Determining the Credibility of Online Sources

THAT THEY TRULY ARE GOING TO HAVE THE POWER FOR THEIR OWN EDUCATION. IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE INFORMATION LITERATE BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH INFORMATION COMING AT YOU TODAY - PARTICULARLY ONLINE. BEING INFORMATION LITERATE IS VERY NECESSARY BECAUSE IT'LL HELP ME THROUGHOUT MY EDUCATION AND MY FUTURE. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE TERM "INFORMATION LITERACY" WAS BUT I KNEW HOW TO OBTAIN INFORMATION FROM THE INTERNET. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANT EITHER. I DON'T KNOW, LIKE C.J. SAID, I KNOW HOW TO FIND MY SOURCES AND STUFF LIKE THAT. I DEFINE INFORMATION LITERACY AS BEING THE ABILITY TO RETRIEVE INFORMATION WHICH, FIRST, OF COURSE MEANS THAT ONE HAS TO DECIDE THAT ONE NEEDS INFORMATION, THEN KNOWING WHERE TO RETRIEVE IT, HOW TO USE THAT INFORMATION EFFECTIVELY - LEGALLY AND ETHICALLY. IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE INFORMATION LITERATE BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH INFORMATION COMING AT YOU TODAY, PARTICULARLY ONLINE, AND WHETHER YOU NEED IT FOR SCHOOL OR WHETHER YOU NEED IT FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL USE, WHETHER TO GO SHOPPING OR WHETHER TO FIND OUT INFORMATION ABOUT HEALTH, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO KNOW, HOW DO I FIND THIS INFORMATION? HOW DO I EVALUATE IT TO MAKE SURE IT'S USEFUL BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF JUNK OUT THERE, AND THEN ONCE I DO FIND IT, HOW CAN I USE IT TO MAKE SURE I'M SUCCESSFUL AT MY PAPER, AT BUYING SOMETHING, AT FINDING INFORMATION? THE STANDARDS FOR INFORMATION LITERACY ARE IMPORTANT FOR SCHOOLWORK AND OUR EVERYDAY LIVES SO THAT WE CAN BECOME A SOCIETY THAT CAN FUNCTION IN AN INFORMATIONAL WORLD. I THINK THAT AS A CONSUMER IN SOCIETY YOU NEED THESE SKILLS TO GO OUT AND PURCHASE ANY TYPE OF PRODUCT THAT IS OUT THERE. IN SCHOOL YOU NEED THEM TO RESEARCH ALL TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT YOU DO, WHETHER IT BE A HISTORY RESEARCH PAPER OR JUST SOMETHING THAT YOU NEED A FUN ARTICLE FOR A SPECIFIC PROJECT. IN THE WORKPLACE WE NEED INFORMATIONAL LITERACY TO BE RESOURCEFUL FOR OUR EMPLOYERS, TO BE ABLE TO FIND AND KNOW HOW TO LOCATE AND USE THE INFORMATION THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO GAIN FROM ANY EXPERIENCE OR ANY TASK THAT WE HAVE TO ACCOMPLISH. WELL, COMPUTER LITERACY IS JUST TECHNOLOGICAL KNOW-HOW, BEING ABLE TO USE A COMPUTER. LIBRARY LITERACY IS SIMILAR, BUT WITHIN THE LIBRARY, KNOWING HOW TO USE THE COLLECTIONS THAT THE LIBRARY HAS PUT TOGETHER. INFORMATION LITERACY GOES BEYOND THOSE TWO THINGS, MAKING SURE YOU HAVE THE GENERAL KNOW-HOW, HOW TO FIND INFORMATION WITHIN YOUR DAILY LIFE ONLINE IN A WHOLE HOST OF DIFFERENT SITUATIONS. INFORMATION LITERACY IS RESEARCH, SO FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE WRITING PAPERS