Fact, Fiction, and Finding Your Way

P. French

Fact, Fiction, and Finding Your Way by Peggy French is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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Acknowledgements

Gratitude to eCampusOntario for its support. This supplementary resource for Ontario Colleges’ The Learning Portal stemmed from a Research and Innovation Grant.

About eCampusOntario

eCampusOntario is a not-for-profit corporation funded by the Government of Ontario. It serves as a centre of excellence in online and technology-enabled learning for all publicly funded colleges and universities in Ontario and has embarked on a bold mission to widen access to post-secondary education and training in Ontario. This textbook is part of eCampusOntario’s open textbook library, which provides free learning resources in a wide range of subject areas. These open textbooks can be assigned by instructors for their classes and can be downloaded by learners to electronic devices or printed. These free and open educational resources are customizable to meet a wide range of learning needs, and we invite instructors to review and adopt the resources for use in their courses.

Mohawk College

Thank you to Mohawk College in Hamilton, ON for supporting my grant application and moving it forward toward success. I am hopeful our faculty and students find it useful.

An Open Invitation

Take what you need from this book. Adapt and customize as much as you would like. It would also be wonderful to keep this resource growing through the addition of activities and assessments that assist faculty in providing engaging opportunities for students to demonstrate their awareness and skills with concepts in information literacy.

Open Textbooks | Giulia Forsyther | flickr | CC BY

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Introduction

Supplementing The Learning Portal

Library staff in Ontario Colleges joined forces (superheroes do that sometimes ~ think Justice League) to create an open portal for students to solidify their research, writing, and study skills, digital citizenship, and career exploration. If you haven’t checked out The Learning Portal and shared it with your students, do not hesitate ~ https://tlp-lpa.ca/ca!

My experience in college libraries and Centres for Teaching and Learning taught me that faculty are often unsure of how to assess for these important skills embedded in the Ministry’s program standards, across disciplines, mainly as Essential Employability Skills.

The information in this short digest offers ready-to-go, step-by-step activities to complete relevant assessments that build students’ awareness of these key concepts and challenges them to build on their developing skills in the areas of research, writing, and digital citizenship. Faculty are encouraged to adopt the activities as is; adapt them to their own learning environments; and | or extend them to capture more skill development.

Behind the Curtain

The specific activities in this open text were designed with the following intentions:

- Offer a 1-2 hour online activity for students to solidify core skills to all disciplines and workplaces. This aligns with a current trend to move at least one hour of learning online at many of Ontario Colleges.

- Pique students’ interest and curiosity. While many of the activities complement specific disciplines, they are also of general interest and work as standalone activities for a course.

- Highlight a variety of open or free educational technologies by using them to underpin the activities. These may be of interest to both students and faculty for future teaching, learning, and working environments. Ease of use was another criterion in choosing these, specific technologies.

- Activities have natural extensions:

- create components to form a larger assessment that moves beyond the original 1-2 hour time commitment;

- add pre- and | or post- activity pieces for face-to-face learning;

- switch easily from ‘lightly’ collaborative activities to become more highly collaborative depending on the discipline.

Front Facing Format

Part One

This open text is divided into three components. The first part details the ACRL’s (Association for College & Research Libraries) recently updated Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. From its Introduction:

This Framework grows out of a belief that information literacy as an educational reform movement will realize its potential only through a richer, more complex set of core ideas. During the fifteen years since the publication of the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, academic librarians and their partners in higher education associations have developed learning outcomes, tools, and resources that some institutions have deployed to infuse information literacy concepts and skills into their curricula. However, the rapidly changing higher education environment, along with the dynamic and often uncertain information ecosystem in which all of us work and live, require new attention to be focused on foundational ideas about that ecosystem.

Students have a greater role and responsibility in creating new knowledge, in understanding the contours and the changing dynamics of the world of information, and in using information, data, and scholarship ethically. Faculty have a greater responsibility in designing curricula and assignments that foster enhanced engagement with the core ideas about information and scholarship within their disciplines. Librarians have a greater responsibility in identifying core ideas within their own knowledge domain that can extend learning for students, in creating a new cohesive curriculum for information literacy, and in collaborating more extensively with faculty.

http://www.ala.org/acrl

While faculty may not be familiar with ACRL and its goals, the first few pages of this text spark reflection on the changing environment for today’s citizens and the ever-increasing complexity of information literacy or fluency. Through this reflection, skills that once were assumed to develop almost naturally over the course of a student’s education, can now be addressed more intentionally with their impact on success more clearly seen. Subtle and yet key distinctions between knowledge and dispositions assist with viewing progress from both the cognitive and affective domains.

Part Two

Here, you will find the activities themselves. While they target different skills, with naturally overlap, they each follow the same format.

1. The ABCs: Academic Bases Covered: Alignment to program | discipline needs; goals; and specific skills development | learning outcomes.

2. A diagnostic activity to provide an understanding of what concepts, terms, and | or skills are covered.

3. Any background information required to complete the activities. This includes direct reference to The Learning Portal as well as other, open, foundational knowledge core to the subject of the activity.

4. Step-by-steps to complete the activity follow. Here is where faculty (or keen students) can increase easily the complexity of, and commitment to, the activity.

Part Three

To aid assessment, recommended rubrics comprise part three. Specific rubrics are not included to allow for faculty agency. Instead VALUE rubrics are re-built to be shared and adapted to suit the course’s and students’ needs.

They are excerpted from VALUE Rubrics, developed by the AAC&U (Association of American Colleges and Universities) after a two year, collaborative projects among 100 higher education institutions across the United States. They have been adopted and adapted worldwide.

Beyond the background information on the rubric and the highlighting of aligned criteria for the activities, the rubrics can be mixed, matched, and weighted to suit the needs of course’s learning outcomes and your students.

Setting Up the Six

ACRL (Association of College & Research Libraries) updated its information literacy competency standards in 2016 to create and adopt this framework.

The Framework offered here is called a framework intentionally because it is based on a cluster of interconnected core concepts, with flexible options for implementation, rather than on a set of standards or learning outcomes, or any prescriptive enumeration of skills. At the heart of this Framework are conceptual understandings that organize many other concepts and ideas about information, research, and scholarship into a coherent whole.

These conceptual understandings are informed by the work of Wiggins and McTighe, which focuses on essential concepts and questions in developing curricula, and also by threshold concepts which are those ideas in any discipline that are passageways or portals to enlarged understanding or ways of thinking and practicing within that discipline. This Framework draws upon an ongoing Delphi Study that has identified several threshold concepts in information literacy, but the Framework has been molded using fresh ideas and emphases for the threshold concepts.

Two added elements illustrate important learning goals related to those concepts: knowledge practices, which are demonstrations of ways in which learners can increase their understanding of these information literacy concepts, and dispositions, which describe ways in which to address the affective, attitudinal, or valuing dimension of learning. The Framework is organized into six frames, each consisting of a concept central to information literacy, a set of knowledge practices, and a set of dispositions.

Background Information

The T-Shaped Learner (and Educator)

The T-shaped Student by @bryanMMathers is licensed under CC-BY-ND

From The Irish Times (2016):

Over the past decade, high-profile employers across the world have emphasized the need for today’s young professionals to possess not just deep disciplinary knowledge but a keen ability to operate effectively across disciplinary, social and cultural boundaries.

These so-called “T-shaped professionals” are in high demand for their ability to solve problems, lead teams, innovate, build relationships and strengthen their organizations.

In this context, the vertical stroke of the T represents the disciplinary specialization and the deep understanding of one or more specific areas. The defining characteristic, however, is the horizontal bar, which represents broader generic attributes and the ability to collaborate across a variety of different disciplines.

In the Ontario college system, educators are hired for their subject matter expertise and are well-equipped to develop deep domain knowledge and skills in their learners (the vertical). The knowledge and skills that constitute the cross or horizontal are often more difficult for subject matter experts in terms of content creation and assessments. The activities and assessments in this open text were designed to assist educators with the difficult task of developing the cross of Ontario learners.

Authority is Constructed and Contextual

ACRL Association of College & Research Libraries

Information resources reflect their creators’ expertise and credibility, and are evaluated based on the information need and the context in which the information will be used. Authority is constructed in that various communities may recognize different types of authority. It is contextual in that the information need may help to determine the level of authority required.

