Rafael Scapin will present a 2-hour workshop on digital literacy and effective online searching. The workshop will cover techniques for searching, gathering, and evaluating online information using keywords, Boolean operators, and specialized search engines. It will also discuss evaluating websites based on criteria like authority, purpose, coverage, currency, objectivity and accuracy. The workshop aims to improve participants' ability to efficiently locate and critically assess information online.

1. EMSB Leading & Learning in the 21st Century Conference
April 12th, 2013
Digital Literacy:
Learning How to Search and Evaluate Information
Rafael Scapin, Ph.D.
Coordinator of Educational Technology
Dawson College

2. Content
Digital Literacy is the ability to effectively
and critically navigate, evaluate and create
information using a range of digital
technologies.
This practical 2-hour workshop will present
techniques on how to effectively search,
gather and evaluate online information.

3. Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nZkq31J-GY

9. Source: Go-Globe.com

10. Source: Go-Globe.com

11. InfoWhelm
Source: http://youtu.be/7ECAVxbfsfc

12. Survey
Go to:
http://Pollev.com

13. Survey
Google: 19627
Bing: 19630
Yahoo! 19676
Other: 83342

15. There is also Bing!
Source: http://bing.com

16. Bing vs Google
Source: http://www.bing-vs-google.com/

17. Digital Literacy
Source: http://21cif.com/resources/difcore/index.html

18. Locating Information
Locating Information Efficiently
What Information Am I Looking For?
Where Will I Find the Information?
How Will I Get There?
Source: http://21cif.com/resources/difcore/index.html

19. Searching on the Web

20. Google Search by Language
Source: http://data-arts.appspot.com/globe-search

21. How Google Search Works
Source: http://youtu.be/BNHR6IQJGZs

22. How Google Search Works
Source: http://www.google.com/insidesearch/howsearchworks/thestory/

23. Searching on the Web
Infotopia: Student-Friendly Search Engine
Source: http://www.infotopia.info/

24. Google Search: Tricks
Source: http://mashable.com/2011/11/24/google-search-infographic/

25. Google Search: Tricks
Source: http://easilymused.com/2012/03/google-search-results-too-good-to-be-true-heres-why/
Source: http://www.google.ca/insidesearch/tipstricks/all.html
http://www.powersearchingwithgoogle.com/course/ps/assets/PowerSearc
hingQuickReference.pdf

26. Searching Strategies
Identify Keywords
Ignore the “small” words (what, are, the, etc.), words
connected to time (sometimes, always, perhaps, often, etc.)
and words that show relation (effects, lead to, increases,
etc.)
Example:
What are the effects of media on bullying among children?
Main concepts
Source: http://www.unlockingresearch.com/search-strategies/identify-keywords/

27. Searching Strategies
Now find some synonyms
Different authors will use different words to write about
their topics.
http://www.synonym.com/
Source: http://www.unlockingresearch.com/search-strategies/identify-keywords/

28. Searching Strategies
Fill in a Keyword Chart
Source: http://www.unlockingresearch.com/search-strategies/identify-keywords/

29. Searching Strategies
Combine Keywords (or, and not)
OR combines your synonyms and related terms to find
documents that contain any or all of the words. It broadens
your search and produces more results.
Example: Car OR vehicle
http://www.unlockingresearch.com/search-strategies/combine-keywords/

30. Searching Strategies
Combine Keywords (or, and not)
AND combines your different concepts to find only the
documents that contain all of the keywords. It narrows
your search and produces fewer results.
Example: Car AND fuel
http://www.unlockingresearch.com/search-strategies/combine-keywords/

31. Searching Strategies
Combine Keywords (or, and not)
NOT followed by a keyword will exclude all the
documents that contain that particular word. It is a
way of avoiding unrelated articles. Use it with caution
as you may miss out on potentially useful material.
Example: Drugs NOT heroin
http://www.unlockingresearch.com/search-strategies/combine-keywords/

32. Example of Keyword Chart
Source: http://www.unlockingresearch.com/search-strategies/identify-keywords/

33. More Tips
Truncation (*, ?)
Truncation will find all the variants of a word.
For example child* will find child, children, and
childhood.
This saves you time. If your research is looking at how
poverty affects children, the search statement would
be:
poverty AND child*
Always check the help page of the database to know
the correct symbol to use.

