A Forgotten Resource / Skill?

[C.J. McHugh]

What is the most overall effective method for getting students to use
the Internet for research in your classroom? How can they, and we,
verify that only reliable sources/information is used? How should you
require students to put this info to use in your classroom? (For
example: Your students are working on a collaborative wiki assignment
where they are researching and adding info to a table. Is it
acceptable for them to copy and paste info, links, images, etc. from
the web directly?) So again, how should you require students to put
this info to use in your classroom? Do you know of any better methods?

[Colleen Kingsbury]

I think one of the most effective method for students to use the internet is through research. When we have a research project I often give them links of what websites they should be using, if not they will come up with random incorrect information. We also discuss how to find reliable information. As for copying links, images, and information directly they must cite their source so they don't plagiarize. All of that information needs to be addressed before hand so there isn't any confusion. So I guess what I am trying to convey is that you need to have clear instructions on what is required of them in the research process, provide examples and links, rubrics, and works cited instructions. 

Colleen 

[C.J. McHugh]

I know we've got at least one library person out there, so I'm waiting
to hear acronyms like EBSCO, ERIC, etc. If I'm not mistaken, most of
the "reliable" resources nowadays also provide various citation
formats automatically don't they?

On Jul 25, 9:29 am, Colleen Kingsbury <cholohankingsb...@gmail.com>
wrote:

> I think one of the most effective method for students to use the internet is
> through research. When we have a research project I often give them links of
> what websites they should be using, if not they will come up with random
> incorrect information. We also discuss how to find reliable information. As
> for copying links, images, and information directly they must cite their
> source so they don't plagiarize. All of that information needs to be
> addressed before hand so there isn't any confusion. So I guess what I am
> trying to convey is that you need to have clear instructions on what is
> required of them in the research process, provide examples and links,
> rubrics, and works cited instructions.
> Colleen
>

[Malone, Hagar]

I guess I'm the library person. I work with middle school students in
a Catholic school. We don't have resources available to us like EBSCO
because they are subscription. However, you are right. There are a
number of resources that provide citations that can be cut and pasted
into bibliography documents. If you use(d) the Pennsylvania Power
Library resources, they have citations. Also, the Fact Monster
resources do. However, you need to know which format you need to
use. My school uses MLA, but APA is also a possibility.

I also have a big discussion about copyright and how everything on the
web needs to be considered copyrighted. Therefore everything that is
used from the web needs to be cited. We also discuss legal
ramifications for downloading tunes without paying--my students are
astonished that I actually called the local FBI office to get this
information. So was the FBI . And we talk about the fact that you
can't quote a whole document or use a whole song in projects--30
seconds of a song.

I try to work in web site evaluation projects every year. Some of
them work better than others. I'm trying to find the latest one that
I used and will post it to my HMaloneTech wiki when I do.

As far as getting them to use the Internet for research, that's not a
problem. These are digital natives. It's the print resources that
they balk at using. All of my larger projects require that they use
some print resource(s). The hard part is getting students to realize
that not everything posted on the web is true--hence evaluation
projects.

[rmacey]

Unlike most teachers, I do not like to give restrictions as to which
websites students can use for our research project on American Music
Genres. Instead I explain triangulating information and questioning
the accuracy of a "greatest fan ever" web page...just because someone
claims to know everything doesn't mean that they do. For this coming
year I have found examples (if they don't change) of inaccurate
information which I can then verify on three other sites. Because
music is always changing, I use this unit to learn from the kids about
new styles and groups. While in the school computer lab I always
remind them that “big brother is watching” so they had better read the
intro blurb before clicking.

In my opinion, we give too much credit to student’s know-how of
internet and computer resources. Many are fantastic at social
networking sites and online gaming, but know very little about
formatting or conducting searches. Every marking period there is at
least one student who uses the enter key at the end of every line
instead of double spacing from the toolbar, one student who types in
the question word for word from my worksheet thinking that one correct
answer will magically appear, one student who sends me their paper
typed into the email body because they do not know what an attachment
is, and I typically amaze the entire class when I reformat their
pictures (to make them fill the page for use on a poster board) and
margins (to use less paper for the information they want to print out
to read at home.) Most know how to change the font and color and add
funny sounds to a PowerPoint, but are unaware that you can change the
layer order of images, hyperlink to outside info or elsewhere in the
presentation, or incorporate videos.

Because I only have 45 days (minus testing days, assemblies, early
dismissals, two hour delays, etc) I tread lightly on internet
requirements. I’ve learned that not all students have the know-how or
the resources at home to make technology use a requirement in my
classroom...yet.

