Research Report:  Learning To Become Internet Literate

By:  M. Heather Piper, G18, Spring 2003

Instructor:  Dr. Leon James:  www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/leon.html

Instructions for this report are at:

www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy18/g18research.html

Section 1:  Introduction

1st Review of Younger Generation:  Christine Marchadie

Christine seems to go through what many of us in college go through.  The internet is a huge catalog of information.  It is sometimes difficult to find exactly what you are looking for.  The four main stages she discusses are:  frustration, stress, anxiety, and depression. 

To quote Christine:

"I also learned from this semester that I am very impatient when it comes to waiting for pages to load up. That's one of the reasons why I took out some of the fancy stuff I had on this homepage."

"Overall I learned that there is so much information that you can look up on the internet, and then realize that you have too little time to go through it all, thus making learning through a cyber-community all the more worthwhile."

Everyone Gets A Little Frustrated

There is so much information on the internet that we sometimes get frustrated in trying to filter through the information.  Sometimes there is a site that sounds great in the brief description from the search engine, but is no longer available to view.  This happened to me on the first report when looking up articles that had been written for media purposes.  I found that most of them are only open for viewing for a very short time.  That made me frustrated.  I was not able to view these valuable sources.

Can You Get Stressed Out?

Most of us have had some amount of stress this semester.  This course tests our ability to work on our own.  I believe that most of our stress comes from procrastination.  I think there is a little more work than most of us anticipated.  The internet can be tricky sometimes.  It may take us longer to look up some specifics.  I got stressed out when trying to research "sexist jokes".  I never found any information that explained why men like sexist jokes.  All I found were sites that told sexist jokes.  Probably the same number of male sites to female sites (the sexism goes both ways).

Are you Anxious?

"Many students, including myself, found it irritating when a homepage took forever to load up," states Christina.  It seems that most of our anxiety comes from having to rush at the last minute.  I think that being impatient is not being anxious.  I do believe that you can become anxious when your computer is taking a long time.  I have a tight schedule and I like for the internet to be moving more quickly.  Today we have high speed internet (DSL or cable), which has helped in our anxieties with time.  I am a very impatient person and I like to get results ASAP.

Can We Control Our Feelings Of Depression?  
 

I believe that we do have the ability to control how we are feeling.  We know certain things that trigger a feeling, like depression.  All I have to do is see a picture of my friend who committed suicide or look at the photo of my childhood dog that died on my birthday.  These visuals make me depressed so I try to avoid dwelling on these photos.  Music is also a mood changer.  Certain music can elicit very specific moods.  We know what affects us, so try to avoid it.     

What I Think

I believe that as an internet user things can sometimes be overwhelming.  Being human, we can all have different emotions throughout researching.  I believe we need to be in control of those emotions.  There is no reason for your emotions to control you.  In my personal experience this semester, I have never felt depressed.  I may have gotten frustrated with one of my searches, but not so frustrated that I gave up.  The only times I felt anxious was when I was limited on time.  I do not believe that I felt stressed out at any point during this semester.

The Explanation

Going through some of these phases is part of becoming information literate.  Feeling overwhelmed is part of the process.  In phase A1, that is exactly how one should feel.  The important part is not to quit.  Continuing the research is going to help you become more information literate.  It is OK to have low self esteem.  With practice the overwhelming feelings will disappear.   This is part of the process in gaining information literacy.  Being able to understand the steps you should go through may help with the feelings of incompetence and the fear of the unknown. 

2nd Review of Younger Generation:  Kai Hansjuergens 

Kai thinks there are different emotions that we feel when learning to search the web and work with computers.  When we begin using the internet it is important to be patient and understand that there can be problems.  Kai believes that fear, frustration, information overload, and possible addiction could be some of the main feelings people go through. 

Kai States:

"Most students that have never used the Internet before report fear and anxiety before starting."

"Frustration is probably one of the most experienced emotions when dealing with computers. The machine just doesn't seem to understand.  Frustration within the reports was mostly centered around searching for topics on the internet."

"It was overwhelming. I had no idea how to begin; but after I did, and began tackling one task at a time, each moved into the other. Once one task was done (or was firmly begun--I wasn't too picky at the time), there was an enthusiasm for the others, and each sub-task became a natural progression. I was amazed that it seemed easier and easier, and I went faster and faster. I felt fascination, as though it were a labyrinth that never ended."

