Learning to Become Internet Literate
Raemie N. Monces
Fall 2002 – Generation 17
Dr. Leon James,
Instructor
Instructions
for this report
Introduction
Self-Observation
Counseling Session
The Psychology of Information Literacy
References
Introduction
This section contains
information based on Internet Literacy of previous students enrolled in
Psychology 409 and 459, instructed by professor Leon James. Three of the seven student’s generational
papers will be reviewed and analyzed as stated in the Generation 17
instructions for this research
report. This section is divided
into 3 parts, which will consist of: Summary, Reaction, and Explanation.
I have chosen student
generational papers from the listed choices, which are: Student
# 2, Student
#3, and Student
#5. Through out all the reports
there is an underlying foundation of phases that develops when a computer
literacy stage is reached, I have termed them as follows: Distress (Affective),
Consider (Cognitive), Hope (Resilience), and Consequence (Sensorimotor).
This also coincides with the
three developmental phases presented by Dr. James Leon in his article
discussing the generational curriculum.
The phases of computer literacy which are as follows:
1)
Becoming
information literate
2)
Becoming
Self-directed autonomous learners
3)
Exercising
leadership and inventiveness.
Each of these sections contains
three separate sub sections involving: affective, cognitive and sensorimotor.
The following definitions
stems from my observance of development that these individuals demonstrated
through their papers. An explanation
for the reasoning behind these terms are stated below.
|
Affective:
Distress |
When
confronted with a stressful stimulus (e.g., computer, Internet etc.) An individual may be faced with feelings of
anxiety. |
|
Cognitive:
Consider |
When the
feeling passes it may cause you to think either positively or negatively
about the situation. In this step a
person decides carefully what he/she will do. Any thoughts considering the stressor. |
|
Resilience:
Hope |
Bouncing
back from a negative occurrence whether it is a feeling or thought requires
hope. Here, an individual can learn
to overcome obstacles or fail in the task staying in a negative spin-cycle. |
|
Sensorimotor:
Consequence |
What ever
the resultant factor of the previous steps will develop in this phase. Computer Literacy evolves into being able
to complete the task and learning from it. |
These are the learning phases developed by myself in
order to organize information clearly and in accordance with the instructions
for this research report.
Student #2
Developmental Patterns For Learning the Internet
Summary
This student seems to have thought that since he had
previously enrolled in a similar class taught by Professor James that the class
that he enrolled in would be, “
a breeze.” This was not the case as he
reported that after the summer break, “if you don't practice for a long period of time, everything you learned
will slowly get away from you.” Although he admits
getting use to the computer was a lot easier since he had previous experience,
He still went through what is termed as the Steps To Learning the Internet.
|
Affective: Distress |
"There were times when I felt like throwing the computer
terminal on the ground because it wasn't doing what it was supposed to do, so
I thought.” |
|
Cognitive: Consider |
“…feel like quitting, dropping the class, or just plain indulging in
chocolate ice cream!” |
|
Resilience: Hope |
“…your
page is starting to come out the way you want them to, you feel a little spark
of confidence that can probably help you to go further because just the
feeling that something finally work may help you want to do more and make
your page look exactly the way you want it to.” |
|
Sensorimotor: Consequence |
"Wow! This page is nice!" |
Reaction
This paper coincides with my experience
as a student who has been enrolled in a previous class of Professor James. I thought that this class would be a lot
easier since I had experience with the Internet from last semester. This student realized that if you are not
constantly working on the computer in specific ways, that you would loose some
knowledge acquired from the previous semester.
I also experienced this as I entered Professor James’s class this
fall. I had forgotten about the FTP,
when last semester I became a whiz at up loading projects. However, I also agree that it was much
easier for me as a previous student to complete tasks instructed by the
professor than it was for new students in this course.
Explanation
The patterns experienced by
this student coincide with three behavioral areas: affective, cognitive, and
sensorimotor; as discussed in the instructor’s
article discussing generational curriculum. The affective was the anger, frustration and defeat, which are
feelings that developed from computer illiteracy. The cognitive is results from the understanding acquired through
learning the process involved in working with the computer. The sensorimotor is the final behavioral
process which engages the student in becoming a part of previous generations
and generations in the future. This also
provides the student with confidence to persist and develop their computer literacy.
