Paseo 3.1 Personal Information Inquiry: Judging (for LIS S574)

Many people think that saving and submitting the work they produced is the final step in the inquiry/research process.  In fact, the final step, if the process is done properly is the evaluation step.  In the InfoZone model, that last step is called "Judging" which is defined as evaluating the process and the product.

I feel like the process worked for me.  Like I mentioned earlier, I liked the step-by-step layout that allowed me to work on one thing at a time.  I also really liked the fact that the first step was meant to help me choose a topic, not start right into the search for sources.  I also was glad to see that this process works in the case of using only electronic sources, but I'm sure it would work well with print sources or a mix of print and electronic sources, too.

I struggled a bit with keeping the product short for the purposes of this exercise and because of personal time constraints.  It is easy to get wrapped up in the seeking and choosing steps when the topic well chosen because of the wondering step. I really enjoyed reading the various news articles and looking at so many pictures of a New York City without power. In the end, I think the project is entertaining and informative, but could be much more in depth given more time.

I also struggled with citing and caption sources.  I always have to spend a lot of time finding the right way to cite things and for some reason, it never goes easily for me.  Maybe as I spend more time with reference and inquiry activities, the citations will come easier.

As for blogging as I progressed through the steps, I think that worked well.  The posts gave me a chance to reflect on each step before moving on which helped me to be more deliberate with each step.  In fact, I may try it again when I don't have to blog my inquiry, to see if it still helps.

Well, as far as this Paseo goes....That's all folks!

Paseo 3.1 Personal Information Inquiry:Producing (for LIS S574)

I'm finally to the producing step which according to InfoZone is the step that communicates the information.  To produce something from my research, I chose to use a visual medium with some reading, but mostly images and a video. Of course, if this were more than an exercise, the presentation would have been much more in-depth.  Actually, I think I could use this with my students some time.  It's simple and covers the basics of my topic with a little flair at the end in the YouTube video.

The video won't embed with the Power Point into this blog, so I'm going to add it in this post. It is the same video from the big white box in the seventh slide is where the video is supposed to be.



If you will recall from my "Wondering" post for this project, I decided to do this inquiry because I read the book Blackout by John Rocco to my students and learned from the book trailer video that it was based on actual events.

Blackout: A Picture Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3g5olFEUT8


Link to the InfoZone website:
http://web.archive.org/web/20040407021851/http://www.assd.winnipeg.mb.ca/infozone/



And last but not least, next up is Judging.

Paseo 3.1 Personal Information Inquiry: Connecting (for LIS S574)

For the Connecting step of the InfoZone process, which involves organizing the information, I made a mind map.  Normally I consider myself a verbal learner.  I prefer to read or listen to a lecture. When I'm listening I like to take notes.  I guess note taking could be considered visual and kinesthetic, too.  Note taking certainly keeps my hands busy while I work, which I enjoy.   I think this means I use various techniques for learning, but I prefer verbal learning.  Upon reflection I also find myself to be a sequential learner, so using these steps to research has been right up my alley.  The blog posts are great, too, for taking things one step at a time.

To organize my ideas and information for this step I decided to make a mind map online.  I could see the ideas, type them out, and even move the branches of the map around.  While I expected this to be a visual learning technique, I think it turns out to be visual, verbal and kinesthetic. It was fun.

To try your own map, go to https://www.text2mindmap.com

InfoZone Website

http://web.archive.org/web/20040407021851/http://www.assd.winnipeg.mb.ca/infozone/


Finally, it's time for Production!

Paseo 3.1 Personal Information Inquiry: Choosing (for LIS S574)

In the InfoZone model, the choosing step is the time to understand and appraise the information found in the seeking step.  The web links for this step list sites for evaluating and citing the sources. Evaluating the accuracy, credibility and currency of sources is an important step in the research process.  According to a 2012 survey of teachers about how teens do electronic research, "80% of teachers surveyed say they spend class time discussing with students how to assess the reliability of online information." (Purcell et al., 2012).  This step isn't just taught in the classrooms of teens.  In the school district where I work, elementary media specialists introduce this topic and discuss the qualities of good source material.  The lesson for children begins with the revelation that not everything on the internet is true (shocking!) and goes on from there to discuss safe, reliable places to start with for research.  Hopefully this foundation helps the teachers who teach those students in middle school and then high school.

I've decided to use periodical and broadcast news sources. There is a lot of information about my topic in the news because reports of the blackout were published worldwide.  I chose some sources from the day after the event and some from the ten year anniversary of the event.

Here is a list of links to the sources I found that I think will work the best. They are from credible and relevant sources and provide some different perspectives on the event.  I will provide a works cited section in the producing step with my final choices.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/15/nyregion/blackout-2003-overview-power-surge-blacks-northeast-hitting-cities-8-states.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/14/new-york-city-blackout-2003-photos-power-outage-10-years_n_3755067.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3152451.stm

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/08/blackout-2003-photos-new-york-northeast-power.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/11/booming/the-blackout-that-exposed-the-flaws-in-the-grid.html?_r=0

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/northeast-blackout-2003-ten-year-anniversary-article-1.1426561


InfoZone Website

http://web.archive.org/web/20040407021851/http://www.assd.winnipeg.mb.ca/infozone/

Coming up:  Connecting-- I will try something new....