OR DOING INFORMATION GATHERING, INFORMATION LITERACY IS THE BASIS OF HOW THEY GO ABOUT DOING THEIR WORK, ORGANIZING THEIR PRODUCT, AND PRESENTING THEIR RESULT. * MY NAME IS CELSO, I'M SEVENTEEN. I NEED TO DO A REPORT ON TRUMAN CAPOTE FOR MY ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH CLASS. FOR ANY TOPIC, WHEN YOU BEGIN TO USE THE WEB, ONE OF THE BEST RESOURCES THAT ONE CAN USE IS WITHIN THE INTERNET PUBLIC LIBRARY, THE A+ WRITING GUIDE. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS FOR ANYONE ON ANY TOPIC AND LET ME SHOW YOU WHY. AT THE VERY OUTSET OF THE A+ WRITING GUIDE ONE FINDS THE TABLE OF CONTENTS, WHAT'S ON THIS SITE, AND IN THIS SITE ONE FINDS THE STEP BY STEP RESEARCH AND WRITING PROCESS MADE EXPLICIT. SO, HOW TO CHOOSE A TOPIC, HOW TO DISCOVER RESOURCES ON THAT TOPIC, HOW TO GATHER INFORMATION, HOW TO PREPARE TO ACTUALLY DO THE RESEARCH AND WRITE THE PAPER. IF STUDENTS NEED HELP STARTING A RESEARCH PROJECT AND THEY NEED TO USE ONLINE SOURCES I USUALLY REFER THEM TO THE LIBRARY SPECIALIST. THESE PEOPLE ARE REALLY KNOWLEDGEABLE IN THIS AREA AND THEY CAN USUALLY GUIDE THE STUDENT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. I USUALLY USE YAHOO.COM, THE YAHOO SEARCH ENGINE, IN ORDER TO LOOK UP ANY INFORMATION I MIGHT NEED. I'M GOING TO GO THERE, I NEED TO SEARCH FOR SOME GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT TRUMAN CAPOTE. SINCE I'M DOING A BIOGRAPHY I'LL JUST PUT "TRUMAN CAPOTE'S BIOGRAPHY" INTO THIS SEARCH ENGINE. DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU'RE SEARCHING FOR, YOU DON'T WANT TO FALL INTO THE HABIT OF JUST USING GOOGLE FOR EVERYTHING. THERE ARE DIFFERENT RESOURCES, DIFFERENT SEARCH ENGINES THAT ARE MORE APPLICABLE AND MORE USEFUL DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT. SO YOU HAVE TO KEEP THAT IN MIND AND NOT FALL INTO ONE HABIT. SO, FOR INSTANCE, IF YOU'RE RESEARCHING ON A HISTORICAL FIGURE, A GREAT SITE TO GO THROUGH IS CALLED WIKIPEDIA.ORG. THE ONE CHALLENGE OF WIKIPEDIA IS IT'S BEEN FOUND THROUGH STUDIES TO BE QUITE USEFUL, BUT AT THE SAME TIME YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO USE SOURCES THAT EXACTLY ARE CREDITED - LIKE ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, YOU KNOW WHO PUBLISHED THAT SO YOU WANT TO USE THIS AS A FIRST STEP JUST TO GET YOUR BEARINGS, SO TO SPEAK. WHEN USING A SEARCH ENGINE FOR RESEARCH I USUALLY SUGGEST TO THE STUDENTS THAT THEY TYPE IN A KEY WORD. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT NOT TO TYPE IN A KEY WORD THAT ALLOWS FOR SUCH A BROAD AREA OF TOPICS THAT MIGHT COME UP, SO YOU WANT TO KEEP IT NARROW ENOUGH SO JUST THOSE SELECT ITEMS - YOU MIGHT HAVE, LIKE, FIFTY OR SO TO LOOK AT BUT YOU WANT TO KEEP IT NARROW THAN HAVING, LIKE, 10 THOUSAND. I'M MIA, I'M 17, AND I'M RESEARCHING THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF SMOKING. RIGHT NOW I SEE A LOT OF DIFFERENT WEBSITES THAT TALK ABOUT THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF SMOKING, BUT I THINK I'M GOING TO GO TO THIS SITE BECAUSE IT LOOKS CREDIBLE ENOUGH. IT'S A SITE FROM THE CENTER OF DISEASE CONTROL AND ITS PART OF THE GOVERNMENT, SO IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S A CREDIBLE SOURCE. TO KNOW IF A WEBSITE IS A CREDIBLE SOURCE, STUDENTS SHOULD LOOK FOR INFORMATION IN THE ABOUT PAGE. THE ABOUT PAGE WILL TELL YOU WHO HAS POSTED THE INFORMATION, WHEN IT WAS POSTED, IF IT'S BEEN UPDATED, WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF THE SITE. YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE A SITE THAT WAS WRITTEN BY SOMEONE WHO IS NOT KNOWN IN HIS FIELD. YOU WANT TO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THE UPDATING, MAKE SURE THAT IT'S AN UPDATED SITE AND NOT ON USELESS INFORMATION. I WAS LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ON TRUMAN CAPOTE AT ONE POINT AND I CAME ACROSS THIS INCIDENT WHERE THERE WAS A BIOGRAPHY POSTED FROM A PERSON NAMED [email protected]. [email protected] DOESN'T SEEM TOO CREDIBLE TO ME SO I DECIDED I WOULD CHECK MORE INTO THAT. I EMAILED THE PERSON AND IT TURNS OUT THEY WERE A STUDENT WHO JUST SO HAPPENED TO POST THE TRUMAN CAPOTE BIOGRAPHY AND IT WASN'T A CREDIBLE RESOURCE. I'M GOING TO PICK THIS WEBSITE BECAUSE IT'S FROM BBC AND I'VE HEARD OF THAT, SO I THINK BBC NEWS IS VERY CREDIBLE. TO SEE IF A SITE IS CREDIBLE OR NOT, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT FIRST YOU LOOK AT MAYBE THE DATE THAT IT WAS PUBLISHED OR THE DATE THAT IT WAS CREATED. YOU ALSO WANT TO LOOK AT THE AUTHOR AND IF THERE'S ANY OTHER CITATIONS OR CREDIT TO OTHER SOURCES THAT HAVE BEEN A HELP TO CREATE THIS SITE. I THINK THAT IT'S ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO LOOK AND MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S FACTUAL INFORMATION; IT'S NOT ONE SIDED, IT'S NOT AN OPINION, BECAUSE YOU WANT TO LOOK AT THE BROAD IDEA OF IT, NOT JUST SOMEONE'S OPINION OR JUST AN IDEA THAT'S OUT THERE THAT'S NOT APPROPRIATE TO THE TOPIC. RIGHT NOW I'M HAVING TROUBLE FINDING SPECIFIC DISEASES. TWO BIG STRUGGLES - THE FIRST ONE IS ACTUALLY SEARCHING FOR THE INFORMATION. FINDING A SIMPLE STATISTIC OR A SIMPLE FACT IS USUALLY FAIRLY EASY BUT IF YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING THAT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT, ACTUALLY SEARCHING AND FINDING ANY INFORMATION CAN BE SURPRISINGLY DIFFICULT SOMETIMES. AND THEN, ONCE YOU FIND SOME INFORMATION, THE OTHER CHALLENGE IS HOW DO I KNOW THIS IS TRUE OR NOT? ANYONE CAN POST ANYTHING ONLINE, HOW DO I KNOW THAT THIS IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT DOESN'T HAVE A BIAS AND IS JUST TRYING TO SELL ME SOMETHING AND IS PUTTING INFORMATION THAT'S INCORRECT OUT THERE? SO YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO, IDEALLY, FIND IT IN AT LEAST A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT PLACES SO THAT YOU CAN MAKE SURE THAT