Handling Hyperinformation:
Effective research skills for the Internet & beyond

Abstract:

The nature of information has changed dramatically over the last 30 years. New electronic tools have greatly increased our ability to report on what is happening in the world. The rapid emergence of the Internet is the latest and most powerful example. Sergeant Joe Friday was the star of Dragnet, a T.V. detective show in the 1960's. His straightforward, down to business approach to investigation was captured in his famous line given when interviewing an emotional witness - "Give us the facts, ma'am, just the facts." Friday would love the Internet. It is an amazing source of facts. The problem is that we are drowning in the deluge of facts that now comes to us on a daily basis over this new medium. More than ever before, there is a critical need for people to have effective information literacy skills to be able to process the material available from sources like the World Wide Web.

This entertaining presentation looks at the new information processing and higher level thinking skills required to discern what's important from what's not when doing research on the Internet (and any other medium). We want students to get beyond just reporting the facts so we will look at a five step structured process that will help students develop the critical thinking skills that lead to the effective evaluation of information retrieved from the World Wide Web. We will also look at how teachers can create research tasks that ask more of their students than simple low level reporting.

Presentation type...	keynote or breakout session
Audience................	all
Duration.................	1 to 3 hours
Handouts................	yes

Mr. McCain will gladly tailor any presentation to your specific needs.