H.L.I.T | Authority | flickr | CC BY

Experts understand that authority is a type of influence recognized or exerted within a community. Experts view authority with an attitude of informed skepticism and an openness to new perspectives, additional voices, and changes in schools of thought. Experts understand the need to determine the validity of the information created by different authorities and to acknowledge biases that privilege some sources of authority over others, especially in terms of others’ worldviews, gender, sexual orientation, and cultural orientations. An understanding of this concept enables novice learners to critically examine all evidence—be it a short blog post or a peer-reviewed conference proceeding—and to ask relevant questions about origins, context, and suitability for the current information need. Thus, novice learners come to respect the expertise that authority represents while remaining skeptical of the systems that have elevated that authority and the information created by it. Experts know how to seek authoritative voices but also recognize that unlikely voices can be authoritative, depending on need. Novice learners may need to rely on basic indicators of authority, such as type of publication or author credentials, where experts recognize schools of thought or discipline-specific paradigms.

Knowledge Practices

Learners who are developing their information literate abilities define different types of authority, such as subject expertise (e.g., scholarship), societal position (e.g., public office or title), or special experience (e.g., participating in a historic event);

- use research tools and indicators of authority to determine the credibility of sources, understanding the elements that might temper this credibility;
understand that many disciplines have acknowledged authorities in the sense of well-known scholars and publications that are widely considered “standard,” and yet, even in those situations, some scholars would challenge the authority of those sources;

- recognize that authoritative content may be packaged formally or informally and may include sources of all media types;

- acknowledge they are developing their own authoritative voices in a particular area and recognize the responsibilities this entails, including seeking accuracy and reliability, respecting intellectual property, and participating in communities of practice;

- understand the increasingly social nature of the information ecosystem where authorities actively connect with one another and sources develop over time.

Dispositions

Learners who are developing their information literate abilities

- develop and maintain an open mind when encountering varied and sometimes conflicting perspectives;

- motivate themselves to find authoritative sources, recognizing that authority may be conferred or manifested in unexpected ways;

- develop awareness of the importance of assessing content with a skeptical stance and with a self-awareness of their own biases and worldview;
question traditional notions of granting authority and recognize the value of diverse ideas and worldviews;

- are conscious that maintaining these attitudes and actions requires frequent self-evaluation.

Information Creation as a Process

ACRL Association of College & Research Libraries

Information in any format is produced to convey a message and is shared via a selected delivery method. The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating information vary, and the resulting product reflects these differences.

Brett Renfer | Process | flickr | CC BY NC ND

The information creation process could result in a range of information formats and modes of delivery, so experts look beyond format when selecting resources to use. The unique capabilities and constraints of each creation process as well as the specific information need determine how the product is used. Experts recognize that information creations are valued differently in different contexts, such as academia or the workplace. Elements that affect or reflect on the creation, such as a pre- or post-publication editing or reviewing process, may be indicators of quality. The dynamic nature of information creation and dissemination requires ongoing attention to understand evolving creation processes. Recognizing the nature of information creation, experts look to the underlying processes of creation as well as the final product to critically evaluate the usefulness of the information. Novice learners begin to recognize the significance of the creation process, leading them to increasingly sophisticated choices when matching information products with their information needs.

Knowledge Practices

Learners who are developing their information literate abilities

- articulate the capabilities and constraints of information developed through various creation processes;

- assess the fit between an information product’s creation process and a particular information need;

- articulate the traditional and emerging processes of information creation and dissemination in a particular discipline;

- recognize that information may be perceived differently based on the format in which it is packaged;

- recognize the implications of information formats that contain static or dynamic information;

- monitor the value that is placed upon different types of information products in varying contexts;

- transfer knowledge of capabilities and constraints to new types of information products;

- develop, in their own creation processes, an understanding that their choices impact the purposes for which the information product will be used and the message it conveys.

Dispositions

Learners who are developing their information literate abilities

- are inclined to seek out characteristics of information products that indicate the underlying creation process;

- value the process of matching an information need with an appropriate product;

- accept that the creation of information may begin initially through communicating in a range of formats or modes;

- accept the ambiguity surrounding the potential value of information creation expressed in emerging formats or modes;

- resist the tendency to equate format with the underlying creation process;

- understand that different methods of information dissemination with different purposes are available for their use.

Information Has Value

ACRL Association of College & Research Libraries

Information possesses several dimensions of value, including as a commodity, as a means of education, as a means to influence, and as a means of negotiating and understanding the world. Legal and socioeconomic interests influence information production and dissemination.

J. Lightning | Value | flickr | CC BY SA

The value of information is manifested in various contexts, including publishing practices, access to information, the commodification of personal information, and intellectual property laws. The novice learner may struggle to understand the diverse values of information in an environment where “free” information and related services are plentiful and the concept of intellectual property is first encountered through rules of citation or warnings about plagiarism and copyright law. As creators and users of information, experts understand their rights and responsibilities when participating in a community of scholarship. Experts understand that value may be wielded by powerful interests in ways that marginalize certain voices. However, value may also be leveraged by individuals and organizations to effect change and for civic, economic, social, or personal gains. Experts also understand that the individual is responsible for making deliberate and informed choices about when to comply with and when to contest current legal and socioeconomic practices concerning the value of information.

Knowledge Practices

Learners who are developing their information literate abilities

- give credit to the original ideas of others through proper attribution and citation;

- understand that intellectual property is a legal and social construct that varies by culture;

- articulate the purpose and distinguishing characteristics of copyright, fair use, open access, and the public domain;

- understand how and why some individuals or groups of individuals may be underrepresented or systematically marginalized within the systems that produce and disseminate information;

- recognize issues of access or lack of access to information sources;

- decide where and how their information is published;

- understand how the commodification of their personal information and online interactions affects the information they receive and the information they produce or disseminate online;

- make informed choices regarding their online actions in full awareness of issues related to privacy and the commodification of personal information.

Dispositions

Learners who are developing their information literate abilities

- respect the original ideas of others;

- value the skills, time, and effort needed to produce knowledge;

- see themselves as contributors to the information marketplace rather than only consumers of it;

- are inclined to examine their own information privilege.

Research as Inquiry

ACRL Association of College & Research Libraries

Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers in turn develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field.

Thomas Haynie | Research | flickr | CC BY

Experts see inquiry as a process that focuses on problems or questions in a discipline or between disciplines that are open or unresolved. Experts recognize the collaborative effort within a discipline to extend the knowledge in that field. Many times, this process includes points of disagreement where debate and dialogue work to deepen the conversations around knowledge. This process of inquiry extends beyond the academic world to the community at large, and the process of inquiry may focus upon personal, professional, or societal needs. The spectrum of inquiry ranges from asking simple questions that depend upon basic recapitulation of knowledge to increasingly sophisticated abilities to refine research questions, use more advanced research methods, and explore more diverse disciplinary perspectives. Novice learners acquire strategic perspectives on inquiry and a greater repertoire of investigative methods.

Knowledge Practices

Learners who are developing their information literate abilities

- formulate questions for research based on information gaps or on reexamination of existing, possibly conflicting, information;

- determine an appropriate scope of investigation;

- deal with complex research by breaking complex questions into simple ones, limiting the scope of investigations;

- use various research methods, based on need, circumstance, and type of inquiry;

- monitor gathered information and assess for gaps or weaknesses;

- organize information in meaningful ways;

- synthesize ideas gathered from multiple sources;

- draw reasonable conclusions based on the analysis and interpretation of information.

Dispositions

Learners who are developing their information literate abilities

- consider research as open-ended exploration and engagement with information;

- appreciate that a question may appear to be simple but still disruptive and important to research;

- value intellectual curiosity in developing questions and learning new investigative methods;

- maintain an open mind and a critical stance;

- value persistence, adaptability, and flexibility and recognize that ambiguity can benefit the research process;

- seek multiple perspectives during information gathering and assessment;

- seek appropriate help when needed;

- follow ethical and legal guidelines in gathering and using information;

- demonstrate intellectual humility (i.e., recognize their own intellectual or experiential limitations).

Scholarship as Conversation

ACRL Association of College & Research Libraries

Communities of scholars, researchers, or professionals engage in sustained discourse with new insights and discoveries occurring over time as a result of varied perspectives and interpretations.

