Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2011

grammar gazette SPRING 2011

Infowhelm MS KATE KILDEY, TEACHER LIBRARIAN Young people today are growing up in a turbulent, exciting and uncertain world. Permanently ‘online’ and connected to what is taking place around the globe; our students are bombarded with information at every waking moment and engaged by new technologies that allow more freedom when communicating with one another.

The concept of information overload is not necessarily a new one; however, it has now become integral to our daily lives. The idea of ‘infowhelm’ was originally introduced in 1970 by Alvin Toffler when he predicted that ‘the rapidly increasing amounts of information being produced would eventually cause people problems,’ (Ingebrigtsen, 2011). How can we help our students navigate through this information jungle? We, as a staff, cannot possibly provide our students with the knowledge they will need to succeed in the twenty-first century. What we can do is provide them with the skills they require to be autonomous, systematic learners and valuable global citizens. The academic staff members are approaching this challenge partly through the use of the ‘guided inquiry’ framework. Guided inquiry is an effective and consistent approach to the teaching and learning of information and research skills. Guided inquiry fosters engagement and reflection in each stage of learning, allowing learners to build on what they already know, to interpret

the potential Moodle, the School’s learning management system, has in developing collaborative learning spaces that enrich the research process, regularly embedding the use of tools such as wikis, blogs and forums into inquiry tasks. Technology allows us to connect with others in an unprecedented way, and rather than putting barriers between us, we should be embracing these educational tools, accessing their full potential and making the experiences we are providing our students richer and more authentic. Girls Grammar girls are encouraged to be inquisitive about the world around them, to challenge accepted norms by asking the difficult questions, and to be imaginative and creative individuals in their proposed conclusions and solutions. In order for this challenge to be met, students need to have a level of confidence and ease that comes from having key skills and a positive mental approach to their navigation of the global landscape.

for deep understanding. Students are provided with relevant and meaningful tasks, and are then guided through an inquiry process, where teacher librarians and classroom teachers can plan instructional interventions. Guided inquiry steers away from ‘abandoned learning’, while promoting the idea of learner autonomy and the creation of lifelong learners through the development of skills. (Todd, 2009) At Brisbane Girls Grammar School, the Teacher Librarians play an integral role in this process, collaborating with staff to develop units of work, creating valuable and relevant resources that allow students to demonstrate various capabilities, and presenting lessons on a variety of topics related to information fluency. Perhaps the key issue is the capacity to manage the volume of information available. Shirky (2008) states that ‘it is not information overload, it is filter failure,’ a notion that is supported by Asher from Bucknell University who explains that it isn’t so much that students are inefficient in their use of search engines such as Google, but rather that students are often

ill-equipped to sufficiently evaluate or refine the results that are returned, (Kessler, 2011). Certain skills are required for one to be able to process this level of information, both in quantity and complexity, and this is a skill our students are learning through meaningful research tasks. The teacher librarians are assisting students in becoming ‘curators’ of their own knowledge collections. Throughout 2011, the teacher librarians have also been involved in successfully introducing new and exciting initiatives to the School community. Encompassing all of these initiatives is our goal of sharing information and ideas, not only with one another, but promoting that our students do the same. We have been providing colleagues with professional development sessions on a range of topics, particularly focusing on Web 2.0 tools and engaging with technology in a positive way. These sessions create an environment of continuous learning with the objective of exceptional scholarship in mind, working towards the School’s overarching vision. Additionally, we are capitalising on

References: Floch, K., McLood, S., & Bronman, J. (Writers). (2009, August 25). Did you know? Interesting Facts about the World and Technology [Video]. Retrieved August 19, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzEyF1ogEtU&feature=fvst Ingebrigtsen, N. (2011, August 23). Understanding Information Overload [Web log post]. Retrieved August 24, 2011, from http://www.infogineering.net/ understanding-information-overload.htm Kessler, S. (2011, August 23). The Google Gap [Web log post]. Retrieved August 24, 2011, from http://mashable.com/2011/08/22/the-google-gap-college-kids-arent- good-at-searching-study/ King, B. (2011, January 16). Dealing with Exponential Content [Web log post]. Retrieved August 15, 2011, from http://www.finextra.com/community/fullblog. aspx?blogid=4877 Shirky, C. (2008). It’s Not Information Overload. It’s Filter Failure. Speech presented at Web 2.0 Expo in USA, New York. Retrieved August 11, 2011, from http://www. youtube.com/watch?v=LabqeJEOQyI Todd, R. (2009, August 10). Guided Inquiry. Lecture presented at Building Collaborative Cultures for Guided Inquiry Seminar in All Saints Anglican School, Merrimac QLD.

Download a free QR reader on your smart phone to view a video on Infowhelm and Information Fluency from The Infosavvy Group

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