a group activity, where members cross-reference the problem or issue at hand, against a range of experiences drawn from situated practice and expertise within the group.

• Nurses must reconcile their own informed understanding of patient care with the dominant and codified knowledge of the medical profession, which acts as the knowledge authority in relation to medical need, practice, and procedure (Lloyd, 2011). 

• They must make rational judgments about the information and recognize the importance of social information as a critical source of learning.

• Firefighters, ambulance officers, and nurses come to understand their information landscape, agreeing on what type of information is useful in the performance of their specific practices (Lloyd, 2010).

7. Why do issues of plagiarism not resonate in workplace settings?

• The notion that workers are aware of information presentation or issues such as plagiarism does not resonate in workplaces that are often driven by technical and embodied knowledge. This type of knowledge is considered to be a collective possession and disseminated and circulated throughout the workplace, by storytelling, and extended through the distributed networks of professional practice (Lloyd, 2011).

• Lloyd (2004, 2009) demonstrated in the emergency services research that the need to develop a shared understanding about practice and profession rested on the group working collectively to share information, which in turn allowed for common understandings about how practice and performance should proceed to develop. This then suggests that eventually the provenance of information (critical in an academic context) is often lost over time in the workplace, where it becomes incorporated into collective dialogue and wisdom (Lloyd, 2011).

8. Are information literacy skills transferable across contexts and settings? Why or Why not?

• Evidence from Hartmann (2001), Ellis and Salisbury (2004), and Herring (2010) indicate that information literacy skills do not appear to successfully transfer, either within a school-based setting (e.g., from classroom to classroom), across education settings (from school to university), or into the workplace (Lloyd-Zantiotis, 2004). Palmer and Tucker (2004) have noted that while information literacy may be referred to as a generic skill, it is not a "global, context free attribute." Consequently, explorations of transfer require an understanding of the setting and the way the setting functions to operationalize its knowledge base through the development and application of specific suites of information skills. The research to date raises questions in relation to the learning of information skills and their operationalization as part of the learning process. Therefore, the issue of transfer appears critical, particularly as we continue to develop information literacy pedagogy (Lloyd, 2011).

9. What is "practice theory"?

• Practice theories emphasize the analysis of ways of engaging with the world. These social theories are concerned with exploring human activity, subjectivity, inter-subjectivity, embodiment, language, and power in relation to the "organization, reproduction and transformation of social life" (Schatzki, 2001, p. 1).

• Practice theories have the ability to produce accounts of how different types of information and knowledge are produced and sanctioned and therefore offer a more holistic approach to understanding the conditions and features of information literacy. Put another way, these theories enable us to understand how information literacy happens (Lloyd, 2011). 

• The focus of practice theory is on the arrays of human activity (cognitive and embodied) that produce among members engaged in practices a shared account of "know-how" or practical understanding (Lloyd, 2011).

10. How does the author of this article define information literacy?

• The author defines information literacy as constituted through the connections that exist between people, artifacts, texts and bodily experiences that enable individuals to develop both subjective and inter-subjective positions. Information literacy is a way of knowing the many environments that constitute an individual being in the world. (Lloyd, 2010, p. 26)

• Being information literate is a way of knowing and as an outcome of participation, knowing is informed by the sayings, doings, and relating specific to the environment (Lloyd, 2010).

11. How do educators need to change their understanding of information literacy in order to prepare student for the information literacy practices they will encounter in workplace settings?

• Understanding this practice requires that we focus on the social conditions that enable information literacy to happen in ways that allow access to information and knowledge that are specific to the practice setting (Lloyd, 2011). 

• Educators need to know about how information sources are located within an information landscape, and how these sources reflect the conditions through which information and knowledge are agreed upon and legitimized (Lloyd, 2011).

• Information literacy should be seen as a dispersed practice that is inherent in all other practices (Lloyd, 2011). 

• Information literacy should be understood as collaborative practice produced by a range of social activities that interweave together to produce a way of knowing that is particular and localized (Lloyd, 2011). 

• We must recognize the social architectures through which the flow of information (including information about how to access and use it) is afforded or constrained, in turn enabling the construction of a narrative that resonates between members and is used to align newcomers (Lloyd, 2011).