Steve McClanahan | Conversations | flickr | CC BY-NC

Research in scholarly and professional fields is a discursive practice in which ideas are formulated, debated, and weighed against one another over extended periods of time. Instead of seeking discrete answers to complex problems, experts understand that a given issue may be characterized by several competing perspectives as part of an ongoing conversation in which information users and creators come together and negotiate meaning. Experts understand that, while some topics have established answers through this process, a query may not have a single uncontested answer. Experts are therefore inclined to seek out many perspectives, not merely the ones with which they are familiar. These perspectives might be in their own discipline or profession or may be in other fields. While novice learners and experts at all levels can take part in the conversation, established power and authority structures may influence their ability to participate and can privilege certain voices and information. Developing familiarity with the sources of evidence, methods, and modes of discourse in the field assists novice learners to enter the conversation. New forms of scholarly and research conversations provide more avenues in which a wide variety of individuals may have a voice in the conversation. Providing attribution to relevant previous research is also an obligation of participation in the conversation. It enables the conversation to move forward and strengthens one’s voice in the conversation.

Knowledge Practices

Learners who are developing their information literate abilities

- cite the contributing work of others in their own information production;

- contribute to scholarly conversation at an appropriate level, such as local online community, guided discussion, undergraduate research journal, conference presentation/poster session;

- identify barriers to entering scholarly conversation via various venues;

- critically evaluate contributions made by others in participatory information environments;

- identify the contribution that particular articles, books, and other scholarly pieces make to disciplinary knowledge;

- summarize the changes in scholarly perspective over time on a particular topic within a specific discipline;

- recognize that a given scholarly work may not represent the only or even the majority perspective on the issue.

Dispositions

Learners who are developing their information literate abilities

- recognize they are often entering into an ongoing scholarly conversation and not a finished conversation;

- seek out conversations taking place in their research area;

- see themselves as contributors to scholarship rather than only consumers of it;

- recognize that scholarly conversations take place in various venues;

- suspend judgment on the value of a particular piece of scholarship until the larger context for the scholarly conversation is better understood;

- understand the responsibility that comes with entering the conversation through participatory channels;

- value user-generated content and evaluate contributions made by others;

- recognize that systems privilege authorities and that not having a fluency in the language and process of a discipline disempowers their ability to participate and engage.

Searching as Strategic Exploration

ACRL Association of College & Research Libraries

Searching for information is often nonlinear and iterative, requiring the evaluation of a range of information sources and the mental flexibility to pursue alternate avenues as new understanding develops.

Image: Kevin Dooley | Exploring | flickr | CC

The act of searching often begins with a question that directs the act of finding needed information. Encompassing inquiry, discovery, and serendipity, searching identifies both possible relevant sources as well as the means to access those sources. Experts realize that information searching is a contextualized, complex experience that affects, and is affected by, the cognitive, affective, and social dimensions of the searcher. Novice learners may search a limited set of resources, while experts may search more broadly and deeply to determine the most appropriate information within the project scope. Likewise, novice learners tend to use few search strategies, while experts select from various search strategies, depending on the sources, scope, and context of the information need.

Knowledge Practices

Learners who are developing their information literate abilities

- determine the initial scope of the task required to meet their information needs;

- identify interested parties, such as scholars, organizations, governments, and industries, who might produce information about a topic and then determine how to access that information;

- utilize divergent (e.g., brainstorming) and convergent (e.g., selecting the best source) thinking when searching;

- match information needs and search strategies to appropriate search tools;

- design and refine needs and search strategies as necessary, based on search results;

- understand how information systems (i.e., collections of recorded information) are organized in order to access relevant information;

- use different types of searching language (e.g., controlled vocabulary, keywords, natural language) appropriately;

- manage searching processes and results effectively.

Dispositions

Learners who are developing their information literate abilities

- exhibit mental flexibility and creativity

- understand that first attempts at searching do not always produce adequate results

- realize that information sources vary greatly in content and format and have varying relevance and value, depending on the needs and nature of the search

- seek guidance from experts, such as librarians, researchers, and professionals

- recognize the value of browsing and other serendipitous methods of information gathering

- persist in the face of search challenges, and know when they have enough information to complete the information task.

Museum of Failure: How Could These Creations Avoid Curation?

The ABCs: Academic Bases Covered

Before the fun and fascinating activities start, see how they align to key information literacy skills from ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries), program learning outcomes, and essential employability skills as defined by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development. These bundle into the goals for the activities below.

Information Thresholds

- Searching as strategic exploration

- Research as inquiry

Associated Standards

Business Standard 4: Apply basic research skills to support business decision making

Essential Employability Skills

- Communicate clearly, concisely and correctly in the written, spoken, and visual form that fulfills the purpose and meets the needs of the audience.

- Locate, select, organize, and document information using appropriate technology and information systems.

- Analyze, evaluate, and apply relevant information from a variety of sources.

Goals

Learners will develop and demonstrate skills to:

- use various research methods, based on need, circumstance, and type of inquiry;

- monitor gathered information and assess for gaps or weaknesses;

- organize information in meaningful ways;

- synthesize ideas gathered from multiple sources;

- draw reasonable conclusions based on the analysis and interpretation of information.

Check In Before You Dive In

Make sure you have a firm grasp of the information, tips, and tricks communicated through The Learning Portal’s Research Hub before tackling this assignment.

After that, make sure you have the tools to be a savvier searcher. Match the tips and tricks for use in your favourite search engine with how they can assist.

An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/factsfictionandfinding/?p=35

Assignment Details

Synopsis

Combine imagination, research skills, and persuasive writing as you explore Sweden’s Museum of Failure and make a case for how you might have saved a curated disaster from its fate.

Setting the Scene

Re-opening in 2018, is Sweden’s Museum of Failure. This quirky collection claims:

- the majority of all innovation projects fail and the museum showcases these failures to provide visitors a fascinating learning experience;

- the collection consists of a wide variety of failed products and services from around the world.

- every item provides unique insight into the risky business of innovation.

Creations from the Museum of Failure

Ideally, failures are stopped before they go to market, but then we wouldn’t have the Museum of Failures!

The above are extreme examples, however, risk-taking and some inevitable failure stemming from those risks have grown to be acceptable practices in the business and tech worlds. Take a few moments to explore the importance of failure in innovation. Situating yourself in this head space will assist with your assignment.

Edmondson, A. C. (2011, April). Strategies for learning from failure. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2011/04/strategies-for-learning-from-failure

Your Tasks

1. After you have read the article above, explore the items curated in the Museum of Failure’s collection. Use resources at the bottom of this page and | or your own research skills.

2. Choose one failed innovation to investigate more deeply. Your investigation might include these areas: the failed innovation, the company, and other trends of the era.

3. Using information gathered from your investigations, posit recommendations that could have kept the innovation viable. What could the company have done to keep it from becoming a curation in the Museum of Failure? Areas to consider include product improvements; marketing; price; timing; etc.

4. Communicate your recommendations in a 750-1000 word or 5-7 minute video report using academic rules e.g., citing sources. Submit your report to your instructor using her | his preference.r

As with many things, there is no absolute | correct | right answer. You are making a case for the failed innovation having a better chance at success if certain factors changed. As long as you provide a sound rationale, supporting your opinion with research, your case will be made!

Research Boost

With research, it is important to understand the opposing viewpoint(s) to ensure a sound argument for your position. CBC’s The Under the Influence covers the marketing of fads. Listen to the podcast to learn how products that should have floundered or failed actually flourished. How marketers turned potential failures into huge fads might provide you tips to turnaround your own chosen failure’s fate.

If you do not see the embedded podcast below, access it at https://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/under-the-influence/episode/15396858 It showcases what could have easily been curations in the Museum of Failure.

An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/factsfictionandfinding/?p=35

Resource Round-up

These resources will assist your choice of failed innovation.

For resources to research the products themselves, make sure to verify the credibility of your sources!

NBC Left Field. (2017, June 14). Inside the museum of failure. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/220999602

Not a fan of museums? Here is another list of failed products that you may choose to consult for your investigation:

CBInsights. (2017, April 17). Research bites: When corporate innovation goes bad – the 11- biggest product failures of all time. Retrieved from https://www.cbinsights.com/research/corporate-innovation-product-fails/

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words, But Not a Thousand Hours

The ABCs: Academic Bases Covered

Before the fun and fascinating activities start, see how they align to key information literacy skills from ACRL (Association of College & Research Libraries), program learning outcomes, and essential employability skills as defined by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development. These bundle into the goals for the activities below.

