Decision-Making On and Off the Internet

Decision- Making
On and Off the Net by Abigail Garthwait, Librarian, Asa Adams Elementary

This section will explain some preliminary experiences of working with elementary school children as they do research on the Internet. (from presentation during Maine Libraries Conference, Spring 1996)

The general public holds the misconception that access to the Internet will solve all of our research needs. Here-say or casual first-hand knowledge of net searching consists of going to Yahoo, which organizes sites by large subject area. (A user needs to be familiar with such idiosyncrasies as music being listed under "Entertainment"rather than "Art.") More sophisticated users may open a search engine* and type in the desired topic. After a few seconds a list of keyword sites appears on the screen. Depending on which engine is used, there may or may not be description beyond a simple title. However, members of the information skills committee have found on-line searching to be fraught with pitfalls and dangers, particularly for younger students, and we aren't talking about inappropriate material! The analogy is floating around that finding specific information on the Internet is like trying to use the Library of Congress with all the books dumped in the middle of the floor. In truth, the Internet has no master cataloger directing the organizational aspects. Indeed there is no CEO, no president, no Pope on the Internet.

Our focus is student decision-making but before we delve into this further, library media specialists might reflect on their own decision-making processes. Just as we think about our job in relation to print resources, what continuum of services do we offer our teachers and students concerning internet use? Even though we don't encourage teachers to give spur-of-the-moment requests, don't we attempt to accommodate them when possible? I know I try to respond to a teacher with a brainstorm resulting from a teachable moment, and willingly hunt down a requested resource. Recently, one first grade teacher bustled into the library stating that she had no time at that moment but she did have the inspiration to use Dave Mallet's song "Inch by Inch" in conjunction with a composting project going on right then. Did I have the words? We didn't have them available in print but I was able to find them on-line and deliver within five minutes. Now, I know that she wouldn't have been able to find them on her own. Am I participating in "enabling" type behavior? Or should I have asked her to return later when she had time to be taught how to use the Internet? Does the patron often abuse your willingness to be helpful? (A workshop participant later called to mind an apt quotation that she has hanging on her wall: "Your lack of planning doesn't constitute an emergency on my part.") When a library offers Internet services, expectations should be aligned with those of print services. There's nothing inherent in Internet usage that assumes we should automatically grant impulse requests!

One of the questions I hear quite often is what do you do about students who ONLY want to spend time researching on the Internet without exploring print resources. My solution has been to expect them to come to the net with some background information, in writing. Nancy Grant sends students back to their rooms if the class hasn't performed the necessary preliminary work. All too often a student will tell me he "needs more books on xyz" when I know he has checked out the best our library has to offer. This tells me one of several possible things: I don't know what he's searching for; he doesn't know what he's are searching for; or he's having trouble extracting that information from the material available. So I tend to ask anyone in that situation to come back with his or her research folders in order to get individual help. I want to see their thoughts on what they already knew (prior knowledge) and what key words they have developed.

The NYNEX/PUC order will take the sting out of long distance rates for on-line searching but many school libraries will still have difficulties in supplying an adequate number of workstations. On-line time will still be at a premium and students need to be taught pre-search strategies whether they are searching on- or off-line. When students realize they are making decisions all along the way, they are better able to back track (i.e. revisit decisions) if they get lost or are unable to find the material they want. Several years ago, when my 286 IBM was spanking new, all my second graders were extremely excited to find information for their "animal reports" on our new National Geographic cd-rom, Mammals. Initially it didn't seem to matter to them that the animal they had selected was a lizard! It was only upon being asked point-blank whether a lizard is a mammal that most of the students made the "aha" connection with their "decision" about which resource to use. These same problems have always existed in the book world. A former member of our committee tells about a student who was spending an inordinate amount of time perusing the books on Vietnam. Finally the librarian, after general offers to help her, asked specifically what she was seeking. In frustration the student explained that she just couldn't find any information about the Bataan Death March!

Once the decision has been made to use the World Wide Web, you need to think about which organizational tool will best meet the need. Not only do different search engines yield different results but some tools definitely specialize in certain subject areas. With younger students, I find it too distracting to describe a range of available methods. Right now, I'm generally the person deciding where to start although I do mention in passing that other avenues are available. Those students who use the Internet at home are quick to tell me which search engine they use. A valuable in-service activity for teachers or older students is to assign a specific topic, develop a set of keywords as a group and then compare and contrast the numerous search engines available. Also, you might wish to access one of the Metasearch tools which automatically set up the keyword in a number of search engines. The fluid and ephemeral nature of information on-line can be frustrating to people who want definitive and unchanging resource tools.