34. More Tips
Grouping
Grouping will create a more focused search.
Quotations “ ”
Quotations allow you to search for an exact
phrase. The search will only bring back results
that contain that phrase.
Example:
street kids 1,025,026 results
“street kids” 6,416 results

35. Too Many Results?
Your search come up with 1,760 results?
Make your topic more specific by asking questions:
Who? Who is involved, who is affected? If you’re
interested in poverty be more specific: poverty in
single-parent families.
Where? Are you interested in data from Canada?
When? Are you researching the last 5 years or
during the 1960s?
http://www.unlockingresearch.com/search-strategies/too-many-results/

36. Too Many Results?
Modify your search by adding, removing or changing your
keywords:
Add in your other concepts using the AND Boolean
operator when necessary.
Remember that AND will narrow your search by making it
more specific.
Example: drug abuse AND sports
Use a different keyword from your list of synonyms
Example: substance abuse instead of drug abuse
Enter fewer synonyms or try a narrower term
Example: teenagers instead of youth

37. Too Few Results?
Modify your search by adding, removing or changing your
keywords:
Add in your other concepts using the AND Boolean
operator when necessary.
Remember that AND will narrow your search by making it
more specific.
Example: drug abuse AND sports
Use a different keyword from your list of synonyms
Example: substance abuse instead of drug abuse
Enter fewer synonyms or try a narrower term
Example: teenagers instead of youth

38. Too Few Results?
Add in more synonyms or related terms.
The more related terms you have the broader your search
will be. These are words connected by the OR Boolean
operator.
Use the truncation symbol to get all the variants of a word.
Example: aggress* will get you aggressive, aggression,
aggressiveness.
http://www.unlockingresearch.com/search-strategies/too-few-results/

39. Google Power Searching Courses
Improve your Google search skills with our Power Searching
and Advanced Power Searching online courses.
Source: http://www.powersearchingwithgoogle.com/

40. Specialized Search Engines
Google Images: is a search service that allows users to search
the Web for image content.
http://images.google.com

41. Specialized Search Engines
Google Scholar: Provides a search of scholarly literature across many
disciplines and sources, including theses, books, abstracts and articles.
http://scholar.google.com

42. Specialized Search Engines
Google News: A news aggregator selecting most up-to-date
information from thousands of publications by an automatic aggregation
algorithm.
http://news.google.com

43. Specialized Search Engines
Google Books: searches the full text of books and magazines that
Google has scanned, converted to text using optical character recognition,
and stored in its digital database
http://books.google.com

44. Specialized Search Engines
Google Blog Search: specialized service of Google which
is used to search blogs.
http://www.google.ca/blogsearch

45. Specialized Search Engines
Youtube: a video sharing website
http://youtube.com

46. Specialized Search Engines
Slideshare: a slide hosting website
http://slideshare.com

47. Specialized Search Engines
Find Sounds: a free site where you can search the Web for sound
effects.
http://www.findsounds.com/

48. Specialized Search Engines
IMDb: online database of information related to films, actors, television
programs, and video games.
http://www.imdb.com

49. Specialized Search Engines
Wikipedia: a collaboratively edited, multilingual, free Internet
encyclopedia supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation.
26 million articles in 286 languages
A 2005 investigation
in Nature showed that the science
articles they compared came close to
the level of accuracy of Encyclopædia
Britannica and had a similar rate of
"serious errors“.
Source:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v438/n7070/full
/438900a.html
http://www.wikipedia.org

50. Evaluating Information
Source: http://www.theonion.com/articles/apple-announces-plans-for-new-ipad-with-extra-stor,31067/

51. Evaluating Information: 6 Criteria for Websites
1. AUTHORITY
Authority reveals that the person, institution or agency responsible for a
site has the qualifications and knowledge to do so. Evaluating a web site for
authority:
Authorship: It should be clear who developed the site.
Contact information should be clearly provided: e-mail address, snail mail
address, phone number, and fax number.
Credentials: the author should state qualifications, credentials, or personal
background that gives them authority to present information.
Check to see if the site supported by an organization or a commercial body
http://libraries.dal.ca/using_the_library/tutorials/evaluating_web_resources/6_criteria_for_websites.html

52. Evaluating Information: 6 Criteria for Websites
2. PURPOSE
The purpose of the information presented in the site should be
clear. Some sites are meant to inform, persuade, state an opinion,
entertain, or parody something or someone. Evaluating a web site
for purpose:
• Does the content support the purpose of the site?
• Is the information geared to a specific audience (students,
scholars, general reader)?
• Is the site organized and focused?
• Are the outside links appropriate for the site?
• Does the site evaluate the links?
http://libraries.dal.ca/using_the_library/tutorials/evaluating_web_resources/6_criteria_for_websites.html