Information Thresholds

- Information has value

- Searching as strategic exploration

- Research as inquiry

Associated Ministry Standards (Ontario)

Beyond improving basic research skills, the focus on photos will assist programs where there is a heavy emphasis on marketing and | or communicating with the public. Some examples include:

Recreation and Leisure Services Standard 3: Analyze, develop and implement marketing strategies to reach diverse individuals, groups and communities for programs, events, services and facilities using current communication technologies.

Early Childhood Education Standard 6: Prepare and use professional written, verbal, nonverbal and electronic communications when working with children, families, colleagues, employers, and community partners.

Advertising and Marketing Communications Standard 5: Collaborate in the development of advertising and marketing communications* material, in compliance with current Canadian legislation, industry standards and business practices.

Essential Employability Skills

- Communicate clearly, concisely and correctly in the written, spoken, and visual form that fulfills the purpose and meets the needs of the audience.

- Locate, select, organize, and document information using appropriate technology and information systems.

- Apply a systematic approach to solve problems.

- Analyze, evaluate, and apply relevant information from a variety of sources.

Goals

Learners will develop and demonstrate skills to:

- design and refine needs and search strategies as necessary, based on search results;

- understand how information systems (i.e., collections of recorded information) are organized in order to access relevant information;

- monitor gathered information and assess for gaps or weaknesses;

- follow ethical and legal guidelines in gathering and using information;

- draw reasonable conclusions based on the analysis and interpretation of information.

Check In Before You Dive In

Make sure you score 100% to solidify your basic understanding of Canadian copyright before you proceed.

An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/factsfictionandfinding/?p=38

Assignment Details

Synopsis

Adding visual pizzazz to your presentations, reports, and blogs shouldn’t be painful. Explore how to optimize a popular photo-sharing site and then apply those same skills to demystify a more academic database.

Setting the Scene

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘database’? Well, after a potential shiver, what pops into your mind? Add your thoughts below and | or comment on colleagues’ posts. If you do not see the embedded Padlet below, here is another way to access it.

An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/factsfictionandfinding/?p=38

Getting on the Same Page

More than likely you, and your colleagues before you, came up with the important characteristics, but let us guarantee you have the main points covered.

Each of the features implies that below the surface, this is not only a collection of data, but it is organized. There is a structure. When you search smartly, you take advantage of this structure to discover things and to make precise and relevant connections in the database.

A competent search balances recall and precision. You want neither too many results through which to wade nor the results in the search to not be fully aligned to your quest.

Balancing precision and recall

Because of this common structure, there are many strategies and features that are the same across many databases, both academic e.g., Academic Search Premier and popular e.g., Flickr.

You cannot break databases; databases are meant to be explored. The worst thing that can happen is that you will get no results or too many results and not be balanced. In that case, you just try again.

Librarian’s tip: Jot down your search strings as you go to avoid duplication as well as find that wonderful balance. Better yet, take a few minutes to jot down potential keywords and combinations.

Your Tasks

1. Choose a current or upcoming assignment, in this course, or another. You will search for an appropriate image to add visual interest as well as a relevant article to support your position.

2. Go to Flickr (www.flickr.com) and take 3 minutes to search for a relevant photo | image for your assignment. Pay attention and note the following:

- What are the different options for sorting/ how can you sort?

- How can you filter your results?

- What options in the advanced search did you find most useful?

- What were your priorities in choosing a photo for your assignment (humour, scientific accuracy, colour scheme, etc.)?

- How did these affect your search terms and the search options you selected?

3. Go to your institution’s Library and choose an appropriate database to search. Take another 3 minutes to search for a relevant article. Pay attention and note the following:

- What are the different options for sorting/ how can you sort?

- How can you filter your results?

- What options in the advanced search did you find most useful?

- Consider what your priorities are in choosing an article: background information, information on a particular aspect of your topic, publication date.

- How did these affect your search terms and the search options you selected?

4. You have searched two, different, but equally useful and interesting database types. Reflect on their differences and their commonalities. In a short, user experience analysis (300-500 words) compare and contrast Flickr and your chosen database. Consider:

- ease of use;

- search capabilities;

- overall look and feel.

5. Submit your reflection according to your instructor’s preferences.

Research Boost

The following sections under the Research Hub in The Learning Portal will enhance your completion of this assignment:

- “Searching Language” section

- ‘Databases’  under “Library Search Tools Explained”

Deeper Dive

A Flickr filter was likely new to you and worth exploring as it has the potential to evolve and expand education. In Flickr, you had the option to sort by “Any license”. Copyright license is familiar to you. It locks down a creator’s rights. Flickr uses the Creative Commons (think Copyleft or the opposite, but with options) model. A creator chooses how s|he wants the creation to be shared. Creative Commons requires attribution and then prompts for choices around commercial use, ability to adapt | change the work, and how the work must be shared.

Develop your understanding of what the combination of choices from Creative Commons allows you to do with the creation.

Don’t see the embedded match game below. Access it here.

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Take a few moments to reflect on how using Creative Commons licensing, beyond Flickr, could impact sharing and the creation of new knowledge. It is a growing movement. Open Access promotes the free dissemination of research. Open Education Resources (OER), including open textbooks, can save students thousands over their academic career.

Inspired by “What is a database?” by S. Godbey, S. Wainscott, and X. Goodman from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Savvier Searching

The ABCs: Academic Bases Covered

Before the fun and fascinating activities start, see how they align to key information literacy skills from ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries), program learning outcomes, and essential employability skills as defined by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development. These bundle into the goals for the activities below.

Information Thresholds

- Searching as strategic exploration

- Research as inquiry

Associated Standards

This is the most general of exercises and aligns to any program. Regardless of discipline, there will be nod to locating and using the most relevant information to remain current and informed in the field.

Essential Employability Skills

- Communicate clearly, concisely and correctly in the written, spoken, and visual form that fulfills the purpose and meets the needs of the audience.

- Locate, select, organize, and document information using appropriate technology and information systems.

- Apply a systematic approach to solve problems.

- Analyze, evaluate, and apply relevant information from a variety of sources.

Goals

Learners will develop and demonstrate skills to:

- design and refine needs and search strategies as necessary, based on search results;

- understand how information systems (i.e., collections of recorded information) are organized in order to access relevant information;

- monitor gathered information and assess for gaps or weaknesses;>

- follow ethical and legal guidelines in gathering and using information;

- draw reasonable conclusions based on the analysis and interpretation of information.

Check In Before You Dive In

Match the correct answer to the definition. Earning 100%, even if it takes a few tries, will assist your basic understanding to better complete the tasks to follow.

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Assignment Details

Synopsis

Improving your search skills can shave hours off of your research and improve your results. With the time saved, join a club, play some pool, take the dog or kids out, or just plain ol’ relax and rejuvenate.

Setting the Scene

The Internet can be a confusing place when you’re looking for current, high-quality information. Despite recent efforts by some to impose an order to the Web, for the most part it remains without a relatable structure or any real rules for classification, which librarians have been concerned about since the earliest days of the Internet.

This cartoon illustrates the conundrum:

Source: When librarians dream by T. Albin licensed under Creative Commons CC BY SA

Before you begin to explore the various sites, it is worth reviewing some basic search strategies. Note: There are more specific strategies if you are searching more organized resources such as library databases. And depending on your course and disposition of your instructor, you may be required to use library resources over the internet. Make sure to know what the appropriate resources are for each assignment. Check in with your library to skill up on its databases. However, basic search skills learned and applied here will serve you well as you advance to more academic sources.

Getting on the Same Page

Choose keywords carefully! Most searches begin with a straightforward keyword search. It pays to take a few moments to consider the best keywords to use. For example, suppose you are searching for information on a game you can use to teach a concept in a chemistry class. If you plug in chemistry game, you would expect the search engine to return anything with chemistry and game in the searchable information. But what if game isn’t the best word to use? Perhaps what you are really after is a simulation? Would your search find for you what you want?

Think of different words that other people may use to describe something. You may reveal hidden gems, especially when searching a resource that lacks a defined organizational structure (i.e., the Web)!

For example, even for something as common as a writing utensil, consider all the ways different people may choose to describe the object and how that might impact either finding what they describe or understanding what the object is.