Student #3
My Adapting to Internet
Summary
This student viewed
computers as a place to type out homework, however when it came to the Internet
it was a whole other story “Then I heard about going on the Internet, I started
to freak out because I tried to avoid the internet like it was the plague for
years.” Finding e-mail addresses and passwords were
foreign to her. Looking at the year
that these students attended the Psychology 409 classes, an individual might
understand that the Internet had not fully taken off as a popular source for
retrieving information. She referred to
herself several times as being, “Computer Illiterate” Reading her journey
unfold from receiving her e-mail address to actually wanting to e-mail the
professor seemed to be a difficult task for this individual.
At the end of her report it
was interesting to see her metamorphoses of an illiterate caterpillar to a
blooming butterfly. It seemed through
her writing and her experiences that she had learned so much from using the
Internet. She says that, “I've
learned how to create a page on the Internet” not only that but she has an
E-mail address, knows how to create web pages and upload the information. She seems to have found short cuts and links
that will help her in the future. She
seems to be quite computer illiterate in many ways. In the end of the paper she writes:
I just wish I was I computer genius and could do anything on the computer, but then again, Dr.James would probably figure out another way to make me go crazy. I wonder at times if he's only there to make me go crazy to figure out what I need in each file and report. I feel like I'm losing my mind here. Wow, whatever you do, this class is a lot of work for first experiences on the Internet. I wouldn't lie to you, please believe me! Dr. James please slow down because my brain is going into over load.
The ironic thing is that the very thing that made her
crazy is the very thing that will keep her sane in future careers. Understanding the internet and its many uses
benefits us in the year 2002 were everyone young or old has access to the
information super high way.
The phases towards her development are shown in the
table below:
|
Affective: Distress |
“…I started to freak out because I tried to avoid the internet like it was the plague for years” “I feel like I'm losing my mind
here.” |
|
Cognitive: Consider |
“I
thought I was history because that still didn't work.” |
|
Resilience: Hope |
“Hey not so bad, I am still surviving in this class.” |
|
Sensorimotor: Consequence |
“I
learned to overcome my resistance to achieve I [a] new experience in my
life.” |
Finally I will end with this student’s outlook on the
overall process and work learned from this course.
“I came from knowing nothing about this computer age and wanting to drop this class, to getting so much more than I ever imagined to achieve in this course.”
Reaction
This girl has seemed to come out of it in a positive way since she later enrolled in psychology 409 and 499. She also seems optimistic about the Internet and has learned a valuable lesson in life as stated, “I learned to overcome my resistance to achieve I [a] new experience in my life.”
I also could sympathize with her experience as a
student who had no idea on FTP and uploading.
There is a difference in the e-mail that she attained. I had enrolled in an ICS 100 class, which
helped me tremendously in creating a web page and it also provided me with an
e-mail address that I use to this day.
Explanation
Looking at the behavioral perspective of
the three-fold self, which coincides with affective, cognitive and sensorimotor
you will be able to see the process that develops and its relatedness to
computer literacy. This individual went
through the spin-cycle, revolving around negative feelings and thoughts towards
computers. This led her to write
negatively about others and herself and perhaps making it more difficult to
fully accept specific instructions or processes that would help her with using
the computer.
Below are listed words taken from journal entries which illustrate the abundance of negative content: Boy was I wrong and I felt like an idiot, I just made a fool out of myself., Yup, he looked at me like I was stupid or something, I was scared and unsure of myself, I felt lost and confused, I was very irritated and frustrated, I was very irritated and frustrated, I had screwed up, because I was so frustrated and tired of ending up on the Internet at a dead end.
When an individual is
consumed in negativity it is harder for them to consider the positive. Therefore closing their mind to positive
thoughts such as looking at a problem as something to solve, and learn from
instead of a horrific disaster.
Student #5
Christine's Report 2: Developmental Patterns for Learning the Internet
Summary
This student used frustration, anxiety, stress and depression as her key words to using the internet. The main complaint was the uploading time and the writing of links. When she stated her experience in 1995, she seemed curious almost excited as she explains,
“..one night I decided to take a chance and "surf" the net. I found that you could search for anything and anyone on the net. By using the internet yellow pages, I was able to get the address from a friend from long ago. I also was able to do some research for one of my classes via the internet net search engines.”
This is the main reason why I feel that
perhaps the initial reaction of a first time user is distress; a built up
anxiety and anticipation. There are not
necessarily negative effects. She went
on to state that she found an old friend.