• It is critical that we acknowledge the role of the community as central to the enactment of information literacy, and acknowledge that information literacy is not a skill but a practice that is constituted through a range of social activities that need to be studied, understood, and ultimately represented as part of our theorizing of information literacy (Lloyd, 2011).

• Students need to engage with the social architectures, which structure and guide their engagement with workplace information and knowledge (Lloyd, 2011).

12. What do the terms "ontological" and "epistemological" mean?

• Ontology and epistemology is the study of knowledge and being and their relationships. They authorize the types of information and ways of knowing that are used to shape and maintain the character and culture of the setting (Lloyd, 2011). 

13. The After reading this article, how useful is the traditional research paper we expect students to produce in school in preparing them for workplace settings? What are traditional research papers useful for? Should we still assign traditional research papers?

• Workers must draw information from the verbal, the material, and physical sources that constitute the information landscape, in order to learn about the internal and external performance of work (Gherardi, 2009; Orlikowski, 2007).

• It becomes the intersection between epistemic information, information drawn from actual performance, and information drawn from interaction with the community (Lloyd, 2011).

• Traditional research papers are a part of the learning process that helps contribute to the overall aspect of fundamental knowledge needed in the workplace. 

14. What is one of the biggest challenges to changing the way information literacy is conceptualized in school settings?

• The challenge now is to transcend existing understandings of information literacy and broaden our research practices to understand how information literacy is experienced in other contexts (Lloyd, 2011).

15. What attributes of the 21st century make it essential that educators change their approaches toward information literacy?

• A result of fast capitalism in the twenty-first century is a workforce that is able to adapt and adopt their information practices to suit ever-changing environments. After all, information is a valuable commodity-the most traded resource of the knowledge economy. Consequently, it is more important than ever that we focus our research efforts toward understanding information literacy in this sector and that we use this knowledge to inform our own practices as educators. Doing so allows us to be able to better inform our own pedagogic practice to account for the sociocultural and sociotechnical practices of the workplace, and this provides a platform to more effectively advocate for information literacy at government policy levels (Lloyd, 2011).

16. What changes can teachers make to their classroom activities to engage students in the information literacy practices they will encounter in 21st century workplace settings?

• Classroom activities need to involve teamwork, social practices, and group problem solving aimed at building collective knowledge, where information skills are spread across a team rather than being centered on an individual. 

• Activities that consist of information sharing and negotiation of set goals that result in a collective creation. These activities will help to understand how information literacy is constituted in a workplace setting, and to consider the dialogic processes that influence its development.

References

Lloyd, A. (2011). Trapped between a Rock and a Hard Place: What Counts as Information Literacy in the Workplace and How Is It Conceptualized? Library Trends, 60 (2) pp. 277-296.

Sawchuck, P. (2003). Adult learning and technology in working-class life. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Lloyd, A. (2010). Information literacy landscapes: Information literacy in education, workplace and everyday contexts. Oxford: Chandos.

Lloyd, A. (2009). Informing practice: Information experiences of ambulance officers in training and on-road practice. Journal of Documentation, 65(3), 396-419.

Lloyd-Zantiotis, A. (2004). Working information: A grounded theory of information literacy in the workplace. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of New England, Armidale, NSW.

Lloyd, A. (2004). Working (in)formation: Conceptualizing information literacy in the workplace. In P. A. Danaher, C. Macpherson, F. Nouwens, & D. Orr (Eds.), Lifelong learning: Whose responsibility and what is your contribution? Proceedings of the 3rd International Lifelong Learning Conference (pp. 218-24). Yeppoon, Queensland Australia, June 13-16. Rockhampton: Central Queensland University Press.

Hartmann, E. (2001). Understanding of information literacy; The perceptions of first year undergraduate students at the University of Ballarat. Australian Academic Research Libraries, 32(2), 110-122.

Ellis, J., & Salisbury, F. (2004). Information literacy milestones: Building upon the prior knowledge of first-year students. The Australian Library Journal, 53(4), 383-394.

Herring, J. (2010). School students, information retreival and transfer. Library and Information Research, 34(107). Retreived November 10, 2010, from http://www.lirg.org.uk.ezproxy.fairmontstate.edu/lir/ojs/ index.php/lir/article/viewFile/242/301

Palmer, S., & Tucker, B. (2004). Planning, delivery and evaluation of information literacy training for engineering and technology students. Australian Academic and Research Libraries, 35(1), 13-33.