As you brainstorm, write down every idea to cover all the bases and make new and interesting connections. If I were cool, I might know slang for writing utensil, but I consulted the Urban Dictionary. Apparently, piensal and play pretties count as slang for writing utensils. Who knew? But remember to match your language to the type of resource your assignment requires! The slang may be important if you are researching marketing or cultural studies, but may be distracting for research in other areas.

Now test yourself. If you do not see the embedded image and instructions below, access them here.

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Source: “Felice” by Michael Frank Franz on Flickr licensed under CC BY-NC

Once you have entered your words if you want to see the voting results and compare your answers to your colleagues, current and former, check out the ever-changing word cloud at https://www.mentimeter.com/public/be2c30e40f49e2e9bbbee9d7840d182a [Hit Hide image button to reveal the results.]

Your Tasks

- You are creating a PSA (public service announcement) for the local high school to support the thesis statement “Pot is not a damaging gateway drug.” Your first step is gather keywords and search terms to discover relevant and current research for your searching. Isolate the key concepts and brainstorm synonyms you could add to your search for information.

- When you have your final list of synonyms, submit them below. If you do not see the embedded form below, use this link.

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- Use your search terms and test drive a relevant Library database to find a current, relevant article. Notice which terms and combinations provide better results.

- After you are confident you are a savvier searcher, add your most relevant search string and one of the resulting articles from that search to the discussion topic: Pot as a Gateway.

https://tlpassessments.livingstonefrench.ca/uncategorized/research-results-pot-as-a-gateway-drug/

- Make sure to add your name to the post to receive full credit!

Research Boost

The following sections under the Research Hub in The Learning Portal will enhance your completion of this assignment:

- “Searching Language” section

- ‘Databases’  under “Library Search Tools Explained

Exerting Your Expertise and Fighting Fake News

The ABCs: Academic Bases Covered

Before the fun and fascinating activities start, see how they align to key information literacy skills from ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries), program learning outcomes, and essential employability skills as defined by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development. These bundle into the goals for the activities below.

Information Thresholds

- Authority is constructed and contextual

- Information creation as a process

- Research as inquiry

- Scholarship as conversation

Associated Standards

Beyond improving basic information literacy and communication skills, the focus on research and writing will assist programs where there is a heavy emphasis on written communication. Some examples include:

Journalism Program Standards 1, 7, and 8: Report on a range of stories in an accurate, detailed, balanced, professional, and timely manner; write and edit complex content for a range of media platforms; publish and broadcast content for a range of media platforms.

Advertising ~ Copywriting Program Standard 3: Identify and select creative writing techniques relevant and applicable to various media.

Health Information Management Program Standards 1 and 5: Keep current with relevant local, national, and global health care and health information management issues, trends, technologies and standards to support health information management systems and processes and guide professional development; Contribute to the development, implementation and evaluation of health information management practices, policies and processes to support client care, organizational goals, operation, and regulatory compliance.

Tourism Program Standard 7: Keep current with tourism trends and issues, and interdependent relationships in the broader tourism industry sectors to improve work performance and guide career development.

Essential Employability Skills

- Communicate clearly, concisely and correctly in the written, spoken, and visual form that fulfills the purpose and meets the needs of the audience.

- Locate, select, organize, and document information using appropriate technology and information systems.

- Analyze, evaluate, and apply relevant information from a variety of sources.

- Show respect fo the diverse opinions, values, belief systems, and contributions of others.

Goals

Learners will develop and demonstrate skills to:

- acknowledge they are developing their own authoritative voices in a particular area and recognize the responsibilities this entails, including seeking accuracy and reliability, respecting intellectual property, and participating in communities of practice;

- understand the increasingly social nature of the information ecosystem where authorities actively connect with one another and sources develop over time;

- recognize the implications of information formats that contain static or dynamic information;

- monitor gathered information and assess for gaps or weaknesses;

- contribute to scholarly conversation at an appropriate level, such as local online community, guided discussion, undergraduate research journal, conference presentation/poster session;

- critically evaluate contributions made by others in participatory information environments;

- understand the responsibility that comes with entering the conversation through participatory channels;

- value user-generated content and evaluate contributions made by others.

Check in Before You Dive In

There are many concepts orbiting and connected to the phrase ‘fake news’. Make sure you have an understanding of the hurdles facing people keen to know the truth.

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Assignment Details

Synopsis

Finding information is no longer a challenge; everyone is inundated with information. Today’s challenge is carefully consuming and critically thinking about the information to determine if it is trustworthy for your purposes.

Anchorman Ron Burgundy reporting on the impact of fake news

Setting the Scene

Excerpted from The Telegraph: Technology Intelligence

Titcomb, J., & Carson, J. (2018, May 9). Fake news: what exactly is it – and how can you spot it? Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/0/fake-news-exactly-has-really-had-influence/

“Fake news” was not a term many people used 18 months ago, but it is now seen as one of the greatest threats to democracy, free debate, and the Western order.

As well as being a favourite term of Donald Trump, it was also named 2017’s word of the year, raising tensions between nations, and may lead to regulation of social media.

And yet, nobody can agree on what it is, how much of a problem it is, and what to do about it. Here’s everything you need to know.

The origins of fake news

Governments and powerful individuals have used information as a weapon for millennia, to boost their support and quash dissidence.

Octavian famously used a campaign of disinformation to aid his victory over Marc Anthony in the final war of the Roman Republic. In its aftermath, he changed his name to Augustus, and dispatched a flattering and youthful image of himself throughout the Empire, maintaining its use in his old age.

In the 20th century, new forms of mass communication allowed propaganda’s scale and persuasive power to grow, particularly during wartime and in fascist regimes.

This sort of propaganda was largely funded and controlled by governments, but the blatant bias it carried waned as the ideological struggles became less apparent. Added to that, as populations became more used to mass communication, they could more easily see through it.

How did the internet and social media change things?

Before the internet, it was much more expensive to distribute information, building up trust took years, and there were much simpler definitions of what constituted news and media, making regulation or self-regulation easier.

But the rise of social media has broken down many of the boundaries that prevented fake news from spreading in democracies. In particular it has allowed anyone to create and disseminate information, especially those that have proven most adept at “gaming” how social networks operate.

Facebook and Twitter allowed people to exchange information on a much greater scale than ever before, while publishing platforms like WordPress allowed anyone to create a dynamic website with ease. In short, the barriers to creating fake news have been undone.

You will be exploring just how easily it would be to spread fake news and your responsibility as a citizen to guard against the spread. For this activity, you will use Wikipedia, an often polarizing resource in education. Some instructors don’t mind students consulting it as long it never darkens a reference list i.e., don’t quote it for an academic paper; you should always find a more ‘suitable’, supporting source to reference. Others recognize that experts are contributing to Wikipedia and although there is biased and damaging information, there is also sound and current information. Worthiness is in the critical eye of the user.

Stephen Colbert, American late night talk show host and comedian, has quite the history with Wikipedia. It is worth searching the history for his coining of “truthiness” and “wikiality”.

“Wikipedia is the first place I go when I’m looking for knowledge… or when I want to create some.”

But even his thinking around Wikimedia seems to have evolved over the decade since he fought his Wikipedia editing wars. Wikipedia itself has also evolved adopting more procedures to ensure more information on Wikipedia is high quality and free from bias.

Getting on the Same Page

Regardless of your personal views of Wikipedia, you will find value in contributing. You might see yourself as adding to a community of experts or saving society from misinformation. Either way, your Wikipedia efforts serve a valuable purpose, beyond completion of this activity.

A few facts about Wikipedia, from Wikipedia itself, just in case you are unfamiliar with how it works:

- written collaboratively by largely anonymous volunteers who write without pay

- anyone with Internet access can write and make changes, except in limited cases where editing is restricted to prevent vandalism

- there are about 71,000 active contributors working on more than 47,000,000 articles in 299 languages

- what remain depends upon whether the content is free of copyright restrictions and contentious material about living people, and whether it fits within Wikipedia’s policies, including being verifiable against a published reliable source, thereby excluding editors’ opinions and beliefs and unreviewed research.

Your Tasks

Take editing Wikipedia for a test drive before tackling a more relevant and important edit. There is an account created for anyone who wants to use it, but you are also free to create | use your own, personal account.