Her hope was that she was able to accomplish tasks on the Internet. This would ease her into more positive
feelings the next time she connects to the Internet and “Surf” The web.
The table of new terms
identified by myself is provided below for a clear understanding and quotes
derived from this student’s web page.
|
Affective: Distress |
“I did not know what to do or where
to click” |
|
Cognitive: Consider |
“I decided to take a chance and "surf" the net. I
found that you could search for anything and anyone on the net.” |
|
Resilience: Hope |
“I was able to get the address from a friend from long ago. I also
was able to do some research for one of my classes via the internet net
search engines” |
|
Sensorimotor: Consequence |
“I feel privileged to have the opportunity to learn the internet in a cyber-community as this.” “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.” |
Reaction
I was distressed when I
first began to use the Internet. When
my family purchased a computer, I had installed the software, hooked all the
wiring together, started the e-mail accounts and Internet services. I was excited, and a little anxious because
it was unknown territory. I remember
staying up late until the morning hours, understanding fun programs that could
create greeting cards, letters etc.
When I enrolled in ICS 100 I was so excited with every class, when we
learned how to put together a power point presentation I was blown away.
For some there are a lot of
negative “vibes” with technology and for others there are positive ones. There also could be a difference in
time. When I was growing up as a child,
the schools I had attended offered computer classes. These classes were always fun for me; because I did not have any
kind of electronic games such as Atari, Nintendo, super Nintendo etc. These computers where toys.
Explanation
This paper was different than the rest because there was less negative content. I actually saw what I had hypothesized would be apart of the learning experience. I hypothesized before this that there would be curiosity because of this new experience, coupled with distress because of the unknown. Majority of the reports based its phases on negative feelings and thoughts. I decided to use the behavioral habits as a part of the phases.
In order for a computer
literacy to ensue, a person needs to accomplish each phase. The steps that I termed and defined are
relevant because it provides a process that develops as the learning is taking
place. A person may at first feel
distress but considers the options of positive or negative thinking, which will
help in recognizing or feeling hopeful about the situation. When a person recognizes that there is hope
they are able to fulfill the tasks they need to complete on the Internet or
Computer, therefore furthering their knowledge in computer literacy.
Self-Observation
Explore
Self-Observation that was
compiled over the weeks leading up to this research report was forms. The instructor provided these forms in order
to conduct this report in an empirical way.
To view my data of the forms
click here: G17
Research Report Forms
To view blank forms provided
by instructor click here: G17 Forms
Data Collection
These forms where answered
during internet search sessions for the annotated bibliography and the
discussion topics for the Psychology 459 classes. There are 10 forms across the span of 10 weeks. The forms were filled out from dates
September 26 and up to November 10. My final form was filled by November 9,
2002 in order to finish my Research report.
Majority of the forms were filled out from annotated Bibliography
research. Thursdays are my day off each
week I used the time after class to fill out forms and search the
Internet.
I copied off the forms from
the instructions for the annotated bibliography than I printed out the blank
form, which ended up being about 7 pages long.
I went to a local Kinko’s Xerox store and copied less than 10 forms and
filled out the rest through the saved form on the computer. Filling out the forms by hand and through
the computer made it easier for me to view data.
I did not enjoy filling out
the forms because its repetitiveness in questions. Questions 16, 17, 18, and 19 in part 3 of the form seemed to
intertwine with one another. If you
feel irritation, most likely it is resultant of frustration or anxiety. Rage may have been different, but I would
like to point out that not all of us feel so negatively when searching the
Internet. I find that when it comes
down to compiling, understanding, and writing out the information in an
understandable way, is when I negative feelings ensue.
I also did not like filling
out the Time end at the top of the first page.
I know this makes it easier to read data, however when you are typing
out answers through so many pages, a person would rather right the ending time
at the end of the last page, instead of scrolling to the beginning first
page.