Rachel

> > > > this info to use in your classroom?  Do you know of any better methods?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Malone, Hagar]

Oh, how I love bursting bubbles when a student tells me that they know
all about how to use a computer. Usually it's a student new to the
school--anywhere from 3rd grade up.

[Jason Smith]

When students are required to do research I take them to the library
computer lab and direct them to the library resource page where there
are numerous links to credible data bases such as EBSCO and ERIC. Our
librarians always willing to help out if given advance notice. However
many of the information they find is often "over their head" which
isn't always a bad thing. I noticed last year that some of these
databases are no longer available.....the librarian told me it was due
to state budget cuts, lack of funding.

Another alternative is to provide a web quest for the students or
provide a list of resources that the teacher has selected (time
consuming)

However, if they are going to have free reign over finding resources
on the Internet, we discuss the importance of being selective,
investigating the author. I tell them that .edu sites are preferred
but that is no guarantee that the information is legit, however, often
more credible than .com sites.

All information must be cited.

[J.Cogan]

Okay, so this may be a duplicate post, I'm not sure where my last post
went. I apologize now if my response is here twice. :-)

I think you are so right about giving students too much credit when it
comes to their computer skills. I completely agree that they are
experts at social networking, but it ends there. I giggled when I read
your post because you are so correct, "...student who uses the enter

key at the end of every line instead of double spacing from the

toolbar." (hehe) They are amazed at what is possible with the use of
the tools. In the students' defense, there are a few who are very good
at using many features of the computer, but for the most part, you
said it perfectly.

We have a very good computer program at PVI, but the students are
introduced to it in 5th grade, I'm not sure what they are doing before
coming to 5th grade, maybe just keyboarding. Our technology teacher
provides students with links where they can locate information, and I
think this is the best practice at this grade level. There is too much
on the web and it is difficult for students to narrow the information
down into manageable chunks. It is like that Bing (I think it's Bing)
commercial where the search results just give too much extraneous
information.

I don't do research projects in my class, the science/social studies
teacher and the reading teacher do them. My job is to get them to
write properly. But, I have had the students use the computer lab for
other projects, and the only way I feel comfortable with what they are
doing is to provide them with the links they may use.

As far as copy and paste features, I would have students take notes on
paper from the information they find online, this way the information
is put it into their own words. This is not too difficult of a task
since they are happy to find ways to shorten the information they are
finding. Note taking is a necessary skill, and so is paraphrasing. It
is also a good way for the teacher to ensure the students understand
what they have just read.

On Jul 22, 8:44 pm, "C.J. McHugh" <mchughcornel...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[Malone, Hagar]

Webquests can be a good starting point and then use the information
for discussion for more indepth study in class. But webquests by
themselves don't accomplish much more than filling up time. The kids
just blow through them on me--not really absorbing information. And
not really reading the questions or the website to find the correct
answers. I thought I had some that were fun and some that were very
interesting--all were done the same way--fill in the blank, move on,
turn in as fast as you can.

[Malone, Hagar]

The Diocese of Allentown has a set of Technology guidelines that are
used to guide the program for grades K to 12. It has been about 10
years since they were written, so they will be reviewed and rewritten
during the 2011-12 school year. I start teaching word processing
skills seriously in grade 3. Even though my formal Research skills
class begins in 6th grade, I use webquests and some very well outlined
research things in 4th and 5th. By well outlined, I mean, here is the
link, go to it, do this. Somewhere in the worksheet are some "think"
questions where the students need to analyze the information they find
and form an opinion. I carry this on up through 8th grade. But when
first introducing online research skills, I agree that in 5th grade,
they need to be given links.
.

[Drew Dymond]

It is extremely difficult for students to figure out what is good
information and what is bad information. Sometimes it's hard for me to
figure that out as well. It is a time consuming task to fact check
every website that is visited. Most of the time students are relying
what comes up first on google. There are some good sites on the
internet but as far as history is concerned there are more sites that
just provide a brief overview and do not go into any detail. I always
require students to use an actual book instead of just relying on the
internet. Jason mentioned before that our librarians at PV are very
good at doing the legwork ahead of time and providing trustworthy
sites for students. I agree with Rachel about the knowledge of
students and technology. I continue to overestimate their knowledge of
the basics. It is not hard to get students to use the internet for
research, but it is hard to teach them how to obtain correct or
reliable information.