Communal Wikipedia login to use at https://en.wikipedia.org

Username: FindingYourWay

Password: Facts+Fiction

Test Drive Tasks

1. Log in to Wikipedia using the communal account above or your own, personal account.

2. Search for either your institution’s Wikipedia page or your city | town | village’s Wikipedia entry.

3. Check out the Review History to get a sense of the changes people have made over time.

4. Use the Edit tab (upper, right hand corner) to be able to add content or delete misinformation. You can edit using the regular view or go to the source code.

5. Read through the entry and decide how you could improve the entry. It may be adding more information about a sport team, a student support service, or updating outdated statistics. If you use other information for your edits, don’t forget to cite it.

6. Save your edits. You will be asked if your edit was a minor change or a more substantial addition or deletion. There is also an option to Watch this page. If you are using  your own account, you may choose to check this box, but please don’t check if you are using the communal account.

7. Return to the page in a week or two and see how the page has evolved and if your edits have remained, been built on, or been removed.

Taming the Wild Wiki | Improving Intelligence on Wikipedia

1. Log in to Wikipedia using the communal account above or your own, personal account.

2. Search for an area of interest in your discipline.

3. Read through the article. Make a decision about how you could improve the information.

4. Once you have pinpointed how to improve, research the area for improvement. Use a library database to find a journal article or a credible organization’s site that supports the addition you have chosen. For example, maybe: there is a new treatment for a condition; a new company producing a product; a new process for creating X; etc.

5. Make your addition to the Wikipedia entry and save.

6. Fill out the form below to detail the changes you made and why.

7. Export the form; save; and rename.

8. Return to the Wikipedia entry in a week or two and see how the page has evolved and if your edits have remained, been built on, or been removed.

An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
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Just for Fun

Did the headline from Ron Burgundy, Anchorman, catch your attention? Consider using this tool to inject some humour into your own presentations or contributions. Just go to http://www.classtools.net/breakingnews/ and create your own attention-grabbing headlines. While you are there, check out the other tools on offer.

Preserving the Future or Saving the Present?

The ABCs: Academic Bases Covered

Before the fun and fascinating activities start, see how they align to key information literacy skills from ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries), program learning outcomes, and essential employability skills as defined by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development. These bundle into the goals for the activities below.

Information Thresholds

- Authority Is constructed and contextual

- Information creation as a process

- Scholarship as conversation

Associated Ministry Standards

These activities provide practice in applying research skills, critical thinking, and communication. These skills are key to all college programs. However, the subject matter of the information and related tasks would likely be of interest to Construction Sciences, Environmental Technology, and General Education courses focused on sustainability. Some of the directly related program standards include:

Journalism Program Standards 1 and 4: Report on stories in an accurate, detailed, balance, professional, and timely manner; Analyze knowledge from communities, current events and public affairs, and history to interpret and express the context.

Business Program Standards 1 and 4: Identify and discuss the impact of global issues on an organization’s business opportunities by using an environment scan; Apply basic research skills to support business decision making.

Police Foundations Standard 2: Analyze all relevant information and make effective and legally defensible decision in accordance with ethical and professional standards.

Essential Employability Skills

- Communicate clearly, concisely and correctly in the written, spoken, and visual form that fulfills the purpose and meets the needs of the audience.

- Locate, select, organize, and document information using appropriate technology and information systems.

- Analyze, evaluate, and apply relevant information from a variety of sources.

Goals

Learners will develop and demonstrate skills to:

- design and refine needs and search strategies as necessary, based on search results;

- monitor gathered information and assess for gaps or weaknesses;

- follow ethical and legal guidelines in gathering and using information;

- draw reasonable conclusions based on the analysis and interpretation of information.

Check In Before You Dive In

Before you expand the following prompts, see if you can brainstorm the answers.

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Assignment Details

Synopsis

From fracking to natural gas pipelines, projects to extract and move energy sources around the country have been debated for decades.

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The harm these projects cause to the environment must be weighed against the opportunities they offer. Canadians are continually being asked to pick a side. The debate heated up again in late 2017, with Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline project. It has provincial and federal approval, but the protests have stepped up. It has even caused inter-provincial bickering, boycotts, and bans. For example, Albertans, who are overall in favour of pipeline expansion, were encouraged to boycott wine from British Columbia, where citizens tend to be against the pipeline expansion and its harm to the environment.

Protest against Kinder Morgan | M. Klotz | flickr CC BY

OR

Kinder Morgan employees at work | Photo courtesy of Trans Mountain

Setting the Scene

Whether you are a staunch environmentalist opposed to the pipeline with every fibre of your being or keen to keep Canadians working and contributing by construction of the pipeline, put whatever preconceived notions you have aside. While you will likely not be able to approach this activity with a clean the slate, be aware of your bias(es) and how they impact your explorations.

For this activity, you will be challenged to explore both sides and weigh the evidence you and your colleagues find.

Getting on the Same Page

Given that you either may be unaware of the issue or fall firmly on one side, you and your colleagues will collaborate to create a full picture of the issues involved in the Kinder Morgan Trans Canada debate.

Search newspaper articles, blogs, and websites to build a resource that provides evidence to support both sides of the Kinder Morgan Trans Canada debate. You will be using these resources for the main part of the activity and high quality resources will contribute to your success.

Make sure to add your name to the contributions you provide in order to receive credit for your active participation. Use the Padlet below to add your research to the appropriate columns. Challenge yourself to balance your view by finding a pro and an against resource or ones that provide both sides of the debate.

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Your Tasks

This activity, more than likely, introduces you to a new tool and requires you to install a bookmarklet or extension to use it. This is unusual, but this tool could be valuable to you in your academic and future career, so it is worth the extra step and potential small learning curve. Welcome to hypothes.is ~ the tool to openly annotate the web.

A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/factsfictionandfinding/?p=47

1. Peruse the assets colleagues have added to the collaborative research Padlet above.

2. Join our collaborative notes on hypothes.is using our group  https://hypothes.is/groups/nVYRZyNY/tlp-natural-gas-pipeline

3. Choose a minimum of two articles, videos, images, etc. from your colleagues’ collection and annotate using hypothes.is. Make sure you add your contributions to the our collaborative group. Your annotations could include:

- questioning the information based on other research you have read;

- highlighting an aspect e.g., currency of the article, creator of the video. etc.

4. Based on the research you and your colleagues found and annotated, pick a side of the debate. You will return to our communal Padlet to post your final decision.

- Write a 250-500 word position paper and upload it to the Padlet entry that you found the most persuasive. OR

- Use the other features in Padlet to create a multimedia position statement. There are audio and video options. Once again, add to the Padlet entry that you found most persuasive.

5. Make sure to identify yourself in your Padlet post.

Research Boost

The following sections under the Research Hub in The Learning Portal will enhance your completion of this assignment:

- “Searching Language” section

- ‘Databases’  under “Library Search Tools Explained

Crafting, Connecting, and Communicating: Assessing Audience Attributes

The ABCs: Academic Bases Covered

Before the fun and fascinating activities start, see how they align to key information literacy skills from ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries), program learning outcomes, and essential employability skills as defined by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development. These bundle into the goals for the activities below.

Information Thresholds

- Scholarship as conversation

- Information creation as a process

- Searching as strategic exploration

Associated Ministry Standards

These activities provide practice in applying research skills, critical thinking, and communication. These skills are key to all college programs and as the tasks centre around a subject of general interest, they are appropriate for any discipline.

Educators are also free to swap out the chosen subject to one more closely aligned to different disciplines. An issue currently in the news would also make an appropriate subject around which to ground the tasks.

Essential Employability Skills

- Communicate clearly, concisely and correctly in the written, spoken, and visual form that fulfills the purpose and meets the needs of the audience.

- Locate, select, organize, and document information using appropriate technology and information systems.

- Analyze, evaluate, and apply relevant information from a variety of sources.

Goals

Learners will develop and demonstrate skills to:

- Gain awareness of writing as an author communicating to an audience;

- Recognize the relationship of the content they consume to the writing they do;

- Identify primary, secondary, and tertiary resources within the context of their research in a discipline and understand why those labels matter.

Check In Before You Dive In

Make sure you have a firm understanding of the elements of a communication i.e., the communication process. You should be able to quickly match the six terms to their definitions.

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Assignment Details

Synopsis

Being inundated with information every minute of every day, makes it difficult to step back and consider the channels it travels and the formats it takes. [Don’t even just me started on deciphering the actual data in the information!] Tasks in this assessment challenge you to consider where and how different people access information. You may plan, research, and craft your presentations to be engaging and informative, but if you have not considered your audience they will likely fall flat and fail to make the expected impacted.

