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Search patterns & digital information literacy skills
Author
Muthukumar S. Lakshmanan
Supervisor
Bopry, Jeanette
Hedberg, John G.
Abstract
In Singapore, the government through the first Masterplan for Information Technology (IT) in education (MP1) has laid out the necessary technological infrastructure in all schools to enable them to be connected to the Internet and conduct Internet-based learning activities. Many schools have reported widespread access of their Internet facilities both during and after school hours.
However most of the Internet-based learning activities conducted in schools are unguided and unstructured leaving students very much on their own to search for information. Current literature affirms that pedagogy more than technology determines the success of technology-based learning initiatives. Students need to have effective information searching skills to be able to competently use the Internet as a learning / research tool.
My study aims to find out the quality of a group of Singapore students' current levels of Internet information accessing skills. This study will look at the information searching techniques and strategies adopted by these students. It also provides an understanding of the differences in the characteristics of information seeking behaviours of these students in relation to their performance in a learning task.
A mixed methodology research design, involving quantitative statistical and qualitative case study analyses, was used for carrying out my study. This ensured better corroboration and elaboration of research findings. The subjects were 27 pairs of Secondary One students who came from 7 different schools and varied in their IT competencies. Given the Science task "Measuring Length", the student pairs were given 25 minutes each to access the Internet to search for information and assemble an artifact in response to the task requirements. Their online navigational movements were digitally captured using Macintosh screen capturing devices and later analytically coded for key events.
The research findings indicate that participating students due to their greater degree of exposure to the Internet, both at home and school were familiar with the interface design features of the Internet. However students were found to be lacking when it comes to critical information searching skills and strategies. The majority of students failed the task that was given to them. They were aware of one or at most two information searching strategies only, were poor in crafting precise query phrases when using search engines and did not use the advanced search features offered by search engines to better refine their search attempts. Thus most search attempts resulted in a deluge of a large number of unrelated search output that unsettled students' search focus and prompted iterative, hub and spoke structural search patterns.
This study suggests that students need to be subjected to a formal set of instructions and be trained to be aware of the suite of effective information seeking strategies. They would need to be explicitly taught sound information searching skills with appropriate mediation from teachers. Future research could be done to gauge students' mental models of understanding on Internet information searching protocols, assess teachers' information searching skills and advance an empirically-validated framework that encompasses the components of an effective Internet instructional design programme.
However most of the Internet-based learning activities conducted in schools are unguided and unstructured leaving students very much on their own to search for information. Current literature affirms that pedagogy more than technology determines the success of technology-based learning initiatives. Students need to have effective information searching skills to be able to competently use the Internet as a learning / research tool.
My study aims to find out the quality of a group of Singapore students' current levels of Internet information accessing skills. This study will look at the information searching techniques and strategies adopted by these students. It also provides an understanding of the differences in the characteristics of information seeking behaviours of these students in relation to their performance in a learning task.
A mixed methodology research design, involving quantitative statistical and qualitative case study analyses, was used for carrying out my study. This ensured better corroboration and elaboration of research findings. The subjects were 27 pairs of Secondary One students who came from 7 different schools and varied in their IT competencies. Given the Science task "Measuring Length", the student pairs were given 25 minutes each to access the Internet to search for information and assemble an artifact in response to the task requirements. Their online navigational movements were digitally captured using Macintosh screen capturing devices and later analytically coded for key events.
The research findings indicate that participating students due to their greater degree of exposure to the Internet, both at home and school were familiar with the interface design features of the Internet. However students were found to be lacking when it comes to critical information searching skills and strategies. The majority of students failed the task that was given to them. They were aware of one or at most two information searching strategies only, were poor in crafting precise query phrases when using search engines and did not use the advanced search features offered by search engines to better refine their search attempts. Thus most search attempts resulted in a deluge of a large number of unrelated search output that unsettled students' search focus and prompted iterative, hub and spoke structural search patterns.
This study suggests that students need to be subjected to a formal set of instructions and be trained to be aware of the suite of effective information seeking strategies. They would need to be explicitly taught sound information searching skills with appropriate mediation from teachers. Future research could be done to gauge students' mental models of understanding on Internet information searching protocols, assess teachers' information searching skills and advance an empirically-validated framework that encompasses the components of an effective Internet instructional design programme.
Date Issued
2005
Call Number
ZA3075 Mut
Date Submitted
2005