[Douglas Sherman]

I do not believe there is any one specific method that can be named
most useful for getting internet research into your classroom. One
effective strategy is to develop a web quest. The internet is massive,
and can be considered to contain too much information. A web quest
allows students to research a topic, while still keeping constraints
around them to keep them on task. Judging a resource to be reliable
can be extremely difficult. The main target of this is wikipedia.
Wikipedia can be an extremely valuable resource. With most wikipedia
articles are the links for sources. So it can be very easy to find a
reliable source for the information. Also, it would not surprise me if
within the next ten years wikipedia becomes one of the most reliable
sources. If there truly is a comittee over seeing information that may
help monitor it. However, you can not escape the collaboration, with
the input of so many scholars the collaboration among them can make a
site like that extremely valuable.

[Malone, Hagar]

There are some web resources that vet websites for accuracy, but they
are getting scarce and by now most of them are subscription based.
NetTrekker is one of them. The state of PA made the commitment to
fund this site for all students for a period of 5 years. However,
because of budget cuts, that funding went away last summer at the end
of year 4. The same thing happened with the PA Power Library--
fabulous resources but now I don't think it's available for the same
reason. My students are not allowed to use Wikipedia for school
projects. They can find the same information elsewhere.

[Malone, Hagar]

You are lucky to have librarians who will help find online resources.
Many do--that's always been part of the job description, but with the
Internet, this service has been of tremendous help for the classroom
teacher. Treat them well and they will go an extra mile for you.

[Malone, Hagar]

I have a website evaluation webquest and a Patriotic webquest posted
on my classroom wiki at HMaloneTech. Both are under Grade 6
Technology.

[paul naser]

Effective ways to have students use the internet

An effective for students to use the internet in regards to research
and ensure that they are using this in an effective way is to pre-
organize any type of information, and website information they may
need.

One way I did this was by creating a powerpoint in which there are
links they must use to answer research questions - from my experience
this is well organized and ensures that students are only accessing
the information they need to complete the assignments.

As a teacher a fear of mine is that they will end up on some type of
social network site when they are using the internet and I am busy
working with another student.
Our school district has the majority of these sites blocked but new
ones are thought of daily and they could be the ones that are not yet
blocked by the district.

So in my mind the more organized, and limited - the more effective the
assignment is.

Another way to have them use the internet and conduct basic research
is to ensure their understanding of the school's library website - and
ensure they can access all appropriate information/resources.

Where this information could be put to use is - math current event -
find math in a real world situation using newspapers that are linked
via powerpoint - and then have the students write about the
information that they have found

Also I have had students use the web to conduct a webquest when they
begin to write the persuasive speeches for my reading class - they
have organized forms they must fill out when completing the webquest

[Malone, Hagar]

Sources for reliable sites:

I have been trying to think of some of my best resources for reliable
sites, but they aren't bookmarked on my home computer. Finally, I
have found them:

Thinkfinity--sponsored by Verizon, it was established by a different
group that had only 5 content partners. Now it's up to 10 and is a
member of ISTE. Sites in these sites are vetted for content.
Xpeditions is Social Studies, Illuminations is math. There is
science, economics, language arts, and a few new ones that I don't
know anything about yet. http://www.thinkfinity.org.

Discovery Learning--streaming videos--also lesson plans with black
line masters are included. Super for Science, Social Studies, and
Language Arts. More subject areas are also available.

Two online magazines that keep me up to date: Technology and Learning
and Digital Learning Environments. The second is great for
integration suggestions and sites.

On Jul 27, 8:37 pm, Drew Dymond <ddymon...@netscape.net> wrote:

[sinisko...@pvbears.org]

I've been reading all your posts on this subject and agree that we all
have a pretty good handle on how to use research in our classrooms.
I, as a secondary mathematics teacher, do not have the time to
incorporate many research activities. With the increased pressure to
produce results on our standardized tests, I do not have time to cover
all the required curriculum as it is. Having said that, I agree that
more websites should be given to the students in the younger grades
and high school students should be taught more how to evaluate the
websites and information using the databases already discussed. To
address the concern of access to these databases, I have used google
scholar in some graduate courses and we can also give adequate time
and refer the students to their local public library. I did like the
suggestion about the triangulating the information from websites--that
sounded like a good idea. The activity mentioned about giving the
students websites with inaccurate information for an activity on
evaluating websites also sounded interesting. My thoughts on students
not having access to computers and the internet in their homes, I
generally do not buy this complaint. I think that we need to be more
aware of it for students in younger grades perhaps, but when the
students get to high school, I think that this is just an excuse
generally. If we are teaching college prep or level above courses,
these students definitely should have access to computers. If not,
our library at Pleasant Valley is open at least 1 hour after school
closes Monday - Thursday and I also refer students to their local
public library. These students need to be responsible enough to get
the work accomplished despite any roadblocks.

