GALILEO and Web 2.0 Sources Overview Handout

Day 2, Information Literacy

Presented by Buffy HamiltonMarch 11, 2009

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Authoritative Sources Resource Handout

What is a research database?

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Research databases are virtual collections of scholarly articles from books and periodicals.

Research databases are typically available through institutions such as public schools, public libraries, or universities because the subscription fees are too expensive for individual purchase.

The information is considered authoritative because it comes from experts in the field.

The World Wide Web is the medium through which most users access information in a database.

Databases are not websites!

Why Love and Use Databases?

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Hundreds of databases offer hundreds of thousands of valuable documents beyond those accessible on the free Web.

Schools, state and national libraries and government agencies subscribe to content that is both developmentally and content-appropriate for learners.

We must model a value for databases with our students through assignment and rubric design.

(Valenza)

GALILEO: Georgia’s Virtual Reference Library

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GALILEO Databases

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GALILEO stands for GeorgiA LIbrary LEarning Online, an initiative of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

A World Wide Web-based virtual library, GALILEO provides access to multiple information resources, including secured access to licensed products.

Participating institutions may access over 100 databases indexing thousands of periodicals and scholarly journals. Over 2000 journal titles are provided in full-text. Other resources include encyclopedias, business directories, and government publications.

The community of more than 2000 GALILEO institutions includes the University System of Georgia, K-12 schools, public libraries, the adult technical institutes and colleges, and a group of private academic colleges and universities.

How to Access K-12 GALILEO Resources

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http://www.galileo.usg.edu/

Databases and resources are divided by level:GALILEO K-5 “Kids”GALILEO 6-8 “Teens”GALILEO 9-12 “High School”GALILEO ScholarGALILEO General

GALILEO K-5

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SIRS Discoverer with WebFind

Kids SearchBritannica ElementaryKids InfoBitsDigital Library of GeorgiaFirstGov for Kids

GALILEO 6-8: Browse By Topic

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GALILEO 6-8: Browse By Type

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GALILEO 6-8: Browse By Search

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Search Options

•Search for articles•Search for images•Search for web links•Search encyclopedias

GALILEO 6-8: All Resources

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GALILEO 9-12: Database Search Options

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Search Options:

•Search for articles•Search for images•Search for web links•Search encyclopedias

GALILEO 9-12: Browse by Subject

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GALILEO 9-12: Browse by Publication Type

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GALILEO 9-12: Browse Databases A-Z

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GALILEO 9-12: Browse Magazines/Publications

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GALILEO Scholar

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Explore GALILEO

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Explore the grade level of interest to you.

Search the databases for your grade level interest using a search term or keyword related to a topic you teach.

Share one cool item of interest you found with the group.

Web 2.0 Tools Overview

How should students evaluate and select blogs as information sources?

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Blogs are essentially primary sources. They can provide lively insights and perspectives not

documented by traditional sources. They compare in some ways to a traditional interview,

with the speaker controlling the questions. Ripe for essays and debate, blogs present not only the

traditional two sides of an issue, but the potentially thousands of takes.

Those “takes” take less time to appear than those documents forced through the traditional publishing or peer review process.

Blogs allow scholars and experts written opportunities to loosen their ties and engage in lively conversation.

(Valenza)

Questions to Ask About A Blog’s Authority

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Who is the blogger? With so many blogs offering spotty or nonexistent “about” pages, this may be a clue in itself.

What sorts of materials is the blogger reading or citing?

Does this blogger have influence? Is the blog well-established? Who and how many people link to the blog? Who is commenting? Does this blog appear to be part of a community? (The best blogs are likely to be hubs for folks who share interests with the blogger.)

Tools like Technorati http://technorati.com and Blogpulse http://blogpulse.com can help learners assess the influence of a blog.

Is this content covered in any depth, with any authority?

(Valenza)

Questions to Ask About A Blog’s Authority

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How sophisticated is the language, the spelling? Is this blog alive? It there a substantial archive?

How current are the posts? At what point in a story’s lifetime did a post

appear? Examining a story’s date may offer clues as to the reliability of a blog entry.

Is the site up front about its bias? Does it recognize/discuss other points of view? (For certain information tasks–an essay or debate–bias may be especially useful. Students need to recognize it.)