Setting the Scene

Communication

“Communication is thought of both as an ordinary action and as an extraordinary act. It is ordinary because t is a major human activity that we engage in each day, but it is extraordinary because communicating with others has the capacity to provide social support and comfort, engage others in deliberation and debate on important issues, delight us with stories and performances, help us understand and manage who we are as people, and manage or resolve conflicts.” ~ W. F. Eadie

You likely communicate hundreds of times a day without really considering what goes into the process. The tasks associated with this assessment challenge you to not only understand the process of communication, but also examine how that process alters with your audience.

The Communication Process

Getting on the Same Page

To begin, consider the very nature of information and all its forms. The following image attempts to capture a brainstorm of types of information and the format through which we access | receive information. Depending on your experiences, and potentially your age, you will recognize and gravitate to some words over others. Consider yourself as an audience. Which formats and places should a sender use to improve the chance you might receive and appropriately decode the intended message.

Word Cloud Representing a Two Minute Brainstorm on the Types and Formats of Information

This is if you prefer a text version of the word cloud above. Add any places or formats where you find information to the document that it may be missing.

Your Tasks

1. You will take a common subject and choose at least two audiences to inform and engage on the subject matter.

2. Before beginning your research consider: who you are; what your message is; who your audience is. The basic research on the power of smell will be the same, but then you will want to target your research to your particular audiences.

3. Once, you have the research, consider where (the channel or format) you would share and why.

4. Use the template provided to share your resources and rationales for your chosen audience and its channel(s).

5. Create a promotional piece to target one of your chosen audiences and persuade them to believe and support the common subject.

- Feel free to go high tech or low tech. Draw a billboard; create a 30 second video; mock up a flyer; etc. Use your imagination, creativity, and skill set. But don’t be afraid to test out a new tool.

6. Save and submit your ideas (template) and your creation according to your instructor’s directions.

Common Subject

Smell-o-Vision: An Artist’s Rendering

The cinematic experience has changed a lot over the past few years. To compete with Netflix, iTunes, and home theatres, movie theatres have added moving seats, surround sound, 3D experiences, IMAX, recliner seating, alcoholic beverages, VIP seating, more varied concession items, etc.

Another innovation that keeps popping up every few years is the idea of smell-o-vision. See a car crash on the screen and you smell smoke and gasoline. Two lovers running toward each other through a meadow (likely sarcastically) and you smell the wildflowers and tall grasses.

Your sense of smell is closely linked to memory and also highly emotive. By incorporating smell into the other senses in the movie going experience, promoters promise a fuller experience for the audience.

Your Audience Choices

1. High school students

2. Young, urban professionals

3. Families with young children

4. Women aged 35-55

5. Adults 60+

The Template

Use the embedded document creator below to record your research and rationale.

An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/factsfictionandfinding/?p=456

Research Boost

The following sections under the Research Hub in The Learning Portal will enhance your completion of this assignment:

- “Searching Language” section

- ‘Databases’  under “Library Search Tools Explained

Just for Fun

Bass Clef B for clove; Bass Clef C for geranium; Treble Clef C for rose; Treble Clef D for bergamot. Each key a different scent. Would your playing create a symphony or cacophony?

From a 2012 article in Pacific Standard:

The Olfactory Organ

The June 1922 issue of Science and Invention magazine featured a rather peculiar invention which envisioned an entirely new (and entirely silent) kind of concert. The invention was based on the theories of Dr. Septimus Piesse, a French chemist and perfumer who wrote the 1857 book The Art of Perfumery. Piesse often used music as a way to talk about how certain smells could work together. Just as certain notes could be played together in harmony, while others caused discord and were unpleasant to the ear, so too could certain smells be combined to create a beautiful bouquet while others smell terrible when combined.

Science and Invention took Piesse’s theories and ran with them, imagining a new kind of concert where musicians might “play” smells rather than sounds. We see, in an illustration by Frank R. Paul, a dapper gentleman sitting in front of a keyboard, sheet music at the ready and fragrances being coaxed from his fingers out of the bottles above and wafting over an attentive audience.

Attributions

Mott, T.J. (2017). The smell-o-vision. Retrieved from https://thedailywtf.com/articles/the-smell-o-vision

Novak, M. (2012, December 4). The olfactory organ: A 1920s design for an instrument that you don’t hear by smell. Retrieved from https://psmag.com/environment/smell-organ-50062

Critical Thinking Rubric

Critical Thinking

The VALUE rubrics were developed by teams of faculty experts representing colleges and universities across the United States through a process that examined many existing campus rubrics and related documents for each learning outcome and incorporated additional feedback from faculty. The rubrics articulate fundamental criteria for each learning outcome, with performance descriptors demonstrating progressively more sophisticated levels of attainment. The rubrics are intended for institutional-level use in evaluating and discussing student learning, not for grading. The core expectations articulated in all 15 of the VALUE rubrics can and should be translated into the language of individual campuses, disciplines, and even courses. The utility of the VALUE rubrics is to position learning at all undergraduate levels within a basic framework of expectations such that evidence of learning can by shared nationally through a common dialog and understanding of student success.

Definition

Critical thinking is a habit of mind characterized by the comprehensive exploration of issues, ideas, artifacts, and events before accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion.

Framing Language

This rubric is designed to be transdisciplinary, reflecting the recognition that success in all disciplines requires habits of inquiry and analysis that share common attributes. Further, research suggests that successful critical thinkers from all disciplines increasingly need to be able to apply those habits in various and changing situations encountered in all walks of life.

This rubric is designed for use with many different types of assignments and the suggestions here are not an exhaustive list of possibilities. Critical thinking can be demonstrated in assignments that require students to complete analyses of text, data, or issues. Assignments that cut across presentation mode might be especially useful in some fields. If insight into the process components of critical thinking (e.g., how information sources were evaluated regardless of whether they were included in the product) is important, assignments focused on student reflection might be especially illuminating.

Glossary

The definitions that follow were developed to clarify terms and concepts used in this rubric only.

Ambiguity: Information that may be interpreted in more than one way.

Assumptions: Ideas, conditions, or beliefs (often implicit or unstated) that are “taken for granted or accepted as true without proof.” (quoted from www.dictionary.reference.com/browse/assumptions)

Context: The historical, ethical. political, cultural, environmental, or circumstantial settings or conditions that influence and complicate the consideration of any issues, ideas, artifacts, and events.

Literal meaning: Interpretation of information exactly as stated. For example, “she was green with envy” would be interpreted to mean that her skin was green.

Metaphor: Information that is (intended to be) interpreted in a non-literal way. For example, “she was green with envy” is intended to convey an intensity of emotion, not a skin colour.

The rubric below is available for you to use as is or to mix and match with criteria from other VALUE rubrics or your own. Follow these steps to make the rubric your own:

1. Click on the link, which brings you to an online Google Sheet.

2. Under File, download a copy in the format of your choice.

An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/factsfictionandfinding/?p=397

Ethical Reasoning Rubric

Ethical Reasoning

The VALUE rubrics were developed by teams of faculty experts representing colleges and universities across the United States through a process that examined many existing campus rubrics and related documents for each learning outcome and incorporated additional feedback from faculty. The rubrics articulate fundamental criteria for each learning outcome, with performance descriptors

demonstrating progressively more sophisticated levels of attainment. The rubrics are intended for institutional-level use in evaluating and discussing student learning, not for grading. The core expectations articulated in all 15 of the VALUE rubrics can and should be translated into the language of individual campuses, disciplines, and even courses. The utility of the VALUE rubrics is to position learning at all undergraduate levels within a basic framework of expectations such that evidence of learning can by shared nationally through a common dialog and understanding of student success.

Definition

Ethical Reasoning is reasoning about right and wrong human conduct. It requires students to be able to assess their own ethical values and the social context of problems, recognize ethical issues in a variety of settings, think about how different ethical perspectives might be applied to ethical dilemmas and consider the ramifications of alternative actions. Students’ ethical self identity evolves as they practice ethical decision-making skills and learn how to describe and analyze positions on ethical issues.