Orlikowski, W. J. (2007). Sociomaterial practices: Exploring technology at work. Organization Studies, 28(9), 1435-1438.

Gherardi, S. (2009a). Community of practice or practices of a community? In S. Armstrong & C. Fukami (Eds.), (pp. 514-530). Sage Handbook of Management Learning, Education and Development. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Gherardi, S. (2009b). Introduction: The critical power of the "practice lens." Management Learning, 40(2), 115-128.

Final TrackStar

TrackStar - Do getting good grades in school really matter?

My TrackStar promotes online research strategies and provides information of why it should be important to a student to get good grades in school.

• This strategy teaches information literacy skills by presenting a real-life question with various perspectives.
• This allows students to create their own opinion of the information given after carefully answering the question prompts.
• The websites provide different viewpoints on the same topic and proves that it is important to examine the reliability and credibility of all information.
• The students already possess background knowledge on this particular research question, which helps when examining the webpages and gives them the opportunity to establish their more educated position and reasoning behind it.
• TrackStar motivates and engages the student by actively involving them in the step-by-step process in learning today's necessary information literacy skills. 
• The goal is for students to realize the importance of questioning online resources and get a variety of sources to create their own conclusions.

Weekly Reading #4

1. What surprises you about the strategies digital age students use as they conduct research for course assignments?

• The strategy that almost all students turn to first for course-related research is course readings rather than Google or Wikipedia.

2. How accurately do the findings from this study reflect your own research strategies?

• For course-related research assignments, I tend to examine course readings first to complete the necessary requirements. This strategy is less time consuming than sorting through and validating online information.  I also prefer Google search and Wikipedia for my every day, personal research. 

3. This study provides a detailed description of the parameters of research assignments typically required for academia. How does it differ from the kinds of research people do in the workplace?

• Motivation is a factor that derives the use of information resources. Most people doing work related research have the needed background knowledge to narrow the search topic and understand the language used. This background knowledge also helps to gather and access needed information materials, realizing the need to question resources and get a variety of sources to create their own conclusion.

4. Do you think the recommendations to improve research processes for college students will better prepare students for the world outside of school?

• Yes, I believe that students reluctantly engage in a quick glance of online resources by only doing  the needed research for an assignment. This does not fully teach the information literacy skills that is needed in the real world. Students need to expand on their information gathering and be encouraged to collect, analyze, and synthesize multiple viewpoints from a variety of sources to better prepare them for the world outside of school. This research technique actively engages students to build their critical thinking and information literacy skills.

5. Find an image that relates to searching for information. Embed the image in your blog and provide proper attribution.

Research & Consultancy Cell
mnnit.ac.in 

Resources:
Picture Source. Research and Consultancy Cell. Retrieved from http://mnnit.ac.in/rnc/table2.html

ALISON J. HEAD, PH.D. AND MICHAEL B. EISENBERG, PH.D. (December 1, 2009)
Lessons Learned: How College Students Seek Information in the Digital Age
PROJECT INFORMATION LITERACY PROGRESS REPORT
THE INFORMATION SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
RESEARCH SPONSORED BY A GIFT FROM PROQUEST
Retrieved form http://kennison.name/files/zopestore/uploads/libraries/documents/student-info-seeking-2009.pdf

Intro to TrackStar

Activity #1
I believe these research projects would be valuable resources for developing information literacy in school. 
These projects....

• step you through the Website Validation Process by allowing you to make your own judgement based on question prompts while guiding you through the site information. 
• are easy to follow and helps you to examine good website examples while enabling you to establish your own position and explain your reasoning behind it. 
• can help you to better understand the validation process by breaking it down into sections and providing various perspectives. 
• help you to realize that it is important to do your research and know that just because it is on the web doesn't mean its true.

