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Are You Really a Digital Native?

Exploding the ‘Myth of the Digital Native’

The most alarming finding in the ERIAL studies was perhaps the most predictable: when it comes to finding and evaluating sources in the Internet age, students are downright lousy.

Only seven out of 30 students whom anthropologists observed at Illinois Wesleyan “conducted what a librarian might consider a reasonably well-executed search,” wrote Duke and Andrew Asher, an anthropologist at Bucknell University, whom the Illinois consortium called in to lead the project.

Throughout the interviews, students mentioned Google 115 times -- more than twice as many times as any other database. The prevalence of Google in student research is well-documented, but the Illinois researchers found something they did not expect: students were not very good at using Google. They were basically clueless about the logic underlying how the search engine organizes and displays its results. Consequently, the students did not know how to build a search that would return good sources. (For instance, limiting a search to news articles, or querying specific databases such as Google Book Search or Google Scholar.)

Duke and Asher said they were surprised by “the extent to which students appeared to lack even some of the most basic information literacy skills that we assumed they would have mastered in high school.” Even students who were high achievers in high school suffered from these deficiencies, Asher told Inside Higher Ed in an interview.

In other words: Today’s college students might have grown up with the language of the information age, but they do not necessarily know the grammar.

“I think it really exploded this myth of the ‘digital native,’ ” Asher said. “Just because you’ve grown up searching things in Google doesn’t mean you know how to use Google as a good research tool.”

Inside Higher Ed, September 24, 2011 "What Students Don't Know", August 22, 2011

Deeply Rooted (338.10973 HAM)

"As [unconventional farmers and ranchers] see it, agriculture is not an industry on the periphery of modern civilization. It is a fundamental act that determines whether we as a society will live or die. What binds these people is not a particular farming method, but rather the conviction that as humans, the contributions they make are essential. Conventional agriculture doesn't need people for much more than to run the machines and carry the debt, but these people refuse that lifeless role. To the work, they bring their intellects and their consciences, their histories and their concerns for the future. In quiet ways, in quiet places, they have set about correcting the damage that has come from believing agriculture could actually be reduced to numbers alone. The first step: reclaim their place in the center of the equation." (pg. 4)

Ask For Help If You Need It!

One thing the librarians now know is that their students' research habits are worse than they thought.

At Illinois Wesleyan University, “The majority of students -- of all levels -- exhibited significant difficulties that ranged across nearly every aspect of the search process,” according to researchers there. They tended to overuse Google and misuse scholarly databases. They preferred simple database searches to other methods of discovery, but generally exhibited “a lack of understanding of search logic” that often foiled their attempts to find good sources.

However, the researchers did not place the onus solely on students. Librarians and professors are also partially to blame for the gulf that has opened between students and the library employees who are supposed to help them, the ERIAL researchers say. Librarians tend to overestimate the research skills of some of their students, which can result in interactions that leave students feeling intimidated and alienated, say the ERIAL researchers. Some professors make similar assumptions, and fail to require that their students visit with a librarian before embarking on research projects. And both professors and librarians are liable to project an idealistic view of the research process onto students who often are not willing or able to fulfill it.

“If we quietly hope to convert all students to the liberal ideals of higher education, we may miss opportunities to connect with a pragmatic student body,” wrote Mary Thill, a humanities librarian at Northeastern Illinois. “… By financial necessity, many of today’s students have limited time to devote to their research.” Showing students the pool and then shoving them into the deep end is more likely to foster despair than self-reliance, Thill wrote. “Now more than ever, academic librarians should seek to ‘save time for the reader.’ ”

Before they can do that, of course, they will have to actually get students to ask for help. That means understanding why students are not asking for help and knowing what kind of help they need, say the librarians.

Inside Higher Ed, September 24, 2011; "What Students Don't Know", August 22, 2011

You Killed Wesley Payne (FIC Beaudoin)

YOU KILLED WESLEY PAYNE is not for everyone, and it took me a while to warm up to it, but I could NOT stop reading it once I started. Yes, it is Private-I-Noir-Fiction-for-Teen-Boys, but it is also what I imagine Chuck Palahniuk, the author of FIGHT CLUB, might write if he were writing for a younger audience. Personally, I'm kinda' grateful that Chuck Palahniuk does NOT write for teens. Still, this was lots of fun. Here's one of my favorite excerpts:

" 'Don't push it, murse,' Chugg hissed through his neckless smile, so only he and Dalton could hear. 'Just 'cause I got word from above to be cool doesn't mean I might not . . . stomp your teeth for you anyway.'

Chugg was smaller and decidedly wider, and he had at least twice as many hairs on his chin as Dalton. He was too dumb to be of use for anything except brute intimidation and running into things full speed. His already limited purview would grow smaller within minutes of graduating from Salt River and continue to compress in on itself over years of unappreciated labor, miserable family Christmases, and beers with the guys on Wednesday nights until nothing remained but the vague odor of Chex Mix and a desiccated sweat sock. So it was hard to hate him too much."

If You Love It, Search It

150 Great Tech Prep Careers

If you are beginning to seriously brainstorm ideas about your career path, 150 Great Tech Prep Careers, might be helpful. The book describes rewarding jobs in a number of fields that require "only on-the-job training, an apprenticeship, a certificate, or an associate’s degree. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, many of the selected careers in this useful new resource are predicted to have fast growth and a high number of openings in the coming years. Covering a variety of industries including computers, education, health care, technical repair, and more, the jobs selected offer opportunities at many levels of skill and education. Each job article describes the job duties, required education, training, skills, expected earnings, and much more.

This accessible career guide also includes an introduction explaining how the jobs were selected, along with overviews of the hottest career fields." (Taken from Infobase Publishing)

Dog (636.70887 FOG)

In DOG, Dr. Bruce Fogle clearly explains the relationship between man and dog in an entertaining way. I opened the book up to page 145, at random, and began to read the section, "When the bite is worse than the bark," and couldn't stop reading. If you love dogs, are thinking about choosing a new puppy, are training a dog, looking for veterinary advice, or preparing for your dog's final years, this book is really helpful. 

Don't Let the Movie Ruin the Book

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