The World Wide Web is still a new entity. It cannot (at least, not yet) replace print resources. No one would insist that all information is now on-line. The information that is available is only as good as the indexer, the registration process and the cognitive abilities of the user. There are many valuable sites "out there" which haven't been listed with any of the searching tools or which do not utilize the same vocabulary as the student interested in the information. We should be making students aware that it is OK to "give up" an on-line search. An early experience I had one spring occurred in a telecommunications course. The instructor had assigned the task of finding the Number One song in June of 1968. With a flurry of swift fingers all 15 graduate students ran to their favorite search tools. Each one of us was sure that we could find that tune first! After about five minutes I suggested that we telephone the University of Maine's Fogler Library; they could find on it right away. There were a few snickers implying heresy . Forty minutes later I made the same suggestion but this time I spoke more assertively based on my knowledge of Fogler's reference section and the frustration of not finding the trivia on my own. This time I added, "Remember, use the appropriate technology for the need." Since these were the instructor's own words, he did pick up the phone and the class received an answer within three minutes.

So far, I've worked with teachers and students on two major projects using the internet for research. The first one began last year with our school's traditional third grade landmark unit. Our initial goals were simple: we wanted some introductory experience ourselves with teaching net research and secondly, we wished the students to gain some familiarity with working on the internet and to be relatively successful in finding things. The unit's culmination would be a slide show of pictures that the students found, downloaded and organized. Parents were invited to the presentation in the library. Our assessment component for the first go-round was basically formative: what works with teaching children internet strategies and what doesn't. Each student could select his or her favorite landmark from a large collection of appropriate books checked out to the classroom. Before the students clicked on their first link, they were asked to do some preliminary print research. They determined whether the landmark was made with human hands, a geological formation etc. The country and the continent were important items of information. In performing my homework before the first teaching session, I spent literally hours searching for the children's landmarks from their list of choices. I then bookmarked* a menu several sites removed from the actual landmark. In this way, students would need to use some decision making skills. For instance, one search engine brought up mostly drawings of the Taj Mahal along with a popular band and the Donald Trump Atlantic City building of the same names. Last year, the best photograph was found under an Art menu from which children had to select the appropriate continent and type of structure. Once the students actually located their landmarks, they downloaded the pictures onto a lap top computer. The class as a whole had to decide how the slide show would be ordered (by continent, by chronological order etc.) They chose alphabetically! Four students actually put together the slide show (using the shareware program GifConverter). The finale was their class presentation; while giving their reports, they had the large picture projected on the screen via the LCD*. They clearly were proud of their ability to have found a picture of their landmark on the internet. The one unbelievable exception to success in finding everything was the Liberty Bell. The student who selected it ended up scanning the picture in. The second year we did this unit, several students put their reports into HTML* for the Asa Adams homepage adding links to further information on their landmarks. In most cases, the students used information they found on the internet above and beyond just the graphic. The picture of the Leaning Tower of Pisa was a gem because it showed an unusual angle, providing the viewer with the surrounding buildings and landscaping. A month or so after the project was entered on our home pages, someone from a federal agency on Historic Landmarks actually telephoned me to say how excited she was to have found our project. She was showing many people from other departments what the students had done and as a sign of complimentary appreciation, she sent the whole class a set of nicely researched Historic Landmark coloring books!

The second internet project is one that we have just completed. Going into the second year of a fifth grade History Fair project, the teachers and I decided to incorporate, in a methodical way, researching on the internet. (The previous year, only the students who thought of the tool on their own and who asked to come to the library, actually got on. ) First, I should explain the History Fair. Each student began by reading an historical novel relating to American History. Then they developed a list of questions that aroused their curiosity and these questions were supposed to provide the basis for research. Each student was then expected to create a visual which demonstrated what he or she learned. This project, plus a book report and some type of written product form the basis of an evening event called The History Fair. Students (often in costume) exhibit projects displayed on tables which form a chronological line. They are prepared to explain their era, project, fictional book and to answer whatever questions visitors ask.

While they were searching on the internet (or shortly thereafter), I expected students to use the attached page as a note-taking tool and one that would assist in their reflection on the internet as a resource. I TOTALLY underestimated how long it would take with each student as I guided them with search engines, decision making skills, when to save, what to print etc. With an unusally large class (92 students!) I quickly found myself overwhelmed with the one dedicated phone line which serves as our access to the net. Most of the students who DID find relevant information, downloaded and printed articles used highlighters to select key phrases and wrote in the margins in order to make their own connections. My overcall concern level became elevated when a boy searched for "slavery" and one site that was on the "hit list" (but didn't actually open) was "Uncle Larry's Leather Shop." However, any rough moment was overshadowed by the successes. For example, I caught the "aha" moment when one boy figured out on his own that he saved time, energy and frustration if he read the "summary" words under each item on the return list because they he needn't open each slow to load graphic in order to discover whether it was the Court House in Appomattox or not.