Did You Have Fear?

There are different types of fears.  Some students have a fear of deleting important information.  They feel that with the strike of the wrong key, they will accidentally erase those important words.  Kai believes that most of people's fears come from the feeling of the "unknown".  So as you practice and become better at using the internet, the fears will disappear during the learning process.

Even I Get Frustrated

Is your computer not understanding what you want?  Have you ever wanted to put your shoe through the monitor?  Have you ever slammed your hands on the keyboard?  If you have... then you have probably felt frustrated.  Frustration has to be the emotion that is felt the most.  You have probably felt frustration while trying to search for the topics.  Even with large search engines there are times when you just can not find what you are looking for.  You may have to do some more advanced searches which can lead to a lot more creative work.  Therefore you may become frustrated. 

How Many Hits Did My Google Search Get?

I am sure that in doing searches all of us have had times when there is just too much information to go through.  Some times there are just too many choices which cause us to feel overwhelmed by information overload.  The amount of data on the internet is endless.  This can cause information overload.  This can be positive or negative. 

Computer Addiction

Getting motivated could lead into possible addiction.  People say that the television is addictive.  Well, Kai and myself believe that the computer can be just as addictive.  Information can consume your time.  After your initial fears, the computer can be a pretty handy tool in everyday life.  One can find themselves diving deeper and deeper into this black hole of information.

What I Think

When starting any new project, I think we all have a little fear.  It is the fear of the unknown, not the task itself.  Because of the unknown we can find ourselves getting frustrated from not getting the information that we want.  I can not tell you the number of times that I have hit my keyboard because my computer would not do what I needed it to do.  And I get completely frustrated.

There have been many times when I have searched on the web and have gotten so much information I just did not know where to start.  Not until I took an ICS class did I understand how to search using search engines.  I learned how to advance search properly.   I do believe that you can feel information overload.

How many times have you stayed up into the wee hours of the morning surfing the web, chatting in a chat room, instant messaging, or playing games?  I bet that every person who has a computer has been guilty of this.  I know people that check their emails three times a day.  I know people that can be on their computers for eight hours solid just surfing or emailing.  This is getting to the point of addiction.  Be aware that this can happen.

The Explanation

Once you become a better internet researcher, the more efficient you will become in identifying what information is valid.  By practicing searches on the internet you should become better at this task.  The more you see the better you will become at critical thinking skills.  You will know how to filter through the untrue information to get to the information that you were seeking.  The more confident you feel about researching on the internet the more you will want to search on the internet.  You will become a life long learner with valuable skills.

3rd Review of Younger Generation:  Ryan Mitsui

Ryan believes there are three phases to learning on the internet:  Phase 1, Confusion, Phase 2, Resistance, Phase 3, Spider Man Phase.  He says no matter how much you are on the internet, no one could possibly know everything.  There is always something to be learned on the internet. 

Ryan says:

"What Ive noticed is that there is some sort of method to learning the internet."

"Learning the internet is a hands on process."

The Confusion Phase

"Remember learning to ride a bike? Its like that, in this phase its all trial and error. If you are a novice like me don't worry, you know what they say, once you've learned to ride a bike you never forget!"

Once again in the beginning, we feel confused and possibly frustrated at certain times.  This is not the time to give up.  Fight the confusion and go on.  The more you practice the better you get.

The Resistance Phase

"Its when we resist learning something new because we are unfamiliar with it. This phase is usually a little harder to detect than the rest because we think of it as just part of being frustrated or confused, actually it is the result, but we need to keep pushing on!"

During this phase it is important not to give up or call it quits.  Just because there is something we are unfamiliar with, does not mean that we can give up.  Remember to ask for help.  Ask fellow students how they are doing.  We all need to learn sometime.

The Spider Man Phase

"Transformation into a web slinger."

"They are like a worm that has blossomed into a butterfly."

 "Or like a baby bird that just learned to fly."

This phase is when we feel comfortable with our computer and the internet.  You no longer get frustrated.  You have confidence when using the internet.  You now want to search for different topics.  You now want to use the computer and the internet as a learning tool.

