Going in Circles

The April 2007 Ethical Use resource kit signified an end of sorts. We literally came full circle. A year ago this month we published the Preview Issue: Turning Questions Into Queries. This first set of resources addressed the question, "what am I looking for?" Last month we concluded the process with "how do I use this information ethically?" If you've been following the Digital Information Fluency Model, you will realize that we've addressed all the big questions, plus a few extras.

The Full Circle:

What am I looking for? (Question to Query)	Kit 1.0	May 2006
Where will I look? (Databases)	Kit 1.1	Sep 2006
How will I get there? (Recognizing Relevant Results)	Kit 1.2	Oct 2006
How will I get there? (Finding better keywords)	Kit 1.3	Nov 2006
Is the Information any Good? (Evaluating Credibility)	Kit 1.4	Dec 2006
What is changing the search process? (Web 2.0)	Kit 1.5	Jan 2007
How can I maximize these Resources? (How-To Guide)	Kit 1.6	Feb 2007
How will I get there? (Using Operators effectively)	Kit 1.7	Mar 2007
How will I use digital information (Ethical Use)	Kit 1.8	Apr 2007

According to our Core Competency model, the topics as released aren't exactly in order, but then the search process isn't exactly as linear as the model suggests.

New Directions

There is a lot more to be said about searching the digital landscape and we know our work isn't done. However, instead of producing a second series of Resource Kits, we want to add depth to the Kits we've already created. The danger in continuing to produce new resource kits is that their sheer number might become overwhelming to our users. Instead we are shifting to a more modular approach. This will provide flexibility in the ways resources may be sequenced.

Therefore, this is the first edition of supplementary activities, a smorgasbord of information fluency resources, if you will. As these supplementary resources accumulate, we will help you discover more ways to build information fluency into your curriculum and instruction.

Some of the directions we are heading include expanding our materials to cover more grade levels, starting with the upper elementary grades where we feel it is appropriate to instill good search, evaluation and citation attitudes. We want to integrate more Flash game activities with our popular MicroModule series, creating practice opportunities around the wealth of conceptual knowledge that is already there.

Let's Talk 21CIF!

We also want to foster more community interaction around the problems and possibilities of teaching information fluency. The Let's Talk 21CIF forums are a start, and we hope you join the conversation, sharing your stories, ideas and questions that can help today's digital generation become effective and ethical researchers.

Look for a New Look

Resources bundled in this supplementary edition have also been added to the Kits to which they belong. In time, this will necessitate a change in the look of the existing 9 Full Circle Resource Kits. Supplementary issues will evolve into more of a monthly newsletter, announcing additions to the Kits.

Included in this edition are a number of exciting new resources:

• Podcast with Will Richardson, author of the popular blog weblogg-ed.com, talks with Dan Balzer about collaboration and online communities.
• A behind-the-scenes look at Creating Search Challenges (in case you want to create your own)
• A new Keyword Challenge and ideas for using Keyword Challenges in class.
• A new Evaluation Challenge: Elect Susie Flynn. Use evaluation criteria to determine if this is intended to be a real presidential campaign.
• A new online Query Assessment and Users Guide that helps to identify problems students have turning questions into queries.
• A new classroom edition of Bad Apple that encourages students to discuss the credibility of the information they find.
• A new QuickPick that looks at strategies for searching and how to decide which strategy may be best.
• A new timed Search Challenge that involves tracking down the author of a web site.