LIBE 467 Theme 3 Reflection: Information All Around
Meena Rakhra Information All Around LIBE 467
Blog Post 3
If there is anything I have learned through this course is the vast amounts of information out there for students to access, and my limited expertise of the digital side of information. An important point made by Riedling (2000, p.3) is that the ‘half of knowledge is knowing where to find it’, evaluate it, organize it, and use it. The reference resources I am most familiar with from this theme are:
Indexes and Databases
Biographies
Encyclopedias
Dictionaries and Thesauri
Geographic Resources
Before this course I had never even heard of the deep and dark web and grey literature! I had a moment of panic, am I really ready for this job? Through this theme, I was able to determine what I needed to explore, understand and find answers to, to better feel prepared.
Digital Resources, the Web, and Grey Literature
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| Source: Google images |
At first I was intimidated by this topic. ‘Deep’, ‘dark’ and ‘grey’ are words associated with shady business so that’s what I thought this area of the internet dealt with. I was able to get a clearer picture after watching this youtube video Deep Web and searching up this infographic. How the deep web pertains to teacher librarians and learners is that ultimately, we would like to steer students away from search engines for information and more towards the deep web. Here students can be connected with information such as a database, a library catalogue, an online journal, and fee-based online newspapers. These sources of information are vetted and useful (Beaudry, LIBE 467 Lesson 8, 2023). There is a lot more information available through the deep web than the surface web (like Google and Wikipedia) (Beaudry, LIBE 467 Lesson 8, 2023).
Grey literature is another term that was new to me. Professor Beaudry (2023) explains it as ‘research that is either unpublished or has been published in non-commercial form’. Examples include: government reports, policy statements, issues papers and conference proceedings. Grey literature is important because it is possible to access results if the right questions, with the right terms are asked (Beaudry, LIBE 467 Lesson 8, 2023). This is why information literacy, critical thinking and the research process are so important to teach.
TL Roles
Promote digital reference material
Teach informational literacy skills
Teach critical thinking skills
Teach digital literacy skills
The role of teacher librarians is ultimately to help students access, evaluate and use information effectively and ethically to become independent lifelong learners (Riedling, 2000). When students come in with specific questions, it is important for the teacher librarian to know the collection, both print and digital, to best guide students to the answers. Currently the LLC in my school does not have print reference materials, so students and staff must rely on the internet to obtain information. Students like to use Google and Wikipedia for research purposes because they think it is easy to navigate, organised and quick. However, without proper guidance and instruction, there is a tendency for students to find information quickly, cut and paste and call it their own (Beaudry, 2023).
(TeachThoughtStaff, 2019).
Training of the mind to think requires guidance and training in the research process, critical literacy and information skills. Critical literacy allows students to engage with information they are given and instead of looking for answers, they are questioning the content. When exploring text using a critical literacy approach, students are encouraged to ask questions about who created a text and why (McNicol, 2016). When students examine text using a critical eye, they can take a stance, respond or take action towards an issue. ‘Reading should be a catalyst for developing a curious and skeptical mind that wants to investigate and solve problems’ (Luke, 2018) and not just take words at face value. This brings us to another role of the TL which is to be able to select, acquire and evaluate resources (Riedling, 2000) to best meet the learning needs of the school community. Furthermore, TLs need to be able to direct students to these vetted resources rather than to surface web searches.
Indexes and Databases
Databases are important tools that can help students find an answer that is vetted for content and easily accessible (Beaudry, LIBE 467 Lesson 9, 2023). Search engines cannot index the contents of databases because they contain their own search boxes and are thus part of the invisible web (Beaudry, LIBE 467 Lesson 9, 2023). Using databases streamlines the research process and provides students with vetted information quickly. Through my district, elementary students have access to the following databases:
SD 36 staff and students are fortunate to have access to these district supplied databases since they are usually accessed via subscription and can put a strain on individual schools’ limited budgets.
Biographic Resources
I performed several searches on my school library catalogue for some famous names my two boys commonly speak about, Lionel Messi, Christiano Rinaldo, Max Verstapen, Shaquille O’Neal and some names at the top of head, Taylor Swift, Michael Jordan, Justin Trudeau. For some of these names there were zero results, others were included in books with others. I found an electronic resource for Lionel Messi. I was not aware that the catalogue connected patrons to links to e-resources.
I imagine there would not be enough space on the shelves or money in the budget to include books about every individual students were intrigued to learn about. Perhaps a single biographic resource directory like Who’s Who might be better in a collection than a variety of standalone biographies (Riedling, 2000). It is therefore important to link students to digital formats for biographic information.