What I Think

I believe that we all go through these three phases.  I do not know if it is this simple, but we all have felt confusion and have had some resistance to using the internet.  I look at it like a challenge to conquer.  It is sort of a game for me.  I noticed that a few students dropped this class after the first paper was due.  I know they were having problems with all the computer work we have to do.  But instead of getting into it even deeper, they quit.  It is so important to ask others for help.  They also had to learn sometime.  I know before class there are a few of us that discuss our problems and try to work through them together.  Peer support is extremely important. 

The Explanation

Going through these phases is how we are going to learn.  It is part of our process of becoming information literate.  We all, in this class, have become active learners.  During our forum discussions, we transmit our knowledge which includes making our culture part of the process.  We get to hear others perspectives and integrate what we heard into our own knowledge base.  Just as the semester has continued on, I have felt a lot more confident in my work on the internet.  I know my searching has become more in depth.  And I have learned so much from my peers.  I have strong opinions, but my eyes have been opened to new innovative idea's. 

Section 2:  Self-Observation Data

The Forms Of Data

Please visit my 10 forms of Data at:

           Heather's 10 Forms of Data

The instructions for how to fill out the Form is at:

www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy18/g18forms.html

Describe how I gathered the data.  Forum instructions at:

www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy18/g18forum.html

 

The Gathering Of My Data

Through out this semester, I have been researching certain topics on the internet.  Every week is a new search.  I have filled out a self observational form before, during and after the search session.  I have posted ten of my forms for you to read.  These should help in understanding my research skills better.  In these forms, there are questions about feelings and why you have those feelings. 

Filling out these forms seemed to be very tedious and time consuming.  I know that a few of my questions were answered pretty much the same way on all the searches.  I think that in some of my sessions, filling out this long form made me frustrated.  It takes a lot of time.  I never have a lot a time and I can not see the significance of some of the questions.  I never felt rage.  This is not the type of situation and anyone should feel rage.  Why was this question asked?

One part that was not asked on the forms was the search terms that are used in the searches.  This is very important in the acquisition of information.  I think that this is the most important part of a search.  If you do not use the correct terms (for the search engine) than you are not going to get the correct information that you are looking for.  This is when I would start to feel frustrated.  The order of words are important.  Sometimes just changing the order of the words would create the results I was looking for.  Understanding how search engines work is the key.

This is the type of data that would be extremely useful to the system designers and search engine administrators.  Not all people think the same way.  And I have found that very intelligent people (computer whizzes) think in very different ways.  It is important for these companies to understand that.  Making a search engine easier and more friendly to use means that more of us average people will be using that product.    

This Is How My Data Came Out & What I Concluded

Looking at this table I seem to be either hot or cold.  I noticed that my answers all seem to be extreme.  I am either very low on the scale (1-3) and very high on the scale (7-10). 

The average amount of time used per search was 1.63 hours.  I had thought that it took about two hours for each search.  I was pretty close at this estimate.  I guess I know my capabilities when it comes to searching the internet.  I overestimated the amount of time it actually took.  I must be better at this than I actually feel.

Part 1, questions 1-15, on the forms is related to what I expect I am going to find on the internet with each search.  I seem to be very confident that I will succeed in the searches.  My searches were all very important to me because these searches relate to my grade in this class and I need good grades. 

Question 10 was answered the same way in every search.  I believe that the more I do a task the better I will become at that task.  My explanation to number ten was the same on every form;  Practice makes perfect.  I think that this is true for everyone.  If you work hard and practice how could someone not become good at a task.  I put my heart into whatever I am doing at the time.  I seem to be a perfectionist.  I need to have things done the correct way the first time.  By searching the internet for a new topic every week, it is inevitable that I will become good at searching the internet.

Question 13 was answered the same each time I did a search.  Just as I responded on my forms, I know that computers and search engines make it much easier to research topics.  I can not really remember not using computers for research.  I guess we use to have to go to the library and search magazines, journals, and books.  I can not remember the last time I could not search on the internet. 

Part 3, questions 16-23, on the forms was more about my feelings and emotions during my searches.  What is interesting is that I really had no irritation (question 16) with any of my searches.  The only irritation that I felt was trying to come up with some of the terms to use in the search engine.  Once I got on the right track, I never had any more irritation. 

Looking at question 17, I realize the only time I got anxious was when I was limited on time.  I am very busy.  I go to school full time and I have two jobs.  I am always limited on my time.  There were a few times when I would start a search and I only had two hours before I had to go to work.  On these occasions I felt a little anxiety about the lack of time I had. 

