Information Evaluation

UGA : COE : EPIT : SLM : MAF : 6340 : Topics : Information Evaluation

Required Readings

Bishop 7
IP 2
new learning standards

Supplemental Reading

Fitzgerald, M.A. (1997). Misinformation on the Internet: Applying evaluation skills to online information. Emergency Librarian, 24 (3), 9-14. Available fulltext through GALILEO, Academic Search Premier database.
Fitzgerald, M.A. (2000). Critical thinking 101: The basics of evaluating information. Knowledge Quest, 29 (2), 13-20. (Find a draft of this article, close to the published version, in WebCT/6340/Readings.)
MAF's Commentary on Bishop 7: WebCT 6340 Readings
MAF's bookmarks: info-eval

Standards

1.1A Modeling of strategies to locate, evaluate, and use information for specific purposes

Discussion

A great topic for April Fools'!
White bread for young minds: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article3182091.ece
The Amero; oil in Ogden, Utah
Another example
Learning standards: old (IP 2) and new
We need to move beyond the simplistic perception of info as either "good" or "bad." In reality, all info has bias; none is perfect. Some sources are better than others. Sometimes, parts can be useful. The consumer must learn to differentiate, using criteria and strategies.
Reference Scenario: A high school student in your media center finds one of these articles on the Internet while doing research on a related topic. You suspect that these articles are not true, but the student does not notice. Why do you suspect that they are bogus? What do you do to help the student? Find a computer and look one of these up:

Discuss how you would handle this dilemma, and make a list of strategies you might suggest to the student.

Debrief and summarize.

How about Wikipedia? An example: Peak Oil

Understand how it works
Study revision history
Look for credibility cues in the article
Look for bias
Cross-verify
An ideal laboratory for critical thinking

Never trust a commercial! Many things are commercials! Marketing is everywhere and meant to be persuasive - and it's not always in consumers' best interest.
Links:

When in doubt:
Schrock's eval tools
FactCheckEd.org
www.snopes.com
Clark Howard talks about commercial scams quite often

Application

Selection Policy

References

American Association of School Librarians and Association for Educational Communications and Technology. (1998). Information power: Building partnerships for learning. Chicago: American Library Association.
Bishop, K. (2007). The collection program in schools: Concepts, practices, and information scources (4th ed.). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Fitzgerald, M.A. (1997). Misinformation on the Internet: Applying evaluation skills to online information. Emergency Librarian, 24 (3), 9-14. Available fulltext through GALILEO, Academic Search Premier database.
Fitzgerald, M.A. (2000). Critical thinking 101: The basics of evaluating information. Knowledge Quest, 29 (2), 13-20. (Find a draft of this article, close to the published version, in WebCT/6340/Readings.)
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Riedling, Ann. (2005). Reference skills for the school library media specialist: Tips & Tools, 2nd edition. Columbus, OH: Linworth. ISBN: 1-58683-190-9.

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Page history: 12-30-08, 1-2-09,1/6: structural work; refs; complete refresh 3-31-09.