Evaluating Digital Resources

1
Evaluating Digital Resources

• Contemporary Information Literacy

2
Front Page New York Times 25 April 2006
3
Apology New York Times 21 May 2006

• Despite an immediate public denial by Airbus,
  the stand-up seat idea stood uncorrected for a
  week. And so, as often happens with nearly
  unbelievable stories, this one took on a life of
  its own. The concept grabbed headlines in scores
  of publications around the world and was even
  incorporated into illustrations on the cover of
  The New Yorker and on The Times's Op-Ed page.

4
Apology New York Times 21 May 2006

• "And the suggestion that an Airbus A380 with
  stand-up seats "could conceivably fit in 853
  passengers" should have also raised questions.
  Just four weeks earlier, an article in The New
  York Times edited by Ms. Messinger had made
  clear that an A380 filled with regular coach
  seats was capable of carrying 853 passengers."

5
The change in cognitive authority
Author Credentials
Publisher Authority
Library or School Distribution
6
The change in cognitive authority
Group Recom-mendations
Previous Experience w/ Source
Perceived Authority
Author Reputation
Author And Site Associations
Findability
7
Or is it really a change?

• The New York Times and the RMS Titanic
• CBS News and the London Blitz
• Television News and the Kennedy Assassination
• Reuters and the Lincoln Assassination
• Penny Newspapers and the Mexican War

8
CBS London
Radio had already built some trust as news source
CBS employed some print journalists
Group Recom-mendations
Previous Experience w/ Source
Neighbors and Coworkers discussed broadcasts
Perceived Authority
Author Reputation
Murrow builds his rep broadcast by broadcast
Author And Site Associations
Steadily, his facts were proved true
Findability
Easy Availability of radios
9
Whats this mean?

• How do your students know something is true?
• Is it the same way you know?
• Is it the same way your Board of Ed knows?

10
Whats this mean?

• How do I train information intelligence?
• Isnt my filter important?
• What do I do at what age?

11
What not to do

• http//www.allaboutexplorers.com/teachers

12
Are all books good sources?

• Are all newspapers good sources?

13
Information not medium
14
Critical

• Can you find this fact in other places?
• Are other things this source says believable?
• Are there citations and connections?
• To where?
• What is the agenda of this author/publisher?
• What do people I trust think?

15
The Wikipedia Question
16
The Wikipedia Question
17
The Blog Question
18
The Blog Question
19
Source Discovery

• Hoover Institute
• Brookings Institution
• Center for American Progress
• Manhattan Institute
• The Guardian
• Wall Street Journal

20
The Book Question
21
The Book Question
22
The News Question
23
The News Question
24
The News Question
25
The News Question
26
The News Question
27
Ideas

• Truth is always complicated
• In a dispute, are there agreed on facts?
• If not, is there a neutral point of view?
• We are responsible for understanding the stories
  we hear.

28
Start Points

• Trials
• Difference between witnesses and hearsay
• Differences between witnesses
• Are police always believable?
• What makes us trust one story more than another?

29
Start Points

• Impossibles?
• McDonalds v. Burger King v. Wendys (v. Subway?)
• Mets v. Yankees
• Canadians v. Maple Leafs
• Mustang v. Camaro
• Favorite TV Shows

30
Training Doubters

• Current technology allows us to challenge ideas
  in real time, to look things up, to compare
  answers.
• Use of these technologies in your classroom will
  train critical thinking in ways otherwise close
  to impossible.

31
Resources

• The Essential Skill of Crap Detecting
• Teaching about Controversial Issues
• Elementary School The Morningside Center
• Middle School The Morningside Center
• High School The Morningside Center

32
Evaluating Digital Resources
irasocol_at_gmail.com http//speedchange.blogspot.co
m

• Contemporary Information Literacy