The 6 tech skills expected of all incoming freshmen - five

In 2005, I outlined five skills classroom teachers should expect all incoming high school freshman to have mastered. Eight years ago. Time for an update. I'll look at each skill, one per day, and add a 6th skill area - Managing one's online presence. Each skill is accompanied by a set of expectations, a performance task, and an evaluation checklist. Changes to the 2005 document are in bold.
 

Internet-enabled research

I can use the Internet to efficiently locate information in both print and digital formats to answer my educational and personal questions. I know about and can locate information from the “free” Internet, full-text periodical databases, reference materials, and books located using the online library catalogs. I have criteria by which I evaluate the reliability of the information sources I find. I can properly cite electronic all sources of information.

1. Effectively use an Internet browser.
2. Use directories and search engines to locate information on a topic.
3. Use the “Advanced Search” feature and term delimiters (and, not, or quotation marks, etc.) to effectively locate information.
4. Know the subscription databases (reference materials and full-text magazine databases) available to you.
5. Use your school’s and region’s on-line library catalogs to locate books. Know the procedure for interlibrary loan.
6. Print, copy or clip to an online storage space a selection of a page from the WWW.
7. Know and understand the district’s Acceptable Use Policy for Internet use.
8. Use selection criteria to determine the reliability of information taken from Internet resources.
9. Use a tool to curate sources of information on a topic (Evernote, Diigo, Delicious, etc.)

Assignment

Submit a short paper that includes:

A word-processed bibliography of five information sources located by using the Internet on a single topic of your choice (or assigned by the teacher). The bibliography, in the citation style required by your teacher, must include:

A magazine article accessed using a full-text magazine index.

An Internet site.

A book in your school or local public library.

An example of using limiters with a search engine in conducting an Internet search.

 A paragraph copied from one these sources, with a clear indication that this is copied material.

A paragraph defending the authority of an Internet source you listed.

A description/link to a curation tool you use to store Internet links, websites or downloaded information.

Assessment checklist

• Your name, your teacher’s name, class name and hour on the bibliography.
• Five sources of information including:
  • A magazine article accessed using a full-text magazine index.
  • An Internet site.
  • A book in your school or local public library.
• Each source is correctly cited.
• A paragraph copied from an online source with a clear indication of its origin.
• A short rationale for the authority of an Internet source.
• An example of using limiters with a search engine in conducting an Internet search.
• The link to the curation tool used to store found links and resources.