Reflective online searching education
In the age of digitalization, Online Searching (OS) has become a key component of Information Literacy and part of secondary and tertiary curricula around the globe. In a complex and diverse world, effective OS is a fundamental factor promoting equity in social participation, active citizenship and academic success. OS education is a multidisciplinary endeavor that must consider topic differences, along with an overcrowded infosphere, restlessly developing technologies, and individual preferences and styles. Also, OS skills relate to personal beliefs and computer, reading and reflective and self-regulatory skills (Hahnel et al., 2016). Although some studies emphasize the importance of process-oriented reflection (Corrall, 2017), its integration in online search education is challenging, because the search process remains invisible (Botturi et al., in press), leaving teachers to usually rely solely on the final product (e.g., report or presentation) for assessment and feedback.
The ROSE approach and platform
The Reflective Online Search Education (ROSE) project team, in collaboration with secondary school teachers in Switzerland and Germany and based on previous research outcomes, has developed a web-supported approach for reflective OS education. The ROSE web platform implements three features:
Search Process Visualization as Timeline. Process visualizations are powerful scaffolds, as they foster in-depth thinking and reflection (Wang et al., 2018) and collaborative learning. By visualizing the OS process in interactive graphs, students get insights into their own search and can compare searches over time, or by different people.
Adaptive Prompting and Recommendation. Capturing salient search process elements to generate adaptive feedback in the form of prompts or recommendations fosters reflection and self-regulated learning (Chen et al., 2009), reinforcing effective practices and suggesting incremental improvement.
Learning Analytics. The display of salient data from individual searches supports teachers in providing feedback, enhancing classroom management and promoting discussion and peer learning (Lodge et al., 2018). Teachers can focus their intervention where it is most needed to capture “teachable moments”.
Workshop description
This workshop (proposed duration: 90’ min.) welcomes educators from secondary schools and higher education. The participants will try hands-on the ROSE platform as students first, and then as teachers. A guided debriefing will focus on underlying principles and on the integration of the ROSE approach and platform into different educational settings, to identify opportunities and limits. Participants are required to bring their personal laptop. They will be asked to install a browser extension on either Firefox or Chrome (not available for tablet or smartphones).
References
Botturi, L., Addimando, L., Hermida, M., Bouleimen, A., Beretta, C., & Giordano, S. (in press). Understanding Online Search Behaviors for Designing Information Literacy Education. Journal of Media Literacy Education.
Chen, N.-S., Wei, C.-W., Wu, K.-T., & Uden, L. (2009). Effects of high level prompts and peer assessment on online learners’ reflection levels. Computers & Education, 52(2), 283–291.
Corrall, S. (2017). Crossing the threshold: Reflective practice in information literacy development. Journal of Information Literacy, 11(1), 23–53.
Hahnel, C., Goldhammer, F., Naumann, J., & Kroehne, U. (2016). Effects of linear reading, basic computer skills, evaluating online information, and navigation on reading digital text. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 486–500.
Lodge, J. M., Horvath, J. C., & Corrin, L. (2018). Learning analytics in the classroom. Routledge.
Wang, M., Yuan, B., Kirschner, P. A., Kushniruk, A. W., & Peng, J. (2018). Reflective learning with complex problems in a visualization-based learning environment with expert support. Computers in Human Behavior, 87, 406–415.