The question that I did not understand why it was asked was question 19 about rage felt.  How can anyone have rage during these searches?  Researching on the internet should never cause rage.  There are so many other issues in our world today like, the war with Iraq or the Elizabeth Smart case, that we should be feeling rage about.  Searching on the internet is not one of them.  Frustration may be part of the searches, but not rage.  Maybe because I am a little older than the traditional student, I know that this is not important enough to have rage about.  Maturity must play a part.

Reading my ten forms you will notice that I always start out using Google as my search engine.  In my opinion Google is the BEST!  It is the largest search engine.  I have always had success using this search engine.  Why try to change something that is working?  I do not fix something that is not broken.  Just like in question 22, I believe thoroughly in Google.  I gave this search engine a #10 on all of my searches.  I support it completely.

As you can see from question 25, I think that the quality of the search engine is the most valuable.  I do not believe that luck has to do with searching on the internet.  I do not believe that my search techniques are what is important when looking.  I believe that is the the quality of the database that is used.  If you have a crappy search engine, my search techniques are not going to make the difference.  The search engine is the most important aspect.    

These forms are very tedious to fill out.  I got frustrated filling them out, not with the search.  They take a long time to fill out.  I really do not understand why some question were asked.  And giving an explanation on why I answered a certain way really does not make sense.  That is why there is a scale.  The scale seemed to answer most of my "explanation for the answer" questions.  Maybe in the future, just have the students write an explanation when necessary.  Most of my explanations were just a couple of words like; no rage or not irritated.    

Generation 17 Data VS. Generation 18 Data

Raemie Monces Data VS. Heather Piper's Data

When looking at my data next to Raemie's data, in part 1 our data is pretty similar.  Only on question 10, we have the same answer.  We both believe that the more you practice a certain task the better you will become at that task.  Practice makes perfect. 

My data seems to be a little more extreme that Raemie's data.  Raemie is more average than my answers.  Again I am either hot or cold, not in between.   We both seem to know that each search is going to take an average amount of effort to complete (question 15).  We both know that search engines make it easier for people to find information (question 13).  We both are pretty confident that we will find information on the internet (question 14). 

Raemie seems to have more negative emotions while searching.  I had really low averages in part 3 on the forms.  Raemie did feel rage, irritation, frustration and anxiety much more than I did.  I think this may be due to age.  I am 30 years old and have been married for ten years..  I have much more experience in the world than most students.  I feel that these emotions should not be felt during a search.  I believe these emotions should not be seen when searching.  But there could be rage about the information that is being looked up.

I believe the biggest difference we had was on question 25 regarding the factor that is most important in getting search results.  Raemie thinks that it is the search techniques that was the most important factor in getting results.  I disagree completely.  If you do not have a good database or search engine, your search techniques will not help.  There needs to be a large and diverse search engine to get results.  Now I do believe that my search techniques come into play when using an advance search.  It is important to use the right terms.  But without a good search engine or database there will be on advance searching.

Section 3:  The Psychology of Information Literacy

A Summary Of:  Creating An Online Learning Environment That Fosters
Information Literacy, Autonomous Learning and Leadership

Copy of the paper:  http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/instructor/kcc/kcc97.html

Dr. Leon James has written about his internet integrated college class.  He analyzes every aspect of computer and internet based learning.  Dr. James believes that students go through three phases of learning:        Phase (1) Becoming informational literate

                       Phase (2) Becoming Self Directed Autonomous Learners

                       Phase (3) Exercising Leadership and Inventiveness

The key to Dr. James' success is his "Generational Curriculum".  Each semester a new generation begins.  We are generation 18 (spring 2003).  In the fall 2002, there was generation 17.  And so on.  As each new generation begins a new perspective of learning starts to unwind.  With each new generation, Dr. James has his new students build on prior generations findings.  This is a longitudinal study with a tweak.  There are not the same students every semester.  Every semester new ideas develop and the educational opportunities become greater.  Knowledge is the key and with each new generation stimulating new information is being gathered and a new understanding is gained.

There are three phases in this learning structure.  We are all striving to get to phase three.  Everyone starts out in phase one.  During these three phases that we are trying to conquer, there are three area's that need to be looked at:  affective skills, cognitive skills, and sensorimotor skills. 