53. Evaluating Information: 6 Criteria for Websites
3. COVERAGE
It is difficult to assess the extent of coverage since depth in a site,
through the use of links, can be infinite. One author may claim
comprehensive coverage of a topic while another may cover just
one aspect of a topic. Evaluating a web site for coverage:
• Does the site claim to be selective or comprehensive?
• Are the topics explored in depth?
• Compare the value of the site’s information compared to other
similar sites.
• Do the links go to outside sites rather than its own?
• Does the site provide information with no relevant outside
links?
http://libraries.dal.ca/using_the_library/tutorials/evaluating_web_resources/6_criteria_for_websites.html

54. Evaluating Information: 6 Criteria for Websites
4. CURRENCY
Currency of the site refers to:
1) how current the information presented is, and
2) how often the site is updated or maintained. It is important to
know when a site was created, when it was last updated, and if all
of the links are current.
http://libraries.dal.ca/using_the_library/tutorials/evaluating_web_resources/6_criteria_for_websites.html

55. Evaluating Information: 6 Criteria for Websites
5. OBJECTIVITY
Objectivity of the site should be clear.
Beware of sites that contain bias or do not admit its bias freely.
Objective sites present information with a minimum of bias.
Evaluating a web site for objectivity:
• Is the information presented with a particular bias?
• Does the information try to sway the audience?
• Does site advertising conflict with the content?
• Is the site trying to explain, inform, persuade, or sell
something?
http://libraries.dal.ca/using_the_library/tutorials/evaluating_web_resources/6_criteria_for_websites.html

56. Evaluating Information: 6 Criteria for Websites
6. ACCURACY
Evaluating a web site for accuracy:
• Reliability: Is the author affiliated with a known, respectable
institution?
• References: do statistics and other factual information receive
proper references as to their origin?
• Does the reading you have already done on the subject make
the information seem accurate?
• Is the information comparable to other sites on the same
topic?
• Does the text follow basic rules of grammar, spelling and
composition?
• Is a bibliography or reference list included?
http://libraries.dal.ca/using_the_library/tutorials/evaluating_web_resources/6_criteria_for_websites.html

57. Sharing Files
Source: http://drive.google.com/start

58. Social Bookmarking
Browser widget
Source: http://delicious.com

59. Content Curation
Source: http://www.scoop.it

60. Content Curation
Source: http://www.livebinders.com

61. Digital Literacy
Source: http://www.medialiteracyweek.ca/en/press_articles10_digitalliteracycanada.htm

62. Practical Example: Learning Situation
Multicultural Potluck Festival
Your class is composed by students from different countries. They will
organize an annual potluck, with typical foods from their countries.
• You will make a list of all the countries.
• Students cannot select their own country, so they can learn other
countries’ foods and culture.
• A draw will define which country will be assigned to each student.
• The students will: research the most popular foods of each country,
learn how to prepare them and how to pronounce them on the
original language, prepare a poster with info on the selected country,
like flag, map, languages spoken, etc.
Adapted from: http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/sections/formationBase/pdf/doc/41-6014-A_EnglishLI.pdf

63. Practical Example: Learning Situation
Multicultural Potluck Festival
Algeria Australia
Brazil Haiti
India
Adapted from: http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/sections/formationBase/pdf/doc/41-6014-A_EnglishLI.pdf

64. Using Google Translate to Order Food
Source: http://youtu.be/wxDRburxwz8

65. Searching on the Web: Google Nose
Source: http://youtu.be/9-P6jEMtixY

66. Resources
21st Century Information Fluency: http://21cif.com/index.html
Unlocking Research: http://www.unlockingresearch.com/search-strategies/
Google’s Digital Literacy Tour: http://www.google.com/edu/resources/digital-literacy.html
Evaluating
http://www.googleguide.com/evaluating_results.html
Google Power Searching Course:
http://www.powersearchingwithgoogle.com/
Google Search Quick Reference
http://www.powersearchingwithgoogle.com/course/ps/assets/PowerSearchingQuickRefere
nce.pdf

67. Questions

68. Contact Me
Rafael Scapin, Ph.D.
rscapin@dawsoncollege.qc.ca
rscapin
DawsonITE Blog
http://dawsonite.dawsoncollege.qc.ca