IT'S CORRECT AND YOU HAVE CORROBORATION OF IT. SHOULD I USE JUST ONE OF THESE SITES OR MORE THAN ONE? IF I USE TWO, THEN I'LL DEFINITELY HAVE TO CITE MORE RESOURCES BUT I DON'T REALLY WANT TO GET LAZY SO I THINK I'LL USE MORE THAN ONE BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS BEST TO GET MORE THAN ONE OPINION OR MORE THAN ONE SOURCE OF INFORMATION. WHEN A STUDENT DOES RESEARCH ONLINE IT'S IMPORTANT TO USE MORE THAN ONE WEBSITE. THE REASON FOR THIS IS BECAUSE INFORMATION THAT'S ON THE WEBSITE CAN AT TIMES BE ONE-SIDED AND YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT IS FACTUAL AND, AGAIN, CREDIBLE. A TEACHER ONCE TOLD ME THAT YOU SHOULD GIVE CREDIT TO SOMEONE ELSE'S WORK BECAUSE IF THAT'S YOUR WORDS YOU WANT SOMEONE TO GIVE CREDIT TO YOU, AND BY CITING IT YOU'RE GIVING CREDIT TO THAT AUTHOR, THE PERSON THAT WROTE IT. I DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW TO FIND A WORKS CITED PAGE OR HOW TO WRITE ONE SO I'M JUST GOING TO TYPE IN "WORKS CITED PAGE" TO GIVE ME SOME GUIDELINES. I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF PROFESSIONAL AUTHORS THAT ARE ONLINE AND WE TAKE THEIR INFORMATION FOR GRANTED BY NOT CITING OUR SOURCES. BUT I ALSO THINK THE INTERNET IS A GREAT WAY TO RESEARCH THINGS IF WE DO IT CORRECTLY. STUDENTS CAN DOCUMENT SOURCES EVEN WHEN THEY CUT AND PASTE. THEY MUST FIND OUT THE URL ADDRESS, THEY MUST FIND THE AUTHOR OF THE MATERIAL, THE DAY IT WAS POSTED, THE DATE THEY ACCESSED IT, AND THE TITLE OF THE ARTICLE. THERE IS A SITE THAT IS AVAILABLE THAT STUDENTS CAN USE TO CITE THEIR SOURCES. ONE OF THOSE IS CITATIONMACHINE.COM THE OTHER ONE IS EASYBIB.COM. INFORMATION LITERACY IS THE BASIS OF HOW THEY GO ABOUT DOING THEIR WORK, ORGANIZING THEIR PRODUCT, AND PRESENTING THEIR RESULT. IT'S ABSOLUTELY COMPREHENSIVE, ALL ENCOMPASSING. SO THAT INFORMATION LITERACY, FROM THE OUTSET, WHEN THINKING ABOUT WHAT DO I NEED, HOW AM I GOING TO GO ABOUT TACKLING THIS PROJECT? WHERE SHALL I GO TO FIND THOSE RESOURCES? HOW WILL I READ AND EVALUATE THOSE MATERIALS? WHEN WILL I KNOW THAT I HAVE ENOUGH? HOW WILL I PRESENT THE INFORMATION? AND HAVE I MADE SURE TO BE INCLUSIVE IN MY INFORMATION, INCLUDING MY SOURCES, AND HAVE I USED THEM APPROPRIATELY? THAT'S ALL PART OF INFORMATION RESEARCH AND INFORMATION LITERACY. * I'M SEEING THIS PARAGRAPH HERE THAT IS JUST WORDED WONDERFULLY AND I WONDER WHETHER OR NOT I SHOULD COPY AND PASTE THIS INTO MY REPORT. IT'S LIKE FOUR OR FIVE SENTENCES, I WAS JUST WONDERING WHETHER OR NOT I SHOULD COPY AND PASTE THIS AND THEN THE REST OF IT CAN BE MY OWN WORDS. BUT THIS ONE HERE IS SOMETHING I'D REALLY LIKE TO USE IN MY REPORT, SO MAYBE I'LL JUST COPY AND PASTE IT. ONE OF THE BIGGEST EXAMPLES IS YOU'RE ABLE TO FIND ALL THIS GREAT INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET AND THEN JUST COPYING AND PASTING THE PARAGRAPH THAT YOU NEED - BECAUSE IT IS SO APPLICABLE TO WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING - INTO YOUR PAPER AND THEN PASSING THAT OFF AS YOUR OWN. YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DO THAT; THAT'S PLAGIARISM. I'VE PLAGIARIZED BEFORE. THE PROBLEMS THAT CAN STEM FROM STUDENTS NOT DOING THEIR OWN WORK IS THAT THEY'RE PUTTING THEMSELVES AT A GREAT DISADVANTAGE AS FAR AS LEARNING GOES. THEY'RE NOT ALLOWING THEM TO ABSORB THE INFORMATION THAT IS AVAILABLE TO THEM AND USE IT TO THEIR BENEFIT. FOR SOME STUDENTS, PERHAPS THEY'RE NOT EVEN AWARE THAT THEY'RE PLAGIARIZING. THEY MAY SEE A PICTURE AND THE PICTURE IS JUST RIGHT TO ILLUSTRATE THE POINT THAT THEY WANT TO MAKE IN THEIR PAPER OR THEIR WORK. AFTER ALL, THEY FOUND IT ON THE WEB AND EVERYTHING ON THE WEB IS FREE, OR SEEMS TO BE... RIGHT? SO I THINK I'M GOING TO COPY AND PASTE IT AND PUT IT INTO MY PROJECT. PLAGIARISM IS WHEN A PERSON DELIBERATELY USES ANOTHER PERSON'S LANGUAGE, IDEAS OR MATERIALS AND CALLS IT THEIR OWN. SOME EXAMPLES OF PLAGIARISM WOULD BE CUTTING AND PASTING FROM THE INTERNET AND NOT CITING THAT INFORMATION, PARAPHRASING AND NOT CITING THAT INFORMATION, OR COPYING SOMEONE'S WORK. A FEW YEARS AGO I HAD A STUDENT HERE AT THE UNIVERSITY WHO DID A CLASS ASSIGNMENT AND, IN THE ASSIGNMENT WHEN HE TURNED IT IN ON THE WEB, I COULD TELL THAT THERE WERE PIECES OF THE INFORMATION THAT HAD A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE TONE, THAT DIDN'T LOOK THE SAME AS THE REST OF THE ASSIGNMENT. I WAS ABLE TO PROVE THAT HE HAD TAKEN INFORMATION FROM ELSEWHERE AND I TRACKED DOWN THAT INFORMATION. I FOUND ON THE WEB WHERE THAT HAD COME FROM. NOT ONLY DID I HAVE TO BRING THIS TO HIS ATTENTION, BUT I HAD TO BRING IT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE ACADEMIC DEAN AND THAT STUDENT RECEIVED A LETTER FROM THE DEAN INDICATING THAT IF THIS HAPPENED AGAIN HE WOULD BE ASKED TO LEAVE THE UNIVERSITY. HE ALSO HAD AN AUTOMATIC F IN THIS CLASS. WELL, YOU CAN TAKE SENTENCES AND ALWAYS RE-WORD THEM TO MAKE IT YOUR OWN THOUGHTS. LET'S ALSO MAKE SURE THAT WE THINK ABOUT PLAGIARIZING AND PARAPHRASING. WHEN WE PLAGIARIZE, WE TAKE IDEAS JUST AS THEY WERE WRITTEN OR WE ATTRIBUTE THE IDEAS THAT OTHERS HAVE AS BEING OUR OWN. BUT WHEN WE PARAPHRASE, WE GENERALLY ARE RESTATING, WE'RE ADDING SOMETHING OF OUR OWN, OR IF WE'RE PARAPHRASING WE MAY ALSO SAY SOMETHING THAT INDICATES THERE'S ANOTHER PERSON WHO'S HAD THIS THOUGHT AND IT GOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS. AGAIN, MAKING IT CLEAR THAT THIS IS OUR WAY OF THINKING ABOUT WHAT SOMEBODY ELSE HAS THOUGHT. YEAH, I PARAPHRASE A LOT, AND NOW THAT YOU TOLD ME THAT I'LL PROBABLY JUST CITE THE EXACT WORDS INSTEAD OF PARAPHRASING. WHEN LOOKING TO SEE IF A SITE IS NON-CREDIBLE, YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THINGS LIKE MAYBE IT'S WRITTEN BY ONE PERSON, MAYBE A STUDENT THAT DOESN'T HAVE A LOT OF CREDENTIALS FOR THE SITE. YOU ARE ALSO LOOKING FOR POP-UPS, FOR CHANGES IN FONT, MAYBE A PHOTO ON THERE THAT LOOKS TO BE