If the blogger is not a traditional “expert,” is this a first-hand view that would also be valuable for research? Is it a unique perspective?

(Valenza)

Sample Rubrics for Evaluating the Authority of a Blog

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http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/pdf/evalblog.pdf

http://www.sdst.org/shs/library/evaluatingblogs.html

Another tool: http://technorati.com/ For more tips on evaluating web resources,

check out this podcast:http://21cif.imsa.edu/rkitp/features/v1n4/harris_coverpage.html

Using a RSS Feed Reader To Keep Up With Your Favorite Blogs

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Google Reader Tour Google ReaderA Video Tutorial

UsesHave you favorite content delivered to youKeep up with regular reading of your

favorite blogs and other web resourcesThe content comes to you rather than you

going to it!

Wikis

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Term comes from the Hawaiian word for “quick”!

Web based application that allows visitors to add, remove, edit, and change content.

Users do not need access to or knowledge of web publishing software.

Encourages collaboration and shared learning.The work is organic and helps students see

knowledge as changing rather than fixed and static.

Wikis in Plain English

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Wikis in Plain EnglishMost sites allow the wiki administrator to

control who has access to the wiki.Wikis allow users to collaborate with ease and

do not require students to purchase expensive software.

Want to know more? Check out this article from Education World!

Rubrics for Evaluating the Authority of a Wiki

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http://www.sdst.org/shs/library/evaluatingwikis.html

What about Wikipedia?

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Wikipedia is the most visible and well known wiki today.

Many educators feel it is an acceptable “starting point” for students to get the sense of a topic, but it should not be used as an actual source in a research project.

Founder Jimmy Wales says it should not be used for class projects or serious research papers ("Wikipedia Founder Discourages").

What about Wikipedia?

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Pros Provides information on a

diverse range of topics. Can be a good starting

point for getting an overview of a topic that might not be found in a traditional research database.

Can be a tool for teaching students how to evaluate information.

Is current and updated frequently.

Cons Not viewed as an

authoritative source of information in the academic world since the information can be edited by anyone.

Information from this source is widely copies but rarely referenced on many websites.

Some feel that use of Wikipedia encourages learners to embrace technology without questioning the source or credibility of the information available.

Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery: Other “wiki” pedias

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ScholarpediaCitizendium Google Knol

Podcasting

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iPod + Broadcast = Podcast – Amateur radio – Podcasting is the method of distributing

multimedia files over the Internet using RSS syndication formats for playback on mobile devices and personal computers.

Another Web 2.0 technology that makes learning fun, inexpensive, and mobile.

Examples of Podcasts As Authoritative Sources of Information

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http://del.icio.us/hamilton_11th/podcasts Podcasts from the CDCNPR PodcastsScience Magazine PodcastsNova PodcastsLibrary of Congress PodcastsNational Geographic Podcasts

Social Bookmarking

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Social bookmarking is a web-based tool that helps users to save their favorite websites, articles, and other web-based materials on the Web.

The advantage of social bookmarking is that your favorites are accessible from any computer.

It is becoming a popular way to classify, share, and search links.

Social bookmarking can be a helpful and powerful collaborative tool.

(DesRoches 33)

Social Bookmarking: Tools

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http://del.icio.us Bookmarks are created by using tags.Tags are one word descriptions (think subject

headings or keywords!) that you can assign to the site you are bookmarking.

(DesRoches 33)

Social Bookmarking: Applications

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Bookmarks can be wonderful research tools that can be created collaborative by a class or by an individual.

Excellent opportunity to teach website evaluation.

Example: A. Create a class account for a specific research project, such as endangered species.B. You can create additional tags to further breakdown topics and categories under the broad umbrella of “endangered species.”

(DesRoches 33)

Social Bookmarking As a Network of Knowledge

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Users can join networks and view each other’s tags/bookmarks

RSS feed featureBundle featurePrivate/public optionsCan be used as a pathfinder tool with

studentsSearch the favorites of others on a topic

Works Cited

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DesRoches, Donna. “All Together Now: Social Bookmarking Offers a New Way to Store and Share Web Sites.” School Library Journal 53.1 (Jan. 2007): 33.

Valenza, Joyce. "Top School Library Things to Think About in 2008 ." Weblog     entry. 2 Jan. 2008. Neverendingsearch. 13 Mar. 2008