Encyclopedias
Since encyclopedias are bulky, heavy in size, expensive and not as easily searchable as digital encyclopedias (Beaudry, LIBE 467 Lesson 2023) many elementary LLCs may not carry them. As a result, students may turn to surface web searches for information. Again, it is important to guide and instruct students to go towards the avenue of vetted resources which can be found online through their school districts. These are the resources which SD36 provides for students and which I will work hard to share with staff and students.
I learned of a few other online encyclopedia resources I will also be able to direct students to:
Kathy Shrock recommendations.
Columbia Encyclopedia Sixth edition
Encyberpedia: The Living Encyclopedia
(LIBE 467, Lesson 11, 2023)
Dictionaries and Thesauri
Using a dictionary or thesaurus facilitates problem solving skills in having to find the word. It strengthens sequencing skills, alphabetization and spelling, meaning, pronunciation and syllabication of words (Riedling, 2000). I remember getting lost in a dictionary, flipping pages and finding all sorts of words I did not know the meaning or pronunciation of. I think they promote curiosity. Similarly, a thesaurus is a great teaching tool and can extend learning more than a simple search on the phone. There is no luxury of flipping through the pages to see more when something else catches your eye. Print versions of dictionaries and thesaurus are important to house in an LLC especially for young learners because they can become overwhelmed with navigating the internet, not to mention the myriad of distractions that pop up along the way. Brian Tse brought up some good points about the importance of showing older students digital dictionaries and thesauri. Language changes so fast and also because students are already glued to their phones. They may not even know how to navigate print versions, so why not show them the advantages of these reference resources online.
Online dictionary of Library and Information Science terms
(LIBE 467, Lesson 12, 2023)
Geographic Resources
I love atlases and did my evaluation assignment on an atlas of Canada. Through this assignment I realized that good print geographical sources that meet the requirements of authority, scale, format and relevancy are hard to find especially specific to Canada. I will keep these electronic sources in my toolbox for learning needs.
Canadian Atlas Online (CAOL) Learning Centre
(LIBE 467, Lesson 13, 2023)
Conclusion
Through this course I was able to delve into the digital reference resources available through my district and online. It has been an eye opening experience because I was not aware of all these sources of information. They are vetted, quick, organized, easy to use and better than searching yourself through surface web searches. It has been a productive endeavour to uncover these useful reference resources which I can one day promote to learners. My job as a TL will focus on encouraging the use of district digital resources, teaching digital and information literacy and to teach students how to critically evaluate information found on the surface web if this is the route they choose.
References
Beaudry, Richard (2023). Lesson 4: Crowd-sourced Reference Materials Discussion. Retrieved on April 3 from https://canvas.ubc.ca/groups/498663/discussion_topics/1705910
Beaudry, Richard (2023). Lesson 8: Deep Web Discussion. Retrieved on April 3 from https://canvas.ubc.ca/groups/498663/discussion_topics/1705902
Beaudry, Richard (2023). Lesson 9: Databases Discussion. Retrieved on April 3 from https://canvas.ubc.ca/groups/498663/discussion_topics/1705912?module_item_id=5310105
Beaudry, R. (2023, March 5). Copying and pasting information – teacher librarian literacy lessons to promote better research by students. Canadian School Libraries Journal. Retrieved April 8, 2023, from https://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/copying-and-pasting-information/
McNicol, S. (2016). Critical literacy for information professionals. (excerpted: https://education.library.ubc.ca/blog/critical-literacy-and-selecting-indigenous-literature)
Riedling, Ann, Reference skills for the school library media specialist: Tools and tips, (Third Edition). Linworth.
TeachThoughtStaff. (July 15, 2019). "8 Science-based strategies for critical thinking." Retrieved from: https://www.teachthought.com/critical-thinking/8-science-based-strategies-for-critical-thinking.
The Learning Exchange. (2018). Allen Luke: Critical literacy. Retrieved from https://thelearningexchange.ca/videos/allan-luke-critical-literacy-2/
Welcome to SD No. 36 (Surrey) catalogue. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2023, from
https://library.sd36.bc.ca/common/servlet/presenthomeform.do?l2m=Home&tm=Home
Meena, from what I can see, you are well-equipped to take on this role and your students will be so fortunate to have you. I'm glad to hear I was not the only one intimidated by the Deep Web searching, but it was definitely a beneficial experience in the end. Wishing you all the best!
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