Activity #2 - Trackstar Rough Draft
Link to my Trackstar

Validating Websites - ThinkAloud Project

Website Validation from mdabate

I created a short ThinkAloud to demonstrate Validating Information on a Website. I used a website that addresses the issue of arming teachers with guns. I pulled statements from the article that reflects a partiality and conveyed a particular point of view. I triangulated the data with another website resource on the same topic.
I chose this particular article because it contains a quote from a local person, Michael Queen, president of the Harrison County Board of Education. I thought this to be interesting regarding a local opinion on the topic.
I think it is important to provide students with information literacy skills to be active participants in the digital age. Young people need to learn the skills needed to be involved in the community and understand how to be critical consumers.
Implementing project based lessons, like the ThinkAloud, can provide students with a more meaningful information literacy experience than reading textbooks because it makes it more relevant to real life by providing current topics and information in the media. Actively engaging in real world projects creates opportunities for students to construct knowledge and  better enable them in problem solving and text meaning.
Resources:

Rural Colorado School District Arms Administrators, Bypassess Colorado Gun Laws. (2013, 05-06). Retrieved from The Huffington Post : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/06/rural-colorado-school-dis_n_3224474.html

Niiler, E. (2013, 01-3). Could Arming Teachers Work? Retrieved from Discovery News: http://news.discovery.com/human/could-arming-teachers-work-20130102.htm

Textbooks, Wikipedia and Schooling

1. How do you feel about using web-based resources instead of textbooks in school? I use web-based resources everyday in my class to teach according to the state business curriculum. I spend a great amount of time to prepare the lessons using online resources to create an engaging learning experience. I provide real-world examples and build on the student's prior knowledge of the topic to make it relevant. Lessons become clearer when the topic is connected to an issue that affects them personally. I implement projects that promote students engagement with real world business and technology to support our future leaders and provide them with the skills needed to succeed in the 21st century. I feel that using web-based resources instead of textbooks to teach these skills creates a more well rounded and resourceful lesson.   
2. What opportunities for the development of information literacy skills for students if they began to learn without textbooks?  Web-based material can provide experiences to facilitate information literacy skills by creating opportunities for students to construct knowledge that better enable them in problem solving and text meaning. Utilizing the unlimited amount of information available through the Internet can teach students how to evaluate information and determine what to believe as true or fraudulent. Information literacy skills is critical for students to understand their individual expression as media consumers and producers and become community involved in this emerging digital culture. Young people can develop the cultural competencies and social skills to participate in collaboration and networking.
3. How do these articles change or support your stance on using Wikipedia as learning resources in the classroom? Reading these articles supported my stance that students can utilize Wikipedia to gain insights of the collaborative creation process and strengthen their ability to evaluate sources. Student can not only consume information from Wikipedia, but help to create it. It can also be used to teach our students strategies for evaluating the validity of entries, considering the accuracy and potential bias of information sources, therefore gaining informational literacy skills. 
4. Find an image that relates to information literacy and schooling.Embed the image in your blog and provide proper attribution.

Bunch Library pbworks.com
 Information Literacy Across Curriculum

Resources:

Picture attribution: Bunch Library, Information Literacy Acroos Curriculum. Retrieved from http://bunchlibrary.pbworks.com/w/page/6284026/Information%20Literacy%20Across%20the%20Curriculum

Ansary, Tamim (November 2004). A Textbook Example of What’s Wrong With Education. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/muddle-machine

Ruth, Geoff (February 2005). No Books, No Problem: Teaching Without a Text. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/teaching-without-text

Assignment #1: Wikipedia Analysis

Step one, Bias:

Wikipedia emphasizes bias that Global Warming is happening and primarily caused by increasing greenhouse gases produced by human activities. It provides various facts and description to convey the point of view toward Global Warming being a threat and the fault of humans. The author omits the viewpoint that humans might not be the main cause of Global Warming and that natural occurrences can be leading to these increased temperatures.

Given both explanations of natural causes and man-made causes for global warming, would allow the reader to interpret their own opinion.

Negative impressions are created through words including:

• human induced, 
• abrupt impacts, 
• expected effects, 
• threat, and
• blaming humans. 

If different words were used throughout this article, I would be more apt to consider all viewpoints to analyze the disputed issues and come to my own conclusion as to the nature, causes, and consequences of Global Warming.

Example of Bias:

“Human activity since the Industrial Revolution has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased radiative forcing from CO₂, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide.”

NewsandEventsGuy. (2013, March 17). Global Warming. Retrieved May 29, 2013, from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming

Step two, Claim & Website Evaluation:

"Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and scientists are more than 90% certain that it is primarily caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation."

Supports the Claim:

National Wildlife Federation

Website Evaluation Checklist

Disputes the Claim:

What is Global Warming.com

Website Evaluation Checklist

Step three, General Sanctions:

The editors are subject to general sanctions to confirm the context and discuss improvement of the information.The Arbitration Committee may impose general sanctions on all editors working in a particular area, usually following a request for arbitration.

Article probation

Editors making disruptive edits to articles which are on probation may be banned by an administrator from further editing of such articles as well as related articles and/or project pages. Anyone editing an article on probation should be especially mindful of content policies and interaction policies.

Community article probation

Editors making disruptive edits may be subject to various administrative restrictions, depending on the terms of probation. This type of probation is similar to article probation, above, but is imposed by the community rather than by ArbCom.

Step four, Frequently Asked Questions:

Q9: Does methane cause more warming than CO2?

A9: It's true that methane is more potent molecule for molecule. But there's far less of it in the atmosphere, so the total effect is smaller. The atmospheric lifetime of methane (about 10 years) is a lot shorter than that of CO2 (on the order of 100 years). So methane tracks current emissions, while CO2 accumulates in the atmosphere over long periods.

EPA United States Environment Protection Agency

Website Evaluation Checklist

The answer provided in Wikipedia uses approximations for the years but overall is accurate. I would consider using Wikipedia in the classroom as a resource, while making sure the students know how to check for bias and reliability with all resources.

Step five, Section on Natural Systems:

After reading this article I have learned that there are many issues regarding global warming. Various views and disputes about the nature, causes, consequences, and future happenings of global warming exist. I learned to view the talk section of Wikipedia and research the discussion sections and citations to discern fact from opinion.  I would use Wikipedia as an opportunity to have the students research topics and compare information. Students can expand and revise incomplete articles and write new articles of their own, including talk pages. Students can utilize Wikipedia to gain insights of the collaborative creation process and strengthen their ability to evaluate sources. Student can not only consume information from Wikipedia, but help to create it.

Step six, Profiles:

• Wikipedia Editors must abide by the policy and come to a consensus to provide credible and valid information. 
• They discuss and provide helpful feedback to come to a conclusion of the correct information on the topic at hand. 
• They seam to work long and hard through collaboration to provide the most recent and reliable information.

Step seven, Wikipedia in the classroom:

Wikipedia could be integrated into classroom activities through:

• Demonstrating how an open content website works
• Adding content to Wikipedia
• Writing and publishing articles
• Selecting topics and performing research 
• Creating and refining articles
• Analyzing Wikipedia articles and Preparing an analysis report
• Publishing an analysis on the Wikipedia talk page, Including Web links

I believe Wikipedia can be used in combination with textbooks as a source of information to create an engaging and motivating lesson learning through real world situations and online collaboration.

Wikipedia Wrap-UP

Resources:

Global Warming. Last Modified (2013, June 2). Retrieved from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming

NewsandEventsGuy. (2013, March 17). Global Warming. Retrieved May 29, 2013, from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming

National Wildlife Federation, Inspiring Americans to Protect Wildlife for our Children's Future. (2013)

Retrieved from: http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Threats-to-Wildlife/Global-Warming/Global-Warming-is-Human-Caused.aspx

What is Global Warming? (2011-2012). Retrieved from:

http://www.what-is-global-warming.com/what-causes-global-warming.php

EPA United States Environment Protection Agency. Last Updated (2013, April 23). Retrieved from:

http://epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases.html

Tutorial/Wrap-Up and More Info. Last Modified (2013, May 17). Retrieved from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Tutorial/Wrap-up_and_more_info

Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, (2002-2007). 21st Century Information Fluency. Using Wikipedia in your Classroom. Retrieved from: 

http://21cif.com/rkitp/curriculum/v1n5/v1n5_wiki_how-to.html

Weekly Reading #2

1. What is Henry Jenkins main arguments about Wikipedia?

• In a world where many young people are turning to Wikipedia as a key source for information, educators need to understand what is going on well enough to offer them meaningful advice and guidance.
• Describing it as an encyclopedia emphasizes Wikipedia as a product rather than focusing attention on the ongoing process by which its community pools information, debates what knowledge matters, and vets competing truth claims.
• Wikipedia is not a finished product, rather a work in progress.

2. What is "participatory culture"?

Participatory Culture is the core social skills and cultural competencies that young people need to acquire if they are going to be full participants in this new media environment.

A participatory culture is one where there are 

• relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, 
• there is strong support for creating and sharing what you create with others, 
• there is some kind of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced gets passed along to newbies and novices, 
• members feel that their contributions matter, 
• members feel some degree of social connection with each other at least to the degree to which they care what other people think about what they have created.

3. What is the relationship between "old literacies" and "new media literacies"?

“Old media literacies” were to help young people understand their individual expression as media consumers and producers. 

“New media literacies” are to help young people better understand their community involvement in this emerging digital culture. They are a set of cultural competencies and social skills which young people need to participate in collaboration and networking.

4. What are the reading and writing behaviors associated with "new media literacies"?

The reading and writing behaviors associated with "new media literacies" include,

• the ability to negotiate and evaluate information online, 
• recognize manipulation and propaganda, and
• assimilate ethical values.

5. According to Henry Jenkins why is it important to teach "new media literacies" in school?

It is important to teach “new media literacies” in school to prepare young people for their future, both in school and the workplace.  

Students need opportunities for:

• peer-to-peer learning, 
• a changed attitude towards intellectual property,
• the diversification of cultural expression, 
• the development of skills valued in the modern workplace, and 
• a more empowered conception of citizenship.

6. What can young people learn through contributing or even consuming Wikipedia?

• Through utilizing Wikipedia in the classroom, young people can learn what it is like to work together within a knowledge culture. 
• Participating in the Wikipedia community helps young people to think about their own roles as researchers and writers in new ways. 
• It allows for collaborative writing in real-world contexts.
• Collective Intelligence — the ability to pool knowledge and compare notes with others towards a common goal.
• Judgment — the ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different information source.
• Networking — the ability to search for, synthesize and disseminate information.
• Negotiation — the ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative sets of norms.

7. How do you feel about Wikipedia after reading or listening to Henry Jenkins? Do agree or disagree with his arguments? Why?

After reading Henry Jenkins' article I feel that I would utilize Wikipedia in my classroom. I agree with him that we as teachers need to understand that Wikipedia is a work in progress and we should have skepticism. By understanding Wikipedia, we can create real-world writing lessons that teach new media literacy skills that are necessary today.  

The online resource I found that supporst my position for using Wikipedia for learning in school is an overall successful case study.

From Wikipedia to the Classroom: Exploring Online Publication and Learninng, GVU Center, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology conducted a case study to create authentic writing experiences for students. They created a project that leverages the Wikipedia model of collaborative authorship with added support for disciplinary practice and authentic assessment. Students write about topics that interest them and publish their work in an online information resource, thereby creating a real world venue for writing. Assignments are structured to encourage disciplinary practices like citation and evaluation of information sources. Teachers assess students’ final product and consider collaboration and revision as critical features of high-quality work.

By Anna Volgina

Resources:

Jenkins, Henry. (2007, June 26). What Wikipedia can Teach us About New Media Literacies (Part One). Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/2007/06/what_wikipedia_can_teach_us_ab.html

Jenkins, Henry. (2007, June 27). What Wikipedia can Teach us About the New Media Literacies (Part two). Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/2007/06/what_wikipedia_can_teach_us_ab_1.html

Forte, Andrea & Bruckman, Amy. From Wikipedia to the Classroom: Exploring Online Publication and Learninng, GVU Center, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved from http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~asb/papers/forte-bruckman-icls06.pdf

Picture Source:

Volgina, Anna. Retrieved from  http://blog.nus.edu.sg/citations/page/30/

Introduction: EDUC 6816

I am from Fairmont, WV and am currently a Business Education Teacher at Liberty High School in Harrison County. 

From this class, I want to gain the skills to interpret the information available online and know how to evaluate the credibility and reliability of that information. I want to learn how to develop learning activities that help my students develop information literacy skills.

Information literacy. 

Information literacy refers to multiple abilities to read, view, understand, evaluate, and interpret visual texts including artifacts and images, that represent an event, idea, or emotion.

The video represents the ability to create, disseminate, and retrieve information quickly as a necessary tool in today’s technological world.

The American Association of School Librarians (1989) defines information literacy as, Having the ability to: 

• recognize when information is needed, 
• to locate,
• evaluate, and
• use effectively needed information. 

Resource: 

Semali, L. (2001, November). Defining new literacies in curricular practice. Reading Online, 5(4). Available: http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/semali1/index.html

American Association of School Librarians. (1989). Information power: Guidelines for school library media programs. Chicago, IL: American Library Association