Information+Fluency

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 * Infowhelm and Information Fluency **

[|Social Media counter]- why information fluency is important = = "Information fluency is the ability to apply the skills associated with information literacy, computer literacy and critical thinking to address and solve information problems across disciplines, across academic levels, and across information format structures ([|Callison]). According to The Associated Colleges of the South ([|http://www.colleges.org/~if/if_definition.html]), using critical thinking skills and appropriate technologies, information fluency integrates the abilities to:
 * What is Information Fluency?**
 * collect the information necessary to consider a problem or issue
 * employ critical thinking skills in the evaluation and analysis of the information and its sources
 * formulate logical conclusions and present those conclusions in an appropriate and effective way [| (Information Age Inquiry)]

This is an amazing, comprehensive site, covers every aspect of information fluency! Includes: Resource Kit contents (which include curriculum, links, workshops, interactives, and indices that categorize all site content by information fluency competency and ISTE-NETS). Teacher-Librarians MUST check this site out.
 * 21st Century Information Fluency-** [|**Full Circle**]**:**

The role of the teacher is to provide structure and direction to a student's ability to make meaning ([|Alan November]) Though our tech-tuned 21st century students are often more fluent in the use of technology than their parents and teachers, they will always need guidance in how to best apply these powerful tools to complex learning and creative tasks ([|Trilling & Fadel])

**Mobile Reference** Smart phones
 * [|CIA World Factbook]
 * [|WorldBook English Dictionary and Thesaurus]
 * [|Dictionary.com]
 * [|Google Mobile]
 * [|Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC)]
 * [|British Broadcasting Commission (BBC)]
 * [|TED Talk]
 * [|Kindle for iPhone]
 * [|Stanza]
 * [|Wikipanion]
 * [|Create your own tag - make your phone a tag reader!] (use this for [|promotional flyers], advocacy or information sharing!)
 * [[image:tlsmackdown:accessmyschool.gif height="120" caption="accessmyschool.gif" link="http://www.gale.cengage.com/press_room/media/"]][[image:tlsmackdown:icon_aml.jpg height="95" caption="icon_aml.jpg" link="http://www.gale.cengage.com/press_room/media/"]]

= = =Search Tools=

//__Google Tools__//

 * [|Google News Timeline]
 * [|Google News]
 * [|Google Squared] (for building comparisons)
 * [|Google Books]
 * [|Google Alerts]
 * [|Google Custom Search]
 * Google Wonder Wheel (graphical way of exploring related searches) - Don't miss out on this graphical search method!
 * [|Web wombat: Australian's original search engine]
 * Google Time Line (creates a bar graph of a decade or year, or by year with sites below - see the timeline option in side menu)


 * Need More Help? Check out the [|Google Channel on YouTube] for tutorial videos

**__Search Engines__**

 * [|Wolfram|Alpha] (computational knowledge engine)
 * [|Boolify] (an educational boolean search tool)
 * [|100 Search Engines You Should Know]
 * [|Web wombat: Australia's original search engine]
 * [|One Riot] - find topics currently trending in Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Digg
 * [|Kids' Search Tools]

**Web Search Strategies in Plain English**
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== [] [] []

= **//__Embedding Information with Widgets__//** =

**What is a Widget?**
A widget is anything that can be embedded within a page of [|HTML], i.e. a web page. A widget adds some content to that page that is not static. Generally widgets are originated by third parties, though they can be home made. Embeddable chunks of code have existed since the early development of the World Wide Web. Web developers have long sought and used third party code chunks in their pages. Early web widgets provided functions such as link counters and advertising banners. Now you can make them work for you! - [|Wikipedia]

**Adding Widgets**
== Adding Video & Widgets to a Wikispaces page is really easy Check out the Comic Life graphic & this [|wikipage] for directions. - = = [|How to Embed Almost Anything in your Website]

Widgets are mini-applications that may be embedded in websites, blogs, wikis, Nings, etc. They are often dynamic and interactive. You may use widgets to subscribe to RSS feeds and other push content. Note: Most of the Digital Storytelling Tools and online Video portals provide embed code.