DOCTORED. THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU MIGHT LOOK FOR. YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES A NON-CREDIBLE SOURCE LOOKS REALLY, REALLY GOOD. BUT IN FACT THE INFORMATION MAY BE ABSOLUTELY INCORRECT. IT GOES BACK TO SOMETHING THAT I SAID EARLIER WHICH IS WE MUST LOOK FOR MORE THAN ONE RESOURCE, ONE SOURCE OF INFORMATION WHEN WE'RE DEVELOPING A RESEARCH PAPER OR EVEN WHEN WE'RE JUST LOOKING FOR A SIMPLE FACT - BIRTH DATES, DEATH DATES, CHECK IT MORE THAN ONCE. YOU'D BE AMAZED AT ALL THE VARIOUS DATES THAT LINCOLN WAS SHOT ON THE WEB. THERE ARE MANY PROBLEMS THAT STUDENTS CAN FACE FROM GAINING INFORMATION FROM A NON-CREDIBLE SOURCE. ONE THING WOULD BE THAT THEIR INFORMATION WOULDN'T BE VALID. THEY COULD WORK REALLY, REALLY HARD ON THIS AND RESEARCH AS MUCH AS THEY POSSIBLY COULD AND GAIN A LOT OF INFORMATION FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES AND FROM DIFFERENT AREAS FROM THE INTERNET, BUT IT MIGHT NOT BE FROM A CREDIBLE SOURCE WHICH WOULD MAKE THEM HAVE AN INVALID PAPER WHICH WOULD ALLOW THEM TO PROBABLY GET A FAILING GRADE ON THE PAPER OR A LOWER GRADE THAN THEY EXPECTED BECAUSE OF THAT. I THINK THAT THERE'S TOO MANY REGULAR PEOPLE JUST PUTTING STUFF ON THE INTERNET AND WE'RE USING IT; LIKE, WE'RE SEARCHING GOOGLE AND YAHOO AND WE'RE USING THAT INFORMATION AND WE DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THAT'S CORRECT. SO WE'RE PLAGIARIZING AND WE'RE USING INCORRECT INFORMATION IN OUR PAPERS AND IN LIFE. ONE OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF USING A NON-CREDIBLE SOURCE IS, IF YOU WANT TO SHOP ONLINE AND YOU'RE GATHERING INFORMATION, IS YOU'LL END UP BUYING SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T DO WHAT YOU WANT IT TO DO. THE BATTERY LIFE ISN'T AS LONG AS YOU THOUGHT OR IT'S NOT AS POWERFUL OR ANY HOST OF DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS. YOU CAN REALLY END UP WITH A LEMON OF A PRODUCT, SOMETHING THAT'S NOT GOOD. OR IF YOU'RE RESEARCHING SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF OR YOUR FAMILY MEMBER ON A HEALTH ISSUE OR SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT AS THAT, IF YOU GET IT FROM A NON-CREDIBLE SOURCE, YOU COULD GET INFORMATION THAT CAN REALLY LEAD YOU DOWN THE WRONG ROAD AND MAKE YOU THINK THINGS ARE A CERTAIN WAY WHEN THEY'RE REALLY NOT THAT WAY. * THERE ARE A LOT OF REWARDS OF BEING INFORMATION LITERATE. BEING ABLE TO USE INFORMATION EFFECTIVELY, BEING ABLE TO GO QUITE QUICKLY AND DIRECTLY TO REPUTABLE SOURCES AND FIND THE INFORMATION ONE NEEDS TO PROVE A POINT OR TO WRITE THE PAPER OR TO WIN THE ARGUMENT. THAT IN ITSELF IS A TREMENDOUS POWER. IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE INFORMATION LITERATE RIGHT NOW IN HIGH SCHOOL BECAUSE I'M ABLE TO DO ALL MY PROJECTS QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY, AND THEN I CAN USE THAT INFORMATION LITERACY TO BENEFIT ME IN COLLEGE BECAUSE THERE I'LL BE