Draft presentation on critical evaluation of online information and how the Internet for Economics can help

1. Critical evaluation of online
information :
the Internet for Economics
Paul Ayres
Economics Editor, Intute
http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/tutorial/economics/

2. The Google Generation?
“Students rely on the most basic search tools
and do not possess the critical and analytical
skills to asses the information that they find
on the web”
Information behaviour of the researcher of the
future / CIBER
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/r
esourcediscovery/googlegen.aspx

3. Student Use of Online Content
"The internet is used but also distrusted, many students
are aware that sites such as Wikipedia are not
respected by their tutors"
"Students have a tendency to be reactive and passive
users of research content and their use is driven by
their assessment needs"
Students’ Use of Research Content in Teaching and
Learning / Centre for Research-informed Teaching
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/aboutus/working
groups/studentsuseresearchcontent.pdf

4. Exercise 1 : Your issues
What are the key issues / problems you
encounter with student use of online
content?
– Quality of citations
– Authority of sources
– Lack of awareness of academic processes

5. Key trends
• Proliferation of online content - Web 2.0,
Social Media, blogs, podcasts, etc.
• Academic trends - Google Scholar,
open access, electronic journals,
ebooks, integrated library services
• Information literacy gap - plagiarism,
citation practices, copy and paste
culture

6. Specific issues
• Quality of citations from students declining
• Search being mistaken for research
• Use of sources that aren't authoritative
• Lack of awareness of peer review process
• Students lack a mental map of the subject
• Web 2.0 makes these problems more acute
• Poor evaluation of sources that are cited

7. What’s needed
• Focus on academic Internet resources
• Help students understand academic research
process
• Explain difference between academic
publishing and Web 2.0 user generated
content
• Teach search and evaluation skills
• Is it fair to criticise students if they haven't
been taught these skills?

9. Tutorial structure
• Tour - the key websites for your subject
• Discover - search tools and search
strategies
• Judge - critical evaluation of results
• Success - how people are using the
Internet for their work

10. The approach
• Student centred and HE focus
• To help with coursework and
assignments
• Focus on academic sources online
• Includes Web 2.0 but in academic
context

11. Exercise 2 :
Spend a few minutes looking at the Internet for
Economics tutorial
http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/tutorial/economics/
Then discuss
• How could it be used in your teaching?
• Where is the most appropriate place for it in
the curriculum?

12. Possible use / places
• Where in the curriculum?
–Internet research methods
–Information literacy
–As part of subject work

13. Possible use / places
• Place to mention it?
–In the student handbook
–Linked from course webpage / VLE
–Within policy on Internet resources
–In advice on plagiarism

14. Possible use / places
• How to use it?
–Handbook for reviewing websites
–Assessed web review of subject
–Completion of tutorial in class

15. There's more …
• Intute: Economics
http://www.intute.ac.uk/economics/
More Economics Internet resources
• Critical thinking and the web
http://www.intute.ac.uk/criticalthinking.html
More teaching materials on this issue
• Virtual Training Suite
http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/
More tutorials with over 60 titles

16. Contacts
Paul Ayres
Economics Editor, Intute
Paul.Ayres@Bristol.ac.uk
http://twitter.com/intuteeconomics
Thanks for listening