Framing Language

This rubric is intended to help faculty evaluate work samples and collections of work that demonstrate student learning about ethics. Although the goal of a liberal education should be to help students turn what they’ve learned in the classroom into action, pragmatically it would be difficult, if not impossible, to judge whether or not students would act ethically when faced with real ethical situations. What can be evaluated using a rubric is whether students have the intellectual tools to make ethical choices. The rubric focuses on five elements: Ethical Self Awareness, Ethical Issue Recognition, Understanding Different Ethical Perspectives/Concepts, Application of Ethical Principles, and Evaluation of Different Ethical Perspectives/Concepts. Students’ Ethical Self Identity evolves as they practice ethical decision-making skills and learn how to describe and analyze positions on ethical issues. Presumably, they will choose ethical actions when faced with ethical issues.

Glossary

The definitions that follow were developed to clarify terms and concepts used in this rubric only.

Core beliefs: Those fundamental principles that consciously or unconsciously influence one’s ethical conduct and ethical thinking. Even when unacknowledged, core beliefs shape one’s responses. Core beliefs can reflect one’s environment, religion, culture or training. A person may or may not choose to act on their core beliefs.

Ethical perspectives/concepts: The different theoretical means through which ethical issues are analyzed, such as ethical theories (e.g., utilitarian, natural law, virtue) or ethical concepts (e.g. rights, justice, duty).

Complex, multi-layered (gray) context: The sub-parts or situational conditions of a scenario that bring two or more ethical dilemmas (issues) into the mix/problem/context/ for student’s identification.

Cross-relationships among the issues: Obvious or subtle connections between/among the sub-parts or situational conditions of the issues present in a scenario (e.g., relationship of production of corn as part of climate change issue).

The rubric below is available for you to use as is or to mix and match with criteria from other VALUE rubrics or your own. Follow these steps to make the rubric your own:

1. Click on the link, which brings you to an online Google Sheet.

2. Under File, download a copy in the format of your choice.

An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/factsfictionandfinding/?p=408

Written Communication Rubric

Written Communication

The VALUE rubrics were developed by teams of faculty experts representing colleges and universities across the United States through a process that examined many existing campus rubrics and related documents for each learning outcome and incorporated additional feedback from faculty. The rubrics articulate fundamental criteria for each learning outcome, with performance descriptors demonstrating progressively more sophisticated levels of attainment. The rubrics are intended for institutional-level use in evaluating and discussing student learning, not for grading. The core expectations articulated in all 15 of the VALUE rubrics can and should be translated into the language of individual campuses, disciplines, and even courses. The utility of the VALUE rubrics is to position learning at all undergraduate levels within a basic framework of expectations such that evidence of learning can by shared nationally through a common dialog and understanding of student success.

Definition

Written communication is the development and expression of ideas in writing. Written communication involves learning to work in many genres and styles. It can involve working with many different writing technologies, and mixing texts, data, and images. Written communication abilities develop through iterative experiences across the curriculum.

Framing Language

This writing rubric is designed for use in a wide variety of educational institutions. The most clear finding to emerge from decades of research on writing assessment is that the best writing assessments are locally determined and sensitive to local context and mission. Users of this rubric should, in the end, consider making adaptations and additions that clearly link the language of the rubric to individual campus contexts.

This rubric focuses assessment on how specific written work samples or collectioNs of work respond to specific contexts. The central question guiding the rubric is “How well does writing respond to the needs of audience(s) for the work?” In focusing on this question the rubric does not attend to other aspects of writing that are equally important: issues of writing process, writing strategies, writers’ fluency with different modes of textual production or publication, or writer’s growing engagement with writing and disciplinarity through the process of writing.

Evaluators using this rubric must have information about the assignments or purposes for writing guiding writers’ work. Also recommended is including reflective work samples of collections of work that address such questions as: What decisions did the writer make about audience, purpose, and genre as s/he compiled the work in the portfolio? How are those choices evident in the writing — in the content, organization and structure, reasoning, evidence, mechanical and surface conventions, and citational systems used in the writing? This will enable evaluators to have a clear sense of how writers understand the assignments and take it into consideration as they evaluate

The first section of this rubric addresses the context and purpose for writing. A work sample or collections of work can convey the context and purpose for the writing tasks it showcases by including the writing assignments associated with work samples. But writers may also convey the context and purpose for their writing within the texts. It is important for faculty and institutions to include directions for students about how they should represent their writing contexts and purposes.

Faculty interested in the research on writing assessment that has guided our work here can consult the National Council of Teachers of English/Council of Writing Program Administrators’ White Paper on Writing Assessment (2008; www.wpacouncil.org/whitepaper) and the Conference on College Composition and Communication’s Writing Assessment: A Position Statement (2008; www.ncte.org/ cccc/ resources/positions/123784.htm)

Glossary

The definitions that follow were developed to clarify terms and concepts used in this rubric only.

Content development: The ways in which the text explores and represents its topic in relation to its audience and purpose.

Context of and purpose for writing: The context of writing is the situation surrounding a text: who is reading it? who is writing it? Under what circumstances will the text be shared or circulated? What social or political factors might affect how the text is composed or interpreted? The purpose for writing is the writer’s intended effect on an audience. Writers might want to persuade or inform; they might want to report or summarize information; they might want to work through complexity or confusion; they might want to argue with other writers, or connect with other writers; they might want to convey urgency or amuse; they might write for themselves or for an assignment or to remember.

Disciplinary conventions: Formal and informal rules that constitute what is seen generally as appropriate within different academic fields, e.g. introductory strategies, use of passive voice or first person point of view, expectations for thesis or hypothesis, expectations for kinds of evidence and support that are appropriate to the task at hand, use of primary and secondary sources to provide evidence and support arguments and to document critical perspectives on the topic. Writers will incorporate sources according to disciplinary and genre conventions, according to the writer’s purpose for the text. Through increasingly sophisticated use of sources, writers develop an ability to differentiate between their own ideas and the ideas of others, credit and build upon work already accomplished in the field or issue they are addressing, and provide meaningful examples to readers.

Evidence: Source material that is used to extend, in purposeful ways, writers’ ideas in a text.

Genre conventions: Formal and informal rules for particular kinds of texts and/or media that guide formatting, organization, and stylistic choices, e.g. lab reports, academic papers, poetry, webpages, or personal essays.

Sources: Texts (written, oral, behavioral, visual, or other) that writers draw on as they work for a variety of purposes — to extend, argue with, develop, define, or shape their ideas, for example.

The rubric below is available for you to use as is or to mix and match with criteria from other VALUE rubrics or your own. Follow these steps to make the rubric your own:

1. Click on the link, which brings you to an online Google Sheet.

2. Under File, download a copy in the format of your choice.

An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/factsfictionandfinding/?p=419

Information Literacy

Information Literacy

The VALUE rubrics were developed by teams of faculty experts representing colleges and universities across the United States through a process that examined many existing campus rubrics and related documents for each learning outcome and incorporated additional feedback from faculty. The rubrics articulate fundamental criteria for each learning outcome, with performance descriptors demonstrating progressively more sophisticated levels of attainment. The rubrics are intended for institutional-level use in evaluating and discussing student learning, not for grading. The core expectations articulated in all 15 of the VALUE rubrics can and should be translated into the language of individual campuses, disciplines, and even courses. The utility of the VALUE rubrics is to position learning at all undergraduate levels within a basic framework of expectations such that evidence of learning can by shared nationally through a common dialog and understanding of student success. In July 2013, there was a correction to Dimension 3: Evaluate Information and its Sources Critically.

Definition

The ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively and responsibly use and share that information for the problem at hand. – Adopted from the National Forum on Information Literacy

Framing Language

This rubric is recommended for use evaluating a collection of work, rather than a single work sample in order to fully gauge students’ information skills. Ideally, a collection of work would contain a wide variety of different types of work and might include: research papers, editorials, speeches, grant proposals, marketing or business plans, PowerPoint presentations, posters, literature reviews, position papers, and argument critiques to name a few. In addition, a description of the assignments with the instructions that initiated the student work would be vital in providing the complete context for the work. Although a student’s final work must stand on its own, evidence of a student’s research and information gathering processes, such as a research journal/diary, could provide further demonstration of a student’s information proficiency and for some criteria on this rubric would be required.

The rubric below is available for you to use as is or to mix and match with criteria from other VALUE rubrics or your own. Follow these steps to make the rubric your own:

1. Click on the link, which brings you to an online Google Sheet.

2. Under File, download a copy in the format of your choice.

An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/factsfictionandfinding/?p=414

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