Summary of Data
Part 1: Start of Session
The first part of this
section will consist of information derived from the first part of the
forms. Here I will provide a chart with
averages of the scores and explain what these scores mean in reference to the
questions or explanations. Below I have
provided a chart summarizing data collected over the ten weeks.
|
|
Part 1: Start of
Session |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Question
# |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
26-Sep |
1:00 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
7 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
10 |
9 |
5 |
|
30-Sep |
2:00 |
3 |
9 |
7 |
10 |
10 |
5 |
8 |
10 |
10 |
6 |
|
3-Oct |
2:00 |
3 |
9 |
7 |
9 |
10 |
6 |
9 |
10 |
10 |
7 |
|
4-Oct |
1:00 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
8 |
10 |
7 |
9 |
10 |
10 |
5 |
|
10-Oct |
2:00 |
8 |
7 |
5 |
3 |
10 |
7 |
9 |
7 |
6 |
7 |
|
12-Oct |
1:00 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
10 |
5 |
3 |
7 |
4 |
3 |
|
24-Oct |
2:00 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
10 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
8 |
3 |
|
30-Oct |
2:00 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
7 |
10 |
7 |
1 |
9 |
8 |
1 |
|
5-Nov |
1:00 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
10 |
6 |
3 |
10 |
7 |
4 |
|
9-Nov |
2:00 |
3 |
6 |
4 |
8 |
10 |
4 |
2 |
9 |
5 |
3 |
|
Average |
1:37 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
7 |
10 |
6 |
6 |
9 |
8 |
6 |
The average amount of time
spent on the computer was 1 hour and 42 minutes this corresponds with question
#5 and the anticipated time spent on the computer. When looking on the Internet for topics that I need for reports I
do not spend the majority of my time on the Internet. Instead I look for interesting articles and then cut and paste
them to Microsoft word, so that I can analyze them easier at another time.
Some of the averages that
stand out amongst the rest are in question #10. I had answered with a 10 every time. For each answer my explanation remained the same, because I am
convinced that anyone if they work hard can become pretty good or better at
something they were unsuccessful at before.
I may not have understood this question, in the way that the
questionnaire intended.
I noticed also that I seem
to be very confident before the task, however the amount of effort is not
necessarily that high. I suppose I
could have been in a good mood, but did not want to try as hard as I felt. I also noticed the scores for #15 seem to
increase up to the annotated bibliography.
I attribute this to the need for more articles on the content I would be
using for the annotated bibliography.
Part 3: End of Session
I have summarized and averaged the scores from
questions 16-25 in this part of the data summary, below:
|
|
Part 3: End of Session |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Question
# |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
|
26-Sep |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
8 |
9 |
4 |
5 |
c |
|
30-Sep |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
8 |
10 |
1 |
5 |
c |
|
3-Oct |
10 |
2 |
10 |
10 |
9 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
8 |
b |
|
4-Oct |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
b |
|
10-Oct |
8 |
6 |
8 |
8 |
7 |
5 |
3 |
10 |
8 |
b |
|
12-Oct |
4 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
b |
|
24-Oct |
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
9 |
7 |
1 |
3 |
b |
|
30-Oct |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
9 |
5 |
b |
|
5-Nov |
4 |
9 |
7 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
9 |
4 |
b |
|
9-Nov |
3 |
7 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
10 |
7 |
c |
|
Average |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
b |
I noticed that I seem to be
a very optimistic person when considering the scores that correspond to frustration,
anxiety, irritation and rage (#16-19).
This could be that I do not usually get angry when looking for
information, unless the information is something that I do not like. For instance when analyzing the form that I
did research on pornography and rage, I noticed that I was upset with the
search engine. It did not provide me
with specific or relevant information towards my task.
I also noticed that I became
unsupportive of the search engine I was using as the weeks or sessions went
on. I believe this is due to the fact
that I was not satisfied with the results that google was producing. I was disappointed that children would be
able to access pornography through typing in “Funny Jokes” or “Funny Jokes
Family”. This lost my faith in the search
engine and its ability to produce valid information. =
The reason why I did not
choose (a) for question 25 was that I do not believe in luck, more in
providence. However, even if I did I
still would have answered with the average being (b). I think I changed my mind as the weeks persisted about search
engines and their relevance. I think it
is the person and their capability in finding specific information to a topic
that helps the most.
Conclusion
Computer and Search Engines
I noticed that the main
search engine I used was www.google.com. This search engine is the only one that has
provided me with somewhat relevant results.
I realize that I may have developed a habit of always going directly to
that search engine whenever information is needed, therefore I did not try to
find information elsewhere. This is not
a good thing because I did not further my knowledge in finding information over
the internet and it limited my searches to results produced by google. There may have been information else where
that might have provided me with much more interesting applicable information.