[Angela Byrne]

CJ
I have reported the problem with my posts to Google, and am waiting to hear back. I noticed a link to "New Google" groups, so here I am trying to post again. This is a test to see if it works.

[Angela Byrne]

I am attempting to repost this:

I haven’t been in the classroom for the past four years, but I think the most effective method for getting students to use the Internet for research in a classroom would depend on the grade you teach. I would think sixth graders would do best if you provided all the links to relevant sites on your classroom webpage. Older students would be able to navigate through the various resources that our librarians have on the library website. Our library website also has links to sites students can use to cite their sources.

 

If I were in the classroom, I would like to try having the students collaboratively create a wiki for a research project. Each student could do their research independently, then post to the wiki, mimicking a site like Wikipedia. I would require them to summarize and paraphrase, not copy and paste. As a reading teacher, summarizing is part of the curriculum and a difficult higher thinking skill for students. Obviously, I would have to review what makes a good summary first.

 

When I think of forgotten resources, I think of print books, but many students are averse to doing that nowadays. I feel a good alternative would be to have them use e-books instead. They are still accessing print material, but in a format they are more comfortable with. Over the past two years, our school libraries have been using grant funds to purchase e-books that students “check-out” online for two weeks at a time.

[Angela Byrne]

This is a repost as the original did not stick.

I agree with you Hagar. Librarians can be invaluable. Our high school librarian has made the library website extremely user friendly for research. There is a research section with links to reputable and subscription resources. There are enough links there that students don't ever need to "google" anything! She has also been adding to her collection of e-books for the past two years. E-books provide "print" materials in a format that many students are more comfortable with.

[Angela Byrne]

This is a re-post as the original did not stick:

Drew,
Yes students have great difficulty determining what is reliable. Evaluation is a critical thinking skill, one I used to teach explicitly when I was in the classroom. One way I have found to make research less "painful" is to have students work off our school library's website. The school librarian has purchased subscriptions to many student friendly research sites and provides links to them. My students were required to use these sites first, "Google" was a last resort.

[JerryLangan]

As a 7th grade English teacher, I am challenged with introducing
research writing to my students. The Internet is a tool that we use
when researching in the classroom. Students understand the importance
of the Internet but often do not truly understand where all the
information from the Internet originates. I try to teach my students
how to evaluate strong internet sites based upon the content covered,
the sited resources for the website, reputable providers and a
website's design. I teach my students to site their sources (MLA) for
all researched materials in a Works Cited page subtitled by Resources
and Media. I believe that if I were to be running the noted wiki
assignment, I would create a Discussion or a Works Cited page for all
of the material citations that were added to the wiki by students,
providing them with the correct citation model. Also, I allow my
students to use Son of Citation Machine (http://citationmachine.net/)
when learning to cite their sources. I am also familiar with Google
Advanced Search which allows you to get a search return of items that
are "labeled for reuse." It is something I just learned but will take
to the classroom for my students this upcoming year.

On Jul 22, 8:44 pm, "C.J. McHugh" <mchughcornel...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[Malone, Hagar]

I wish we could afford E-books. The Catholic schools very rarely have
a budget for any library books. Donations are what we depend on.
Kindles and Nooks are turning up with our kids, and they're more
comfortable reading them. However, as a librarian of the old school
and one whose brain has a direct connection to the pen in her hand,
it's difficult for me to accept. That being said, I will do
everything in my power to keep kids reading and researching.

[Colleen Kingsbury]

Hello Hagar,
There are many free e-books from Kindle and Nook as well as e-book libraries where you can borrow the e-book for free. I will have to look for my links and send them to you.
Colleen

[JerryLangan]

I also put quit a bit of faith in my librarians. Whenever I take the
kids to the library, I
find myself directing student questions toward them. I am finding out
a little more information
each year about which sites to trust and which ones not to.

On Jul 26, 10:26 pm, Jason Smith <jasonsmith6...@gmail.com> wrote:

[JerryLangan]

I really like your idea when it comes to having certain criteria that
the kids need to follow.
The control is there and you really don't have to worry about them
going off and getting
in trouble on the web.

[JerryLangan]

I do the same ting when it comes time to take notes. When they are in
the library,
they have to write the info in their packet so they stay away from
plagiarizing anyone.

On Jul 27, 12:45 pm, "J.Cogan" <jo...@ptd.net> wrote: