Hