YOKOSUKA, Japan - When students at a U.S. naval base on Yokosuka, Japan, south of Tokyo, dig into the vast reaches of the Internet for information, they're likely to find what they need quickly and efficiently. That's because they've had the expert guidance of an ace information literacy specialist, Janet Murray, who ran school libraries in the United States before taking the overseas position. Murray was a pioneer in the new world of the Internet more than a decade ago, when it was beginning to emerge as a worldwide resource.
Like most students, the ethnically diverse students at Kinnick High often feel overwhelmed when faced with a research project. So Murray teamed up with teachers of honors English and advanced-placement history, plus a special group of students performing below their potential, to provide solid skills—not only in finding information but also in judging its worth.
Students get a chance to practice using technology to communicate their own ideas
"Though most students use the Internet as their first choice for finding information, their search strategies tend to be unfocused, and they rarely consider the reliability of the information retrieved," says Murray. "I challenge students to evaluate Web sites to be sure they're authoritative, accurate, objective, current, and appropriate for school projects."
Using a school media library curriculum, Murray set out to make research manageable for the Kinnick students, most of whom have a parent whose native language is not English. The curriculum breaks the research process into six concrete chunks: task definition, information-seeking strategies, location and access, use of information, synthesis, and evaluation. With that groundwork in place, she showed them how to retrieve information in the ever-expanding universe of the Web.
Lessons focused on:
- Using subject directories
- Employing Boolean logic with search engines
- Evaluating Web sites
- Analyzing sources to identify bias and separate fact from fiction
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After each presentation, students got to practice their new skills in a guided exercise. Finally, they created multimedia presentations or Web pages to showcase their findings.
"These formats offer students practice in using technology to communicate their ideas," says Murray, who lists associate editor for MultiMedia Schools magazine as one of her many credits. "Students must also synthesize their information by using a minimum number of words for maximum informational impact."