Other new skills are needed to make the best use from the net. There is a differences between "browse" & "search" and "subject search" & "keyword search." For instance, I remind students to always check out the bottom of a likely page because the author often inserts valuable links to other sites at the very end. My fifth graders were given homework in Music class on finding information about three flutists who make their living by playing the instrument. Some of our best resources were found using buttons (links) only available at the end of a national newsletter site. We have also made effective use of e-mail messages using addresses of people who maintained good sites. One girl received an elegant evolutionary answer to why don't penguins fly from the owner of the Penguin Home Page. My favorite story is the boy who asked me for more information on sea anemones. Now, I knew he'd had the best books in our library so I responded in my usual fashion: "OK, what question were you unable to answer?" After much deliberation, he responded that he wanted to know how long they live. Both of us searched arduously but unsuccessfully. So I suggested he come back on Monday and see if I could find anything on the internet over the weekend. The search was unsuccessful on-line as well so I e-mailed a marine biologist at Wood's Hole. On the next working day we received this response:

Dear Manuel: (although I had written the letter she addressed the letter to Manual)
Sea anemones can live a very long time. Some individuals have been studied in the intertidal zone near marine laboratories on the California coast that are still alive after more than 100 years .... As with many organisms that reproduce asexually, one individual may produce numerous genetically identical individuals (such a group is called a clone). The genetic individual may be effectively immortal.
Good luck with your studies of sea anemones. They are fascinating beasts! Although they are extremely simple in body form, they are capable of complex behavior. ...
Dr. Ann Bucklin, Research Associate Professor University of New Hampshire acb@kepler.unh.edu

Not all questions are easily answered in other media either. Similar problems with student misconceptions arise with CD-ROM searching. For instance, I thought I had done a good ob with a mini-lesson on the encyclopedia Encarta, explaining how to type in the "subject" and "keywords." The inadequacies of my lesson were clearly brought forth by a bright child who is NOT an auditory learner. His passive nature often prevents him from asking for help. It was only by looking over his shoulder did I notice that he had written into the search space: "What type of acid is found in bogs?" He had been quietly reentering similar questions the whole period. Where did he get off track? What could I have done differently? What if I hadn't been performing an informal observation for all kids? He would have been left with the impression that Encarta "couldn't answer questions." It is even more difficult when students are not ready when teachers employ the Inquiry Method ("OK, students, make a list of questions that you would like to know the answer to bout this topic.") Students dutifully write out a list but then expect to find a line in the non-fiction book that says: "The type of acid found in a bog is....." Is this the result of too many homework assignments that using the end-of-chapter fill-in-the-blank format? (Author's note - two years later: Alta Vista now recommends using "natural language!" )

EVALUATING INFORMATION SOURCES

Another component of electronic information literacies is the evaluation of net resources. The students seem to grasp the concept easily but have difficulty conducting an evaluation because they don't have a lot of background experience. Something written by a local historical society carries different weight than what was penned by a group of fourth grade students which is different from a famous historian's perspective. But what if they don't know that the name belongs to a "famous" historian? This concern is far greater, I believe than print resources because of the ease in putting things on the internet - anyone can do it! And many sites do not contain much information on authorship and if they do, who's to say that all the credentials aren't made up?

Four basic elements to consider are:

Reliability: The reader should examine the source of information. Does it come from a discussion group or a school site; was it sponsored by an academic, government or commercial institution.
Authority: What credentials does the author have? How is that important?
Objectivity: Does a site reflect the biases of a specific group? Who is the intended audience? How is the treatment different compared to other sources? Consideration of whether a piece is fact or opinion is even more important than evaluating writing style just as we make the distinction between an op ed piece or the front page news in the paper.
Relevance: Does the site relate to the topic or questions in which the researcher has interest? Is the information current? How often is this particular site updated?

The inquiry method of teaching, of getting students to ask high level questions often begins with great excitement. But I've seen some projects dissolve in frustration because encouraging student-designed questions usually produces things kids want to know but are not quickly found answers. (Why is there gravity? How did Lincoln feel after Lee's surrender? ) Questions of this depth should be honored with a librarian's conference which will help to select key words and concepts. Worse yet, we've seen kids who write down ten questions because that's the assignment but they don't tie their actual research findings together with any sense of continuity. Sometimes students consciously choose questions that they know will be answered with a simple numeral. Should you accept this and honor the process of sincerely allowing student choice? Once I asked a student why he wanted to know this and he countered with, "Why do you want to know anything?" The Zen nature of his response stumped me for a while. However, I usually try to get at a reason behind a simple answer in a conference and open the question up by relating to what the student tells me.

* BOOKMARK: an easy method of saving a URL (universal resource locator - the address of a site or home page)

HTML: hypertext markup language that the World Wide Web uses to read graphic and text information . The programing language needed by computers all over the world to read what the students wanted them to read.

LCD: liquid crystal display. A piece of equipment either used in conjunction with an overhead projector or built into a similar projection device which allows a roomful of people to see what is on a computer screen.

SEARCH ENGINE: one of the many on-line organizational tools. (They were "hatched" at universities in the 1990s so they haven't been around a long time.)

Internet Research: Preliminary Steps
History Fair - Internet Research
Letter to the parents

December 1997
Maine Educational Media Associaton

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