I have found that going to
web sites that cater to specific information helped me quite a bit in finding
information suitable for reports. If I
stayed with in the results of the google search engine, I would not have apa
journals or articles that was much more relevant than home pages set up by
individuals with no concept on my topic.
Counseling Session
Summary
The counseling session began a little later than anticipated because the experimenter wanted to wait for the second participant to arrive. The participant did not show up, so the woman conducting the experiment went on to explain what was expected of me during the session. The advisor of the experiment asked me to find three separate topics in the search engine www.vivisimo.com. I was given a 10-minute time limit to accomplish each task. Before the session began I was given a consent form along with a questionnaire form pertaining to my feelings about the tasks ahead of me. Anxiety was well with in me because I had never heard of information regarding these specific tasks that I was to accomplish.
Through out the session I was able to ask the advisor for any help needed in completing the tasks. I also filled out questions to another form after each task was completed. The first two tasks were a breeze, however when it came to finding information about the use of money from tobacco settlements, I was unable to complete the question.
When the session was over, I filled out once again another form that consisted of similar questions to the form at the beginning of the session and to the g17 research report forms that the students needed to complete for this course. As the session came to an end, the experimenter asked if there were any questions that I had about the counseling session or anything else pertaining to the session. I had asked her several questions regarding vivisimo and she explained the use of clustering provided by the search engine. In regards to computer literacy, I had realized that I was not as informative about retrieving information as I thought I was.
What did I Learn?
The counseling session
provided me an opportunity to ask the experimenter questions with my research
technique. I was not evaluated on the
technique that I chose to find information, therefore I did not know if there
were ways to speed up my search finding times.
I did learn about a new
search engine, www.vivisimo.com that
provides clustering as a service to people that choose to search there. I also found that I seemed to be anxious,
frustrated, and irritated with the computer or myself when there is someone
looking over my shoulder and evaluating me.
I wanted to find answers to the three questions that were provided for
me, as if I was in competition with someone else, but I was the only person
participating in the room.
It provided me with a new
outlook in regards to information literacy.
Because there was an innumerable amount of information that derived from
the searches, using www.vivisimo.com was
an excellent way to improve on search results finding relevant information
towards topics that are being researched.
Suggestions
When searching the internet,
do not use one search engine to find each topic. If you use a specific search engine, look at the results and pick
one that seems relevant to you. From
that web page look and see if there are any suggested links or if there are any
organizations associated with your line of research (e.g., American Psychological
Association). Sometimes search engines
are not as adequate as you think.
If you are enrolled in a
class such as this one that revolves around distance education learning, it is
wise to be organized and set your goals each week. This class definitely teaches you a sense of responsibility,
meaning there is not a professor explaining what is going on each week of the
class with mid terms and final exams handed out through out the semester. This class is mentally and physically
demanding, therefore you must ensure that you are constantly at work so that
you will not be bombarded at the deadline of specific assignments.
The Psychology of Information
Literacy
Article Summary
This article presented by
Dr. James in 1997, was resultant of “analyzing various aspects of an online
generational community of students” (Dr.
James) enrolled in his psychology courses.
The class structure is built on distance independent education. Through this style of teaching a passive
student may arise and evolve into an active one. One way to create an active learner is through integrating
technology via the Internet as stated by an article presented by Linn. At this time no one could comprehend the
magnitude of beneficial consequences that would take place from such
learning. Linn however evaluated and
explained beautifully the potential of an online environment towards creating
“autonomous learners”.
Dr. James realized long
before that in order for students to attain the best academic education
possible there would have to be changes made towards the traditional setting of
“classrooms”. Taking the time and
placing the effort in to creating online generational communities heightened
the educational standard.
Several of the first
generations gave way to analysis conducted by Dr. James through reports up
loaded on the Internet. He found that
there were several dimensions in an online environment and that students would
go through three specific phases during the course of the semester. This is outlined in Appendix 1 of the Taxonomy
of Instructional Objectives for the Online Generational Curriculum.
Taxonomy
of Instructional Objectives for the Online Generational Curriculum
I have diagramed a triangle
as a visual figure in order to enhance this report and also as an “autonomous
learner” use my creativity and innovativeness to explain my understanding of
Dr. James article’s content about Taxonomy of Instructional Objectives.
