Information Resources

Reference material – abandon or not?

·         I don’t think term ‘reference material’ should be limited to non-borrowable print resources in the library as web does contain wealth of material.

·         Also don’t believe in full abandonment of reference section.

·         Although overlaps exist, online material where introductory information can be found is still useful to distinguish to allow students some direction.

·         Online resources could replace print versions though due to ever changing information. Better to put limited funds into subscriptions to online sites rather than hard copies eg encyclopaedias

·         Need to consider the purpose and the target audience of the resource: for some resources eg atlases, for a Geography teacher, downloadable maps are useful for some activities, but activities such as measuring distances using scales, atlases can be better as scales can get distorted when printed. Also overlays can be good resources, which many atlases provide.

Wikipedia – opinion – not useful for higher level research. Can be useful for younger students as introduction, however, students need to understand limitations and be prepared to check validity of information. This skill can be important for students for looking at all information to check for accuracy and bias.

Dictionaries – many online dictionaries exist and can be related to specific subject areas particularly important for high school.

Working with subject teachers could help ensure reliability of information. Some examples:

·         Fact monster http://www.factmonster.com/  US based, colourful, organised into sections and by subject, useful for primary and lower secondary

·         Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science ABC CLIO http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_r.aspx

·         Economics dictionary provided by The Economist – reliable source, detailed explanations http://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z

Online atlases

·         Atlapedia online – lot of detailed information, could be overwhelming in some areas, easy to find country, separates maps, country information and class resources, provides physical and political maps. Maps attractive but no key except scale and have watermark across middle.

·         World atlas – interactive map, links to range of information, good for lower secondary, negative: lot of advertising, http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/world.htm

·         National Geographic maps online: useful for lower and upper secondary, satellite, 3D, birds eye view maps, reliable website with range of links http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/map-machine

Biographical Guides

• This page from the University of Wollongong clearly outlined range of biographical databases with brief explanation of the site. http://uow.libguides.com/content.php?pid=131872&sid=1130754

In this presentation, Buffy Hamilton advises meshing the old with the new.  I think she feels there is a place to keep some print resources but to make use of online resources to advertise and supplement what the print resources have to offer. http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/pivot-points-for-chanage-libraries-and-librarians-using-web-2-0-to-connect-create-and-collaborate/

Herring Ch 2

·         Try to encourage use of specific search engines designed for certain topics eg science, medicine.

·         www.dogpile.com is an alternative to google

·         If going to use google try to use advanced search tools

·         Google earth and google maps provide useful resources for Geography

·         Google news provides current, relevant news articles for teachers

·         Google scholar can be searched for academic articles but use with caution in basic search, advanced can provide more resources

·         Google books can provide access to parts of books. Best used with advanced search and copyright could be an issue

·         Metasearch engines search wider so different results, but limited in that could have less from each search engine, paid listings, and limited information on each site – dogpile, excite, info.com, Ixquick – search more than one database (Google searches only own database thus is single search engine)

·         Visual search engines – present information in visual format beneficial for visual learners and assist in evaluation of site. Examples in text no longer exist

·         Directories – tool for browsing (rather than searching) selected sites. More controlled and better organised than search engines. May give information related to overseas rather than Australia.

Eg.

1.      Open Directory project (www.dmoz.org) information categorised according to subject then into topics within that subject area. Useful for overview or to get brief information on a targeted concept.

2.      IPL2 Internet public library and librarians internet index - http://www.ipl.org/div/about/LII_About/lii_ipl_merger.html information can be searched on particular subjects and can be classified by all, for kids, for teens or newspaper/ journal then takes to relevant sites. Some contain advertising

3.      Yahoo Directory http://dir.yahoo.com

·         Effective searching consider carefully search terms and tools. The following questions from Herring (pp. 28 – 30) are derived from guides to effective searching available on the internet and are designed to assist teachers and TLs to develop effective searching skills.

1.      What am I trying to find? – consider subject and context eg high school. Eg searching for tsunami causes  Herring advises searching in Google advanced, to enter:

All of these words: teaching high school,

This exact wording or phrase: tsunamis are caused by

To find appropriate and quality sources

2.      What if I don’t know much about the subject?

Basic search in Google can be used to build background knowledge

3.      How do I stop wasting time when searching the web?

Think clearly about the search and use advanced options

Consider also

– changing the focus (search terms, date range, country) of the search,

-  using alternative search engine eg yippy (http://search.yippy.com/) which classifies results according to encyclopaedia, news or aspect of the topic and gives brief definition,

-  limit searching time then change strategy if information not found,

-  save links to search results in Word doc to revisit later if time is limited

4.      Isn’t the web the best one stop shop for information for school work?

Value of information found depends on quality of search, sources used and time available which may be wasted on web searching when other valuable information sources may be overlooked eg asking someone

Inservice plan for effective searching training – Herring (p.31) gives an outline for a 1/2 day training program (Herring, 2011) Prior to implementation, questionnaire to survey teachers on search habits and use of search engines would be beneficial.

This chapter contained a lot of important material to be considered and applied by the TL. Herring gives thought provoking questions to improve search habits and plans for TLs to follow to assist teachers and students in improving their searching skills.

Reference: Herring, J. E. (2011). Improving Students' Web Use and Information Literacy. London: Facet. pp. 15- 33