Digital Detectives

Solving Information Dilemmas in an Online World

Crystal Fulton, Claire McGuinness

• Publisher: Chandos Publishing
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780081001240
• eBook ISBN: 9780081001318
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Library & Information Science
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Digital Detectives: Solving Information Dilemmas in an Online World helps students become independent and confident digital detectives, giving them the tools and tactics they need to critically scrutinize web-based digital information to ascertain its authenticity, veracity, and authority, and to use the information in a discerning way to successfully complete academic tasks. Enabling students to select and use information appropriately empowers them to function at a higher level of digital information fluency, acting as discerning consumers of, and effective contributors to, web-based information.- Offers a situated, problem-solving approach to deepen students' analytical and research skills- Explores a practical, real-life dilemma that is typically experienced by undergraduates in the course of their academic work, especially those transitioning from secondary to third-level education- Focuses on the authentic educational needs of undergraduates as expressed by educators, but also students themselves- Addresses a specific central dilemma which is identified at the outset, but also uses the opportunity to reveal to students the broader contextual issues which frame the problem they are exploring

Chapter 1

The Digital Landscape, Scholarship, and You

Abstract

This chapter welcomes you to university learning and the potential power of digital tools and resources in higher education. We consider the transition to the university environment and digital dilemmas students routinely face as they complete academic tasks. We explore the skills that you may acquire from this textbook, which will enable you to become a savvy digital detective. An overview of each chapter is provided to help you work through the textbook as a whole, as well as to help you dip into chapters to focus on specific dilemmas as they may arise in your academic work.

Keywords

Digital dilemma; Digital learning; Higher education; Information seeking strategies; Learning strategies; University learning

Welcome to higher education! As a student about to embark on a programme of university learning, or as a student in the early stages of a university programme, this book is for you. Here, you will be presented with new ideas, new learning opportunities, and new ways of experiencing learning. Digital learning environments, resources, and tools will form a significant part of your learning and will also pose significant challenges of their own. Because many aspects of the digital world are new and changing quickly, you may sometimes feel unsure of how to utilize aspects of the digital world to achieve your learning goals and how to do so effectively and ethically. If you do feel this way, you are not alone. Digital dilemmas present themselves continuously throughout our interaction with the digital world, and learning how to resolve them is all part of this exciting journey. For instance, have you ever done one of the following?

• copied a line of text or a picture from a webpage and pasted it straight into a project or paper you were working on?

• found all of the information for a project on one single website?

• asked for help with a problem on a social media website?

• typed a full sentence into the Google search box?

• found a definition of a word on Wikipedia?

This book will help you to decide whether the actions you take in managing your learning and preparing coursework are the right ones and will help you to develop the skills and strategies to make good decisions always.

This opening chapter sets the scene by introducing you to the educational landscape that frames the learning experiences of undergraduate students in an increasingly digital environment. A variety of digital tools and resources have transformed information seeking and learning over the past two decades. The virtual learning environment has also changed how we access learning. It is essential to consider the impact of these changes on how learning is acquired. As we explore the expanding role of digital learning in university education, we also consider some of the essential themes around effective digital learning, framed as digital dilemmas, which are covered in this text to assist you as you develop from digital native to digital citizen.

In this chapter you will:

• contextualize learning, in particular digital means of learning, in the university environment.

• gain an overview of this text.

• consider your learning goals in conjunction with using this text.

1.1. The Changing World of Education

Education is changing. As a university student today, you will find yourself in a different educational environment from that of past graduates. You may be aware of the rapidly changing environment around you, as more and more digital entities pop up, encouraging you to sign up, log in, share, like, collaborate, upload, download… the list goes on. Significantly, digital resources abound, creating an abundance of information that can be easily accessed. By and large, this is a wonderful advantage and has transformed knowledge development, research, and learning over the past decades. However, identifying digital content that is appropriate for academic purposes can also be very challenging, and this is where we come in.

The development of intelligent analytical skills that enable you to discern reliable digital content is now essential for success not only in education but also in the workplace and other everyday life contexts. The transition from secondary education to university marks a leap to an advanced level of learning, and this includes an increased emphasis on independent critical thinking and analytical skills. As a result, it is crucial to develop effective and efficient means of utilizing digital information as early as possible for success in academic work.