The article maintain the
fact that, “Phase 2 will start at some point and will overlap with phase
1.” Through the diagram a person
may be able to see that the foundation for computer literacy involves these
basic components (phase 1 and phase 2) as shown at the two bottom ends of the
illustration. As stated in the article,
“As learners become literate in their chosen field (phase 1), they need to
learn how to continue learning (phase 2) by becoming self-directed learners.”
The sides of the triangle
connecting these phases represents, “Identifying (phase 1), modeling (phase
2), and showing loyalty (phase 3) …activities that go on more or less
simultaneously as the novice is transformed into an expert.” Understand that with in each phase lie the
three behavioral components that occur during the learning process.
Phase 3, is placed at the
top of the triangular figure in order to demonstrate another point presented by
Dr. James that there is a “progression of objectives.” The progression towards phase 3 through the
foundations of phase 1 and phase 2 is the reasoning behind placing phase 3 at
the top of the diagram. Phase 3 is said
to contain, “cognitive activities that become more complex and creative.”
And that “Excellence is achieved”
|
Phase 1: Becoming information
literate, which involves the external element surrounding the three
behavioral objectives of affective (a), cognitive (c), and sensorimotor (s). (a)
Improving self-efficacy expectations and overcoming
technophobia (b)
Acquiring disciplinary content and culture (s) Acting as a generational
carrier or citizen and transmitter of
knowledge and culture |
|
|
|
Phase 2: Becoming self-directed
autonomous learners, is an intermediate stage that will overlap phase 1 at
some point. Through phase 1 the
continuation of learning rests up on phase 2, therefore creating an
“autonomous learner”. (a) Modeling
previous generations, acquiring sustained effort towards project completion (b) Acquiring
critical thinking skills and Adopting Professional-like assessment criteria (s) Achieving continuity in education and acting as a
lifelong learner |
|
|
|
Phase 3: Exercising leadership
and practicing inventiveness through generational loyalty involves
internalization procedures that ensue. (a) Becoming
self oriented and Acquiring the motivation to be an innovator (c) Creativity within a
disciplinary context (s) Achieving excellence |
Relevance
The Generational Curriculum
phases were steps that were achieved through out this course. The material beginning of the semester
integrated the phase 1 approach of familiarizing students with criteria of the
class and how they attain those goals through resources provided by the
professors web site or through the CLICK lab.
These small tasks, such as e-mailing the professor, submitting weekly
discussions, looking at previous work compiled by past generations, and
uploading a home page, are in concordance with phase 1 of becoming information
literate through generational identification.
Through this process a
student had the opportunity and time to become information literate, all the
while they were engaged in phase 2 objectives.
These objectives consisted of becoming self-directed Autonomous learners
through generational modeling. These
were fulfilled through reports that needed to be up loaded and researched via
the Internet. Through this process the
student needed to be in control of how and when data would be compiled,
analyzed, reported and uploaded by specific deadlines.
The final process of
completing reports involves phase 3, exercising leadership and practicing
inventiveness through generational loyalty.
Here they can display their work in a creative, innovative way achieving
excellence. Resulting in becoming apart
of a generational community.
This research report is an
outcome of the three phases of instructional objectives, which were achieved
through out this semester. Through this
report and others like it I was able to develop into an “active learner” which
is a part of the curriculum goals.
Below are the specific phases relevant towards this report:
|
Phase 1: Becoming Information Literate Through Generational Identification |
a) Up-loading and accomplishing research material via Internet c) Reviewing and Analyzing previous generational papers s) Reporting on information through G17 forms and presenting data in a knowledgeable way. |
|
Phase 2: Becoming Self-Directed Autonomous Learners Through Generational Modeling |
a) Keeping forms and data through out the course of the semester c) Analyzing self-data and others responses and reporting it in an understandable, educational way. s) Being able to locate and manage data produces life-long benefits in learning |
|
Phase 3: Exercising Leadership and Practicing Inventiveness Through Generational Loyalty |
a) Creating a report with new ideas through technology and acquired information, such as (diagram of Taxonomy and Specific backgrounds, clip art etc.) c) Originality by up-loaded report, through critical reasoning and cognitive appraisals of information obtained. s) Finalizing and producing a research report that has a theme that coincides with provided terms, reflection and personal analyses. |
“Information Literacy”
The Internet is commonly termed the “information super highway” the term
is rightly given where currently search engines can consist of 35.8 million web
documents. There is a myriad of
informational sources and ways of retrieving such information. Because of the over abundance of information
and a quest for life-long learning, an individual must be educated in ways of
attaining, analyzing and reporting such knowledge.
