Go For The Gold
James Madison University
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This is an extremely comprehensive presentation of IL material for required courses. Its best feature is the high degree of interactivity via a double screen. Each module presents a quiz, which may be taken while the information in the module can be scanned, or online databases searched for the answers. In fact, some questions require that information be looked up during the quiz. Test results are E-mailed to the students and are also accessible to course instructors. Quizzes may also be retaken to improve scores, and a final classroom test must be taken. In addition, faculty information is provided, including suggested assignments for each module.
However, motivation to learn the material appears to be extrinsic, not the most educationally sound for later recall and use. This approach seems to entail the presentation if information first, with its application required later, in the final module. Although a great deal of excellent material is presented, such abstract to concrete organization is not effective either for natural use motivation or for one capability to be built upon another. For example, search strategies should really precede evaluating and citing sources. Moreover, the text is long and wordy with few engaging graphics, and the amount of detailed information could be overwhelming to a beginning student.
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Orientation to Carrier Library |
Introduction to the Information World |
Searching an Electronic Database |
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Identify and locate services and collections
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The student will:
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The student will:
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Finding Information Resources |
Using Internet Resources |
Evaluating sources of Information |
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The student will:
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The student will:
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The student will evaluate information using the following criteria:
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Information Ethics: Citing Sources and Fair Use |
Search Strategy for Research Papers and Speeches |
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The student will:
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The student will define and apply an efficient search strategy for a research paper or speech to include:
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| Research | |
| Understanding information needed | Yes |
| Narrowing research topic | Yes |
| Database definition | Yes |
| Catalog Searching | Yes |
| Article Searching | Yes |
| Keyword searching | Yes |
| Boolean searching | Yes |
| Controlled vocabulary | Yes |
| Primary vs. Secondary Resources | Yes |
| Scholarly vs. Popular Materials | Yes |
| Peer Review | Weak |
| Evaluating Sources | Yes |
| Locating Materials | Yes |
| Organization of Library Materials | Yes |
| LC Call Number System | Yes |
| Citing Sources | Yes |
| Plagiarism | Yes |
| Reference Resources | Yes |
| How to get Reference Help | Yes |
| Web Searching | |
| Understanding the Internet/Web (what it does and doesn't do) | Yes |
| Search Engines vs. Subject Directories | Yes |
| Evaluating Internet Resources | Yes |
| Web search operators (+/-) | No |
| Web vs. other resources (content) | Yes |
| Look | |
| Wordy vs. Terse | Too wordy |
| Use of Graphics | Very weak |
| Interactivity | |
| Passive vs. Active User | Interactive use is its strongest feature. |
| Ongoing Testing/Quiz | Yes |
| Navigation | |
| Clear vs. Confusing | Clear |
| Technology | |
| Minimum Browser Requirements | None mentioned |
| Sound Card | No |
| Java | ? |
| Shockwave | No |
| Assessment | |
| Pre-test | No |
| Post-test | Yes |
| Users Registered | Yes |
| Feedback | |
| Ongoing vs. At the end | Both - an offline student test is required. |
| Printable Certificate | Results of each of the module tests is E-mailed to the students, and is viewable by the teacher. |
| Credits | |
| In-house vs. licensed code |
"Go for the Gold was developed specifically for use at James Madison University; however, others may copy and customize the original content and design of Go for the Gold for nonprofit educational purposes. Whenever using either the entire or partial contents, design, or organization of the web pages comprising Go for the Gold, please provide credit to Carrier Library, James Madison University. Any content that had not been created by Carrier Library is clearly labeled, and users of this material from Go for the Gold web pages should acquire separate permission for their own applications." From: http://library.jmu.edu/library/gold/modules.htm |