This project report describes the workflow model used at the University of Hertfordshire to develop and test a suite of new digital information skills materials for students. The approach taken was informed by findings from the Jisc Student Digital Experience Tracker and good practice from Jisc's NUS Benchmarking tool. Content was mapped against…

This investigation examines experiences with and perceptions of information reported by first-year college students whose level of information literacy skill is known. Participants were identified as having either proficient or below-proficient information literacy skills based on an objective test of their abilities. Interviews were performed…

Internet usage logs captured during self-directed learning sessions were used to determine how undergraduate medical students used five popular sites to locate and access biomedical resources. Students' perceptions of each site's usefulness and reliability were determined through a survey. Google and Wikipedia were the most frequently used sites…

The purpose of this study is to examine students' usage styles of the Internet for seeking information and to investigate whether information obtained from the Internet is a source of misconceptions. For this reason, a two-stage study was conducted. At the first stage, a questionnaire was developed to get information about students' Internet usage…

Close collaboration between faculty and librarians yields a seamless blend of core subject information and information seeking/evaluation skills. This article examines how collaboration and the integration of information literacy skills into an undergraduate global housing unit affects the ability of students to locate and evaluate materials for a…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of instruction in information problem solving within the world wide web (the web) environment. The participants were 20 seventh and eighth grade students with a learning disability (LD) in reading. An experimental pretest-posttest control group method was used to investigate the…

Many postgraduate students cannot cope with the demands of higher education. In South Africa one in every six students never graduates. Poor preparation for higher education includes students' meager computer and information literacy skills. While computer literacy refers to understanding the use of computers, McMillan (1996) promotes the term…

This paper presents the IPS-I-model: a model that describes the process of information problem solving (IPS) in which the Internet (I) is used to search information. The IPS-I-model is based on three studies, in which students in secondary and (post) higher education were asked to solve information problems, while thinking aloud. In-depth analyses…

Employing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, such as multiple means of representation (of content), multiple means of engagement (motivation) and multiple means of expression (sharing the results of research, for example), will put one on the right path toward increasing accessibility for all learners. In this article, the author…

Reviews the growth of computer uses in education; discusses the increasing rate of change in society and the need for schools to provide students with information skills and the ability to build personal conceptual models; and considers the role of technology in schools, including expanding the learning community and developing authentic…

As online research has become an increasingly standard activity for middle school and high school students, Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org) has simultaneously emerged as the bane of many teachers who include research-focused assignments in their courses. An online encyclopedia that allows anyone to edit its entries, Wikipedia has educators…

Seventh grade students entering South East Junior High in Iowa City come from eight elementary feeder schools, as well as from schools around the world. Their information literacy skills and knowledge of reference sources vary, but since all seventh graders and new eighth graders are required to take one trimester of Visual Studies, all entering…

The development of digital information literacy (DIL) has been slow in comparison to changes in information communication technologies, and this remains an issue for the higher education sector. Competency in such skills is essential to full participation in society and work. In addition, these skills are regarded as underpinning the ability to…

Offers a basic introduction and overview of the Internet, explaining what it is and how teachers and students can use it in the classroom. Discusses learning to use the Internet, and using the Internet to promote reading and writing. (SR)

The steps of the "Big Six Skills" approach make an excellent framework for highlighting skills educators need to take advantage of the Internet. There are several considerations-technical, ethical, and educational-to examine concurrently, which this article does in the context of the Big Six Skills: Task Definition, Information-Seeking…