Works Cited

Purcell, K., Rainie, L., Heaps, A., Buchanan, J., Friedrich, L., Jacklin, A., ... & Zickuhr, K. (2012). How Teens Do Research in the Digital World. Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Paseo 3.1 Personal Information Inquiry: Seeking (for LIS S574)

For step 2 in my inquiry, I will be seeking information on my topic.  According to the InfoZone site, seeking is, "locating and accessing resources."  I'm going to focus on electronic resources for this exercise.

The webpage lists many kid friendly search options, but because of the fact that this is an archived page, many of the links are for dated or so-so web sites. The links, but they were created in 2004 so it's no surprise that ten years later, the internet has much more to offer.  If I were teaching this lesson with students, I would suggest the resources from the homepage of the online catalog for the school library where I work.  The media specialist has put together a lot of great research choices for our Fox Hill Pioneers.  If you want to check them out, go here:  

 http://tinyurl.com/m8ojr53


For this exercise, I'm going to use Google because there are many news stories and images to choose from there.  In my next post, I'll talk about choosing good resources and I'll post some links and pictures related to my topic, the huge blackout that left 50 million people in the northeastern United States in the dark in 2003.

Here's the link to the InfoZone page with the inquiry process I'm using, again.

http://web.archive.org/web/20040407021851/http://www.assd.winnipeg.mb.ca/infozone/



Next up:  Choosing

Paseo 3.1 Personal Information Inquiry: Wondering (for LIS S574)

Wondering is the first step of the InfoZone inquiry process.  It is defined for us as, "defining the need for information."  Frankly, I think that definition is a little tricksy.  Wondering is pretty straight forward and I think I would introduce this step simply.  The website for this process suggests some different online resources that have information on broad topics that kids can peruse for inspiration. You may remember from the introduction that this process was designed for children and I chose it because I teach research to children in the library where I work.  I opted not to work with these sights because, just when I thought that my inspiration fountain was blocked up, I got an idea.

The idea came from a book I read to my K-3rd graders called Blackout by John Rocco.  It is the story of a fictional family from New York City that were part of a huge power outage that affected millions of people in August of 2003. The setting for the story is the real blackout and the story itself is simple and precious and reminds us of the value of unplugging from the things that keep us busy sometimes and plugging in to family. This year, Blackout is one of the 20 nominees for the grades K-3 Young Hoosier Book Award.

Go to http://www.ilfonline.org/?YHBA for more information on this state book award.

To introduce the book, I showed the book trailer video.  The video gave a little bit of factual information about the blackout, including interviews with New Yorkers that had experienced it. The video was entertaining and it was also curiosity inspiring.  I decided to wonder about the facts that prompted John Rocco to write this story.

Here is the book trailer that made me wonder:

Next time on Do You Read Me: Step 2- Seeking


Infozone Website
http://web.archive.org/web/20040407021851/http://www.assd.winnipeg.mb.ca/infozone/

Work Cited

Rocco, J. (2011). Blackout. New York: Disney/Hyperion Books.

Paseo 3.1 Personal Information Inquiry: Introduction (for LIS S574)

For Paseo 3 in my Information Inquiry Class, I'm supposed to do a personal inquiry using an inquiry method from our readings.  I am to choose a subject of interest and follow the steps the way we might teach students to follow them in pursuing their own research.  In the elementary school where I work, we would guide them in a certain direction with respect to topic, at least giving them a broad idea, but for this assignment, I can choose whatever I would like.  The irony is, at the moment I can't decide.

Fortunately, I've chosen a research method that allows me to wonder a bit before I decide.  In fact the method I am going to try, InfoZone (2004) from the Assiniboine South School Division of Winnipeg, Canada starts right off with Wondering.


I will link the webpage here for InfoZone.  The initial site I tried directed me to the Wayback Machine on the World Wide Web that archives old web pages so they can be found later.  The information on InfoZone can be found at 

http://web.archive.org/web/20040407021851/http://www.assd.winnipeg.mb.ca/infozone/

Here is a quick summary of the steps:

• Wondering
• Seeking
• Choosing
• Connecting
• Producing
• Judging

I'm going to focus on electronic resources for this inquiry.  According to the president of the American Library Association, Barbara Stipling, "Students must also acquire the skills of digital inquiry: connecting ideas to personal interests and a desire to know, asking questions that probe beyond simple fact gathering, investigating answers from multiple perspectives, constructing new understandings, expressing the new ideas through a variety of formats, and reflecting on both the process and product of learning." (Stripling, 2010)  The InfoZone inquiry process really fits with this philosophy.  

The instructions for Paseo 3.1 call for the creation of a blog to which I can post my inquiry musings as I go through the steps.  I created this blog a while back for a class with a similar requirement.  I have since used it for posts related to my education and I decided to keep on using it.  It's arranged the way I like it with pictures and links and a cool background.  It should suit this project just fine.  I will begin the title of each post with Paseo 3.1 to make it clear which ones belong to this assignment.  


Now to the wondering.  As the 10th Doctor would say, "Allons-y!"

Work Cited

Stripling, B. (2010, April). Teaching Students to Think in the Digital Environment: Digital Literacy and Digital Inquiry. School Library Monthly, 26(8), 16-19. Retrieved February 16, 2014, from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ886977