 * [|Unquiet Library Pathfinder]**

Finding Widgets - [|The ABC widgets]

 * * [|NetVibes Ecosystem]
 * [|Widgets for Free blog]
 * [|Widget Box]
 * [|Google Gadgets]
 * [|About.com Web Widgets]
 * [|ReadWriteWeb: Evolution of Web Widgets]
 * [|About.com: Top Widget Galleries]
 * [|Widgipedia]
 * [|SpringWidgets]
 * [|Embeditin] (tools for embedding documents and web pages) || * [|Widgenie] (create and embed charts and graphs)
 * [|Widgets Everywhere] (TechCrunch)
 * [|Feedzilla]
 * [|WidgetBeat]
 * [|50+ Web Widgets for Learning]
 * [|Britannica Widgets]
 * [|Widgadgets Widget Gallery]
 * [|MyBooo]
 * [|Wikispaces Widget Handout] ||

**Book Widgets**

 * [|Shelfari] (social networking too)
 * [|LibraryThing] (big book network)
 * [|GoodReads]
 * [|GuruLib]
 * [|Random House Book Widgets]
 * [|BookBox] (embeddable bookshelves)
 * [|KidderLit] (twitter chat about children's lit & widgets)
 * [|HarperCollins BrowseInside]
 * [|Embeddable Google Books]
 * [|Google Book Search Widget]
 * [|JacketFlap]
 * [|JacketFlap: Children's Book Choice Award Widget]
 * [|International Children's Digital Library Book of the Day Gadget]
 * [|BookLoverQuotes]
 * [|New York Times Book Review Widget]
 * [|Scholastic Teacher Book Widget]

Some Collaborative Tools
Blogs - Global Teacher, Wordpress, Blogger, Wikis - Wikispaces, PBWorks Google Apps - Documents, [| Zoho] Netvibes, Pageflakes [|Ning]

Some Collaborative Tools - no login required
Wallwisher Using Wallwisher in the classroom - TBarrett Drawing Imagination Cubed Scribble Maps

SitComAnalysis in Wallwisher



**//__Information Portals__//**

 * [|NetVibes]
 * [|PageFlakes]
 * [|iGoogle]

**Essential Understandings**
[|RSS] - one of the key understandings for using the internet as a tool for your own learning and the learning of others. [|Merrily down the stream] - Will Richardson explains RSS [|Google Reader] aggregator - where your information collects - all in the one place. [|News feeds from the BBC] - an example of the use of RSS feeds [|New Scientist]magazine - another example Specific news search on ABC News [|(water buyback Murray Darling)]| [|Docklands]

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=**Evaluating Information**=
 * [|Evaluating Web sites - tools kids remember! C.R.A.A.P]
 * [|Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools] - Cornell University
 * [|Five criteria for evaluating Web pages] - Cornell University
 * [|Evaluating Blogs] ; also [|here]
 * [|Evaluating Blogs] - David Warlick
 * [|Kathy Schrocks's Critical Evaluation Surveys] - PDF's for all levels & links to other evaluation sites - extensive!
 * Find out your blog's readability level at [|SMOG]- G. Harry McLaughlin
 * [|Blog Rubric from Marta Valle] - See the rubric a New York City teacher is using with her students
 * [|Evaluating Blogs] (Joyce)
 * E[|valuating Web content blogs and wikis]

You can't believe everything on the Internet
[|Hoax websites]

Information Literacy
[|Research Skills with Ergo] - State Library of Victoria Cooperative Library Instruction Project resources (video tutorials aimed at the university relating to topic development, searching, databases, evaluating, documentation, more!) = = [|Information Literacy Resource Bank] **Synthesizing/Analyzing Information** [|Information Literacy Resources from Alan November]


 * [|Read write think] write think - many literacy support interactives **
 * [[image:rubistar.jpg width="229" height="62" link="http://rubistar.4teachers.org/"]][|Rubric Maker - Rubistar] **

[|EasyBib] [|Son of Citation Machine] [|Noodle Tools]
 * Referencing and Bibliography **

Creative Commons (copyright) - an important understanding when students are making multimedia book trailers, digital stories etc.
media type="custom" key="6615723" [| CC Resources to reuse, remix & share]

Staying safe on the Internet - [|Configuring your Facebook privacy settings]