This poster session provides information on using 21st Century Information Fluency Project resources to improve skills directly related to NETS*S III standards.

Participants will become familiar with the range of free products and resources that may be woven into the curriculum starting in upper elementary grades through college, especially Language Arts, Science, Social Studies and Library research. Examples of curricular integrations are featured.

This poster session demonstrates how Resource Kits, online courses and face to face workshops target specific topics in searching, evaluation and integration and provide curricular and instructional support for teaching students and professional staff.

As a result of this session, participants will…

1. Become aware of Information Fluency topics:
• Turning questions into queries;
• Database selection and searching the Deep Web;
• Analyzing search results for important clues;
• Evaluating information for credibility;
• Ethical use of resources retrieved from the Internet.

2. Understand how these topics can be integrated into classroom instruction and professional development:
• As a dedicated unit (e.g., library instruction, research skills)
• As part of a different subject matter (examples showing Language Arts, Social Studies, Science applications)

3. Have opportunities to try online activities:
• Live Internet Search Challenges
• Interactive Tutorial Games (e.g., California Gold Rush [scanning information], Website Invesigator [evaluating information] and assessments (e.g., Optimal Query, Operators)

Outline

Selected contents of the free Full Circle Resource Kit are featured during this session. These include lesson plans for teaching key competencies of information fluency: locating information efficiently, evaluating it effectively and using it ethically.

Also available are print overviews of online courses, face to face workshops and guidelines for conducting professional staff development.

Supporting Research

Press release. (2006, March 24) School library media programs critical to high school reform. American Library Association. Retrieved April 11, 2006, from http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=121131

Presenter Background

Co-presenters: Dennis O'Connor was an elementary and middle school teacher for 25 years. At the turn of the century he left the face to face classroom to become an online teacher, course designer and educational technology consultant.

He earned an MS. in Online Teaching and Learning from California State University, East Bay (formerly CSU Hayward) where he also taught graduate students how to teach online. Mr. O'Connor recently earned an M.Ed in Instructional Design and Technology Integration at Western Governors University. He earned his undergraduate degree in English at the University of California, Berkeley.

In 1995, groundbreaking work in technology infused interdisciplinary teaching led to a Milken National Educator Award. After working online with the ISTE, National Educational Technology Standards Project in 1998, Mr. O'Connor became a project writer developing units of practice for ISTE-NETS, Connecting Curriculum and Technology. Dennis remains active as a subject matter expert, standards review consultant and project writer for ISTE.

Dennis currently works as an online curriculum development specialist for the 21st Century Information Fluency Program, which is sponsored by the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. He also teaches online professional development classes for the 21st Century Information Project and for the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where he is the program advisor for the E-learning and Online Teaching Graduate Certificate Program.

Carl Heine, Ph.D. is Director of the 21st Century Information Fluency Project at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Aurora Illinois. He oversees research and the development of interactive learning games and interactive media used in the Project. He conducts numerous Information Fluency workshops each year in Illinois and other states, including the Illinois Principals Association, the Illinois Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the Illinois
State Library Media Association, the Illinois Educational Technology Conference, the Missouri Association of School Librarians, the Wisconsin Educational Media Association and the Alabama Educational Technology Association.

Carl earned his doctorate in curriculum and instruction at the University of Chicago for research in flow and mathematical achievement. Previous leadership assignments include managing the Center for Youth Education at the College of DuPage (Glen Ellyn, IL) and directing educational programs at churches in Washington and California.

Last year, Carl and Dennis presented a 3-hour workshop, lecture and a poster session on Information Fluency at NECC in Atlanta.