DOING EVEN MORE RESEARCH. AND ONCE I'VE GOT THAT DOWN I CAN APPLY THAT TO MY EVERYDAY LIFE IN THAT I CAN FIND ANY CREDIBLE INFORMATION REALLY QUICKLY ONLINE. THE REWARDS OF BEING INFORMATION LITERATE WILL BE THAT STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO PERFORM RESEARCH, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN SEMINARS AND LECTURES AND SOCIALLY COMMUNICATE WITH OTHER PEOPLE. THEY ALSO WILL BE BETTER EQUIPPED FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. IT'S EASIER TO GET ON A COMPUTER INSTEAD OF GOING IN A DICTIONARY AND TRYING TO FIND IT AND SOMETIMES YOU CAN'T FIND IT. BUT WHEN YOU GET ON THE INTERNET AND YOU TYPE IN YOUR WORD IT'S SO MUCH EASIER BECAUSE IT POPS RIGHT UP IN YOUR FACE. INFORMATION IS COMING AT YOU ALL THE TIME AND IT'S NOT JUST IN SCHOOL. THERE'S COUNTLESS SITUATIONS THROUGHOUT THE DAY WHERE YOU NEED TO FIND INFORMATION. HAVING INFORMATION LITERACY CAN MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE USING INFORMATION CORRECTLY, CAN FIND IT, AND ARE JUST MORE SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR DAY TO DAY LIFE. * INFORMATION LITERACY SHOULD MEAN TO STUDENTS THAT THEY TRULY ARE GOING TO HAVE THE POWER FOR THEIR OWN EDUCATION. THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO TAKE WHAT THEY'VE LEARNED, APPLY IT TO MANY DIFFERENT SOURCES, WHETHER IT BE THE COMPUTER, A BOOK, OR EVEN A TELEVISION SHOW

- ANY TYPE OF INFORMATION THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO GAIN, AND USE IT TO THEIR BENEFIT. AND KNOW THE SOURCES AND WHERE THEY WERE ABLE TO RETRIEVE THAT INFORMATION. WELL, IT'S FUNNY THAT IN CERTAIN CLASSES WHERE TEACHERS MAKE YOU CITE YOUR WORK OR DO BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND STUFF LIKE THAT, KIDS COMPLAIN BUT PRIOR GENERATIONS, THEY HAD TO GO THROUGH BOOKS AND WE'RE, LIKE, TOUCHING A BUTTON AND ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS COPY DOWN WHERE WE GOT THE INFORMATION FROM AND THAT'S SO EASY. ONE THING I TRY TO KEEP IN MIND IS THE RATE OF INFORMATION, THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION THAT'S COMING AT YOU IS ONLY GOING TO INCREASE, SO THE ABILITY TO BE ABLE TO PICK THROUGH IT AND FIND WHAT YOU NEED IS ONLY GOING TO BECOME MORE IMPORTANT. INFORMATION LITERACY IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR MY FUTURE AND MY EDUCATION RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IT'LL HELP ME FIND CREDIBLE SOURCES QUICKLY ONLINE. BEING ABLE TO USE INFORMATION EFFECTIVELY, FINDING ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS IN SCHOOL AND IN LIFE IS VERY, VERY EMPOWERING AND I THINK THE ABILITY TO USE INFORMATION AND TO EMPOWER ONE'S SELF TO MOVE AHEAD IN ONE'S CAREER, IN FINDING THE BEST JOB, IN FINDING THE RIGHT BUY ON A CAMERA, IN FINDING OUT ABOUT ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE, IT'S ALL THERE ON THE WEB, IT'S ALL THERE TO BE DISCOVERED, AND WE CAN DO THAT. * * * *