Phase one is "Gaining Information Literacy".  This phase is the initial stage of operation.  This is achieved through "generational identification".  The affective part of phase one is when you overcome your fears of the internet and start to get a little self esteem (not quitting).  The cognitive part  of phase one is starting to think about what the other generations wrote about.  The sensorimotor part is starting to participate in the online activities and reading the views from past generations.

Phase two is "Acting As Self-Autonomous Learners".  This phase is acquired through "generational modeling".  Phase one and phase two will overlap a little.  The affective part is by following directions and making a good effort to the project.  The cognitive part of phase two is when the students start to get a style of reasoning (critical thinking) and become part of the active part of the generational problem solvers.  The sensorimotor part of this phase is when the student is following the instructions properly and has an active role in this cyber community as a life long learner.

Phase three is "Acquiring Democratic Leadership Skills".  This phase is gained through "generational loyalty".  The affective role in phase three is when the student is motivated to continue doing inventive and one of a kind, unique ideas.  The cognitive role is when the student has become creative and they are not scared to try more complex activities.  The sensorimotor role in phase three is when the student has benefited the community with new products.  Their role is not to satisfy themselves but to make it better for the community.

How Does My Report Fall Into The Approach Of Dr. James

As you can tell, I went through some of these phases while doing this research report.  At the beginning of the semester, I felt overwhelmed.  I have never had a class that does most of the work on the internet.  My first research topic was on the easiest research topic.  I was not sure what I was doing, so I wanted to try on something that seemed a little easier to find.  As you can tell, this falls right into A1.  I was very nervous trying to post my first research topic.  And I actually posted it in the wrong category, but I did not give up.

As the semester continued, I became much more confident with the work for this course.  In the beginning my research was only one side of the topic.  As I continued to research topics, I became more determined to find what I was looking for.  I started to follow the directions properly and started researching both sides of an issue.  This is what the directions had said in the beginning.  I also started posting more than what was needed.  I was beginning to feel like our forum discussions were a kind of community.  I read other's responses and would respond myself.    I took an active role in our cyber community.  This is definitely in the S2 phase.

Lately in our forum discussions, I have been researching other topics that have had some significance to me.  I have been very interested in some current events going on in our world.  I started choosing topics that I wanted to learn about.  I believe by having this discussion forum, it gives us the perfect opportunity to learn how other people feel.  I wanted to get new opinions and ideas from other people.  I am not afraid to hear opinions other than my own.  It makes me think about idea's in a new light.  This falls into C3 phase.  I started getting a little more creative with my searches and have not been scared to try more complex tasks. 

What Is Information Literacy?

I have been searching the internet for a good definition of information literacy.  I came across this website that clearly explains what this exactly means.  The website is from:  The Association of College & Research Libraries.

www.ala.org/acrl/ilintro.html

To me information literacy is a complex issue.  It is hard to explain in a few sentences.  I believe that information literacy is something that can take years to acquire.  It is something that will have continuous learning attached to it.  As our technology gets better and changes, our information literacy is going to change also.  We will have to improve our information technology skills as technology gets increasing bigger and better.

The first step is to understand what information you exactly are looking for. You need to be able to identify the main points that you are looking for.  It should probably be pretty specific due to the amount of information we have on the internet. 

Next, you need to be able to be a good researcher of the internet.  You will need to have the skills to search efficiently and successfully.  The more searches you do the better searcher you will become.  Always remember - Practice makes Perfect!

Because the internet is so large and anyone can post what ever they want, it is extremely important that you can decipher what is truth and what is fiction.  There are a lot of sites that are just opinion and are not fact.  As you become more information literate, it will become easier to identify what is fiction.  Always question everything.  This may be accomplished by being a critical thinker.  Make sure to check references and the validity of the information.  As good researchers and scientists, this should become second nature for us.

A very important step is to integrate the knowledge gained to our own information base.  Use the information that you learn.  Make sure that we incorporate this new information into our current schema's we have in our heads.  That is why it is so important to make sure the information you are gaining must be truth.

In the end it is extremely essential to recognize the economical, social, and legal issues surrounding the use of this information.  You need to gain this information in a honest and ethical manner.  Try to look at every angle.  Open your eyes and become a critical thinker.  Try to see the big picture. 

Once you have accomplished all of these steps - you can now call yourself information literate.