Teacher statements that Students get excited about :

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Teacher statements that Students get excited
about

• I am not going to be here next class
• Yes, we are watching a video today
• Yes, go ahead and use your notes on this exam
• Yes, this is a shortened period

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"WE'RE GOIN' TO THE (COMPUTER) LAB!!!"
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Digital Literacy in 2006 How Digitally
Literate is this generation? Are we doing
enough?

• Steve Erxleben
• ISTC 651

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Digital Literacy

• Includes skills that demonstrate the ability to
  access and manipulate the broad range of
  resources available online with a critical
  evaluation of their importance to a task
• A students level of Digital Literacy also
  extends into other literacies and accesses to
  information

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• Computer literacy the ability of a student to
  effectively use a personal computer to
  manipulate, create, and view documents
• Network literacy the ability of a student to
  access information as part of a network, such as
  the World Wide Web
• Overall, these concepts and the skills attributed
  to them are designed to allow students to develop
  skills and techniques for the acquisition of
  authoritative information that can be applied to
  an already defined task at hand

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• According to Paul Glister, a noted columnist and
  writer of 5 books on the Internet and education
  believes Digital literacy is not limited to
  text. It includes video, audio, and digital
  images. More importantly, users of digital
  information must construct meaning from multiple
  sources and communicate these newly constructed
  pieces of knowledge to others."

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Our Patrons Generation Y

• Also called Millenials, Generation Y
  constitutes those who were born in the early to
  mid 1990s
• 33 larger than the Baby-Boomer era, Generation Y
  is made up of 80,000,000 Americans as of the 2000
  census
• This makes it the largest Generation in United
  States History

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More characteristics of Millenials

• According to the U.S. Department of Education
• 28 of high school students access foreign news
  sources via the Internet
• 94 of online teens use the Internet for
  school-related research
• 90 of children between the ages of 5 and 17 use
  computers
• This makes Generation Y digital natives,
  while other generations are still digital
  immigrants

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Mental Characteristics of Generation Y

• According to a study done at the University of
  Kansas the following characteristics can be
  applied to Generation Y when evaluating their
  mental habits
• Diverse/Multicultural Thinking (Political
  Correctness)
• Computers are not considered Technology

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• Appear confident in their thoughts and value
  teamwork
• Feel special or chosen, but also appear pressured
  and show an panic when working under adversity
• The internet is more entertaining than T.V. or
  Radio
• Dont consider computers technology
• Value Multitask
• No patience for Delays

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Are They Digitally Literate

• Most skeptics of the current generation would
  agree that the digital and technological
  abilities (on the surface) for generation Y
  seem high due to the advancement of technology
  and its uses and applications in the working
  world
• However, according to Scott Walter at the
  university of Kansas, skill does not equal
  literacy in the digital world

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• According to Walter, a disconnection has
  developed between skill and literacy in the
  abilities of many Millenials
• This is because Millenials feel that they are
  not only entitled to all technology and
  information, due to the fact that it is free, but
  also they view themselves as more
  technologically savvy than their teachers
• Critical Thinking skills and appropriate academic
  computer and web needs are the items that are
  forgotten and taken for granted by this generation

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What is being done in School Libraries to Improve
Digital Literacy?

• According to Carol Brown and the American
  Association of School Libraries, a main issue for
  the collaboration between the school Library and
  the classroom teacher is the use of information
  to transform, rather than merely inform students
  and patrons in these times of a focus on student
  achievement and the school Librarys role in it.

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• A major step in this process was the recognizing
  of information literacy as a theme in education
  and the specific literacy types that fall under
  this overall theme, such as Digital Literacy,
  play a role in student achievement
• The impact of No Child Left Behind also has
  forced Librarians, teachers, parents, and
  students to focus on the skills that are needed
  to pass achievement exams and that the efficient
  use of technology and network-based sources in
  education can and should play a significant role
  in a childs preparation

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School Library Response

• According to the A.A.S.L. school libraries have
  redesigned their position with students and have
  focused on better collaboration with teachers and
  the curriculum
• They have also, and more importantly, focused on
  the digital skills needed to effectively succeed
  as a part of a school achievement program

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• To achieve this, school libraries are adopting
  certain Information Literacy models to better
  enhance the instruction and manipulation of
  digital sources
• Most of these models are arranged relatively the
  same, with a needs assessment occurring initially
  to evaluate the skills and themes needed and if
  it fits the student population
• The needs assessment is followed by a defined
  task for research, a researching strategy, and
  the collection of information from a variety of
  sources

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• After the collection of information, students are
  now, as a new element in digital literacy, being
  asked to critically evaluate sources for age,
  source, and relation to the already defined task
• The last steps of the process include a formal
  application and solving of the task as well as a
  reflection on not only the sources, but also on
  the strategies used in the information collection

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Popular Models

• Models like the Big 6 have become prominent
  throughout many K-12 school libraries
• According to the A.A.S.L., IMPACT-3 is the model
  they support due to the fact they believe it
  aligns itself with the Information Power
  technology standards, another adjustment for the
  promotion of digital literacy

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Other methods to promote Digital Literacy

• Marc Prensky, author of the book Dont Bother me
  Mom, Im Learning has developed interactive
  computer and cell phone games under his
  corporation Games2train.com in an attempt to
  promote Digital literacy

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• In cooperation with companies such as Pfizer,
  Nokia, and the U.S. department of Commerce,
  Game2train.coms mission is to provide a more
  effective solution to training, marketing, and
  communication by bringing the engagement of
  videogames and computer games to as many learning
  processes and markets as possible, in order to
  make the boring fun. (http//www.games2train.c
  om/site/default.html)

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Reasons why Students should be more Digitally
Literate

• A legitimate concern and recognition by
  Educators and Librarians
• An emphasis by educators, librarians, and the
  U.S. government to change and accept the
  influence of the 21st century
• The design of new theories, methods, resources
  and EXPECTATIONS for the betterment of digital
  literacy BY EVERY MEMBER OF Generation Y and
  its place in todays workforce and academia

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Are they getting it???

• According to two studies, one done by Y.A.L.S.A.
  (Young Adult Library Services Association) and
  another at the University of Illinois, most
  students are more adept to working independently
  with search engines and the internet rather than
  under the guidance of a Literacy Model
• Even though their success rates in both studies
  were higher than most of a few years ago, their
  inability to critically assess the information
  still poses questions about the Digital abilities
  and literacy of Generation Y and the future.

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Discussion

• In your opinion, based upon the information
  presented, is Generation Y Digitally Literate?
  Why or Why not?
• Are our expectations too high?
• What can be done differently in School Libraries
  to promote Digital Literacy?