Information Skills
Information literacy is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner.
(Armstrong “Defining Information Literacy for the UK” 2005)
• The PLUS Model: PLUS is an information literacy model which seeks to provide school students with a positively named tool or scaffold which will help them to improve their own learning by making them more information literate.
• The Big 6: The Big 6 is a proven approach to information problem-solving. It helps you succeed in school and life. Use the Big 6 to find, use, apply and evaluate information for specific needs and tasks.
• Skillswise: Techniques for skimming and scanning.
• How to Study: Study skills are listed both by the process of studying and by topic.
• Search Engine Math: learn how to easily add, subtract and multiply your way into better searches at your favourite search engine
Evaluating Information from Websites
Before you believe any information found on the Internet you should be able to verify it from a second source. There are no controls over the accuracy or bias of material published on the Internet, anyone can create a web site... so BEWARE.
Skim each site looking for the answers to the following questions:
• Is there a date of publication?
• Are there any clues from the URL; is it a commercial site?
• Does the author's name appear on the site and are there contact details?
• Is there any information about the authority of the author, or the sponsor of the page that tells you that the information could be considered reliable?
• Is the author or the sponsoring body a recognised authority on the subject?
• Is the author merely using space on the company server for his own pages or does the company accept responsibility? CLUE look for the tilde symbol ~ which indicates personal pages.
• Are their links to other sources on this topic? This can help you to assess the expertise of the author as well as lead to other resources.
• Ask yourself WHY WAS THIS PAGE PRODUCED? To sell or to inform or has it a hidden political or philosophical agenda? Is it biased (prejudiced)?
• Did you find this site by a link from another site or from the recommendation of someone else, are they sites or people whose expertise you can trust?
Also learn to evaluate each site carefully with regard to its suitability:
• Who is the intended audience
• Is it written at a level that you can understand
• Is the site 'user friendly'? Is it indexed to enable you to find what you need easily and quickly?
• Does the site provide information, which could more easily have been obtained using other resources?