Information has always been available. The newspaper arrives every morning. The drive to work is accompanied by music or news from the radio. At work, documents and books fill the desk, shelves, and drawers. In the evening, television and videos provide entertainment. Today, however, newspapers, radio, documents, books, television, and video are all available in one place: the Internet.

As information of all kinds (news, research, music, video) becomes more easily available, students need to learn that the information is someone else’s ideas and thoughts. Although available and plentiful, it is not their own. Students need to learn how to give credit to other’s words while summarizing and organizing their own thoughts. They must also know where to look for the information as there are many places to find information online: listservs, email, Web sites, discussion boards, and how to organize the information so that it makes sense.

Bookmarks & Favorites

Because there is so much information available, it must be organized if it is going to be found and used again. Internet Explorer and Netscape Communicator have built in tools for keeping track of information on the Internet. Bookmarks (in Netscape) and Favorites (in Explorer) allow you to create folders to store a Web address (URL) to a Web site. Keeping the folders organized can help you quickly find the Web site that you are looking for. However, URLs must be filed into folders in order to be really useful. Often, people will have a hundred bookmarks, but because they are not organized, they are not used.

Follow the instructions to learn how to manage your Netscape Bookmarks file (Windows or Mac) or Internet Explorer Favorites file (Windows or Mac). A little organization can save you a lot of time.

Another way to collect the URLs of Web sites that you would like to remember and return to, is through a service called Backflip. Similar to Bookmarks and Favorites, Backflip is a tool that allows you to save URLs. However, unlike Bookmarks and Favorites, Backflip is Web-based, therefore you can use Backflip from any computer. Backflip has already built a strong reputation due to its convenience and ease of use. Several articles have been written about Backflip, its features and possibilities. After reading the articles, set up a Blackflip account.

Research Models

Keeping track of Web sites is especially important when doing research. Bookmarks, Favorites, or Backflip can assist in the organization. Providing guidance to students through a set of steps can also benefit the research process. InfoZone by Pembina Trails School Division, takes students through the "journey" of wondering, seeking, choosing, connecting, producing, and judging. InfoSeek defines each step, gives "Things to think about", and provides a collection of resources.

Another organizational tool or rather process model is called the Big6™. The Big6™ Skills include:

• Task Definition
• Information Seeking Strategies
• Location and Access
• Use of Information
• Synthesis
• Evaluation

According to the Big6™, each step in the information problem-solving model "is applicable whenever people need and use information." Check out the Big6™ Web site to learn more about this process and how you can integrate the system into your curriculum or classroom activities.

Higher-Level Critical Thinking Skills

It is important that students learn to organize and summarize information. Bloom's Taxonomy reminds us of the higher-level critical thinking skills that we need to focus on more than simply recalling information or knowledge . The Internet can be a used as a tool for knowledge, however students should then take that information and evaluate, synthesize, and analyze it. Take a look at Bloom's Taxonomy.

After reviewing Bloom's Taxonomy, consider creating a couple essential and supporting questions to encourage higher-level intellectual behavior. Essential questions challenge students to summarize and organize information in new ways. Read the article Research Papers: Asking Essential Questions and Good Supporting Questions Makes the Effort More Than a Game of Fact Chasing to learn more about creating effective essential questions.