As students like you enter university, they are often assumed to be able to locate, access and download information with ease. However, in reality, they may not recognize issues surrounding the quality of the information found and the ethical issues relating to its use. The boundless growth of digital information and the constant emergence of new formats make decisions about the quality of information more and more difficult.

1.2. Digital Technologies and Resources in University Learning

Digital tools and devices now play a significant role in university education. More and more students are bringing mobile computing devices, including laptops, tablets, and mobile phones, with them to the classroom. What do you bring? In addition, the university environment provides instant access to a variety of digital tools and resources, including software, scholarly databases, Internet resources, and Wi-Fi communication, that facilitate communication and information retrieval.

When harnessed in a positive, meaningful and student-centred way, digital resources and technologies offer a powerful and engaging means of attaining learning outcomes and enhancing the overall learning experience. Although born into the digital era, however, today’s students often do not see the learning possibilities in the multimedia resources and tools, such as apps, that they use primarily for leisure. They can find themselves confused and stressed by the digital dilemmas that they encounter in their places of education, especially when making the challenging transition from secondary to higher education.

Students may experience this as a conflict between the range, variety, and ease of access to web-based online resources and the traditional image of higher education as primarily oriented around formal textbooks, monographs, and research papers. Students may make poor information choices as a result of their lack of knowledge of how online sources are created, disseminated, organized, and presented. This book aims to resolve this conflict by empowering undergraduate students to make the most of all types of digital resources, while adhering to academic standards and behaving ethically with regard to the information they collect and produce in the online environment.

1.3. What Can I Learn from This Text?

This book challenges you to become an independent and confident Digital Detective who critically scrutinizes web-based digital information to ascertain its authenticity, veracity, and authority, and who uses this information in a discerning way to complete academic tasks successfully. By learning to select and use digital information appropriately, you will be empowered to function at a higher level of digital information fluency, acting as a discerning consumer of, and effective contributor to, web-based information.

This book contains a series of key digital dilemmas that you might face when engaged in academic tasks. By exploring the solutions to these real-life digital dilemmas, you will develop a range of essential skills and strategies for interacting with digital information in the context of your studies. Using this book, you will learn the following critical skills for learning in the digital environment:

• discover how resources on the Web are created, organized, filtered, located, and accessed.

• select and use relevant information appropriately from overwhelming multi-format search returns.

• learn to think critically about the process of finding, using, and creating information on the Web and via other digital sources.

• successfully harness Web resources to complete academic tasks.

• avoid the perils of plagiarism and behave ethically with regard to all digital information formats.

• learn how to discern misinformation on the Internet and engage in safe online practices.

• become a savvy Internet user who understands how to present yourself online and who is aware of and can control the digital footprints that you create.

This text aims to address the issues surrounding digital research from your perspective as a student, addressing real-life critical stumbling blocks that can prevent you from engaging fully and productively with learning situations as you move into the world of higher education. Multiple opportunities for reflection and practical exercises that facilitate practice and implementation of the skills gained from the text in an authentic online environment accompany discussion and examples of common digital dilemmas.

1.4. Learning By Chapter

This book offers a situated, problem-solving approach to deepen your analytical and research skills. Each chapter focuses on a practical, real-life dilemma, as reported by instructors and students themselves, that undergraduate students typically experience in the course of their academic studies. The dilemma addressed in each chapter is used to reveal the broader contextual issues that frame the problem you are exploring, leading to a deeper understanding of the digital environment. Practical and accessible strategies and skills for dealing with information anxiety in the digital environment are proposed.

To gain the most from this text, exploring the entire text is recommended. However, you may also find dipping into particular chapters helpful as your university e...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Series Pages
• Copyright
• Dedication
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• About the Authors
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1. The Digital Landscape, Scholarship, and You
• Chapter 2. Your Learning in a Digital World
• Chapter 3. Aladdin’s Cave
• Chapter 4. Wiki or Won’t I?
• Chapter 5. Judgement Day
• Chapter 6. Finders Keepers
• Chapter 7. In Too Deep
• Chapter 8. It’s Only Words…
• Chapter 9. All Play and No Work
• Chapter 10. Truth or Dare
• Chapter 11. A Hidden Agenda
• Chapter 12. Fact or Fiction? Negotiating New Learning Spaces
• References
• Index