A key component to strive to
better ourselves and enable life-long learning would be through information
literacy. Information literacy refers
to mastering the techniques towards finding valid information while having the
ability to think critically by analyzing the data and being able to report such
data in an effective way enhances towards the development of an individual
psychologically. This is simply stated, however the process in order to achieve
this state is one that many are in need to learn.
Information literacy enables
an individual to become more knowledgeable about the information surrounding
them. Being able to be information literate
calls for an individual to be cognitively aware that much of the “information”
in existence today is not all relevant or credible in cases for empirical
study. The quality of the sources and
recognizing relevant information plays a role in their success as a life-long
learner.
When information is obtained
being able to classify its relevance along with analysis of data retrieved accounts
for another part of the information literacy process. Doing this in an educated way shapes the individual to mastering such
tasks, becoming self-directed and gaining control over their learning.
In academic institutions
such as universities, information literacy plays an intricate part in the
learning process, thereby creating individuals that can be classified as “active
learners”; having the ability to reason and critically think about collected
information. This is the foundation for creating life-long learners in learning
environments.
Connection
In this information
technologically driven society, we must be aptly prepared to decipher what
specific information goals we need to attain.
This research report is a resultant factor of information derived
through information literacy in accordance with the general curriculum.
Through the learning
objectives presented by the generational curriculum, information literacy is
achieved. Through out this research
report I have compiled information pertaining to four specific sections titled:
Introduction, Self-Observation Data, Counseling Session and The Psychology of Information
Literacy.
It was Dr. James intent that
three basic phases be fulfilled throughout the course of the semester. It was through these objectives that this
research report was created, finalized and up-loaded. Becoming information literate was the first domain in the
generational curriculum, this was accomplished through specific tasks and
assignments specified by professor James.
It was from these specific tasks that students were able to familiarize
themselves with computers, Internet and retrieval of information via the
internet or other sources.
Information literacy and phase
2 of the generational curriculum involves becoming self-directed autonomous
learners this coincides with the way the research report was conducted. Through
my own initiative, forms and data were compiled, organized and analyzed by
myself. I contributed my thoughts and
hypothesis towards specific topics therefore creating the finalized
report.
With out the generational curriculum,
information literacy would not be achieved therefore making it impossible to complete
a research report such as this. All are
interwoven into the fabric of a life-long learner.
Closing Remarks
For Future Generations
As a student previously
enrolled in Psychology 409 and currently enrolled in Psychology 459, which are
both instructed by Professor James. I
understand the amount of work and dedication needed to succeed in class such as
this. The beginning was the most
difficult in regards to understanding the “ins and outs” of working with the
Internet. However, the enjoyment and
satisfaction of gaining information literacy, becoming an autonomous learner
and being apart of a specific generation that will forever be afloat in the
vast seas of the internet, out weighs many negative feelings experienced
through out this course.
I honestly feel a sense of
pride knowing that all my hard work will not end up on the floor along with
other reports compiled over the years, but be accessible for others to read,
learn, enjoy or model after. I have
found that in my years of attending college, I have not received this much training
in becoming an information literate person.
I have honestly put in hours, evolving my thoughts and work, which
benefited me in countless ways. I am
positive that the knowledge gained through the generational curriculum set by
Dr. James has created with in me, a life-long learner.
Instructions for the Research Report Internet. November 14, 2002, available http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy17/g17research.html.
Generational Curriculum Internet. November 14, 2002, available http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/instructor/kcc/kcc97.html
Developmental Patterns For Learning the Internet Internet. November 14, 2002. available http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/409af96/malonzo/report2.html
My Adapting to Internet Internet. November 14, 2002. available http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/409af96/cohta/459/report2.html
Christine's Report 2: Developmental Patterns for
Learning the Internet Internet.
November 14, 2002. available http://www.soc.Hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/409af96/march/409/report2.html
G17 Research Report Forms Internet. November 14, 2002, available http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy17/forms.html
Raemie’s G17 Research Report Forms Internet. November 14, 2002. available http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/459f2002/raemie/forms.htm
Information Literacy
Competency Standards for Higher Education Internet. November 14, 2002. available http://www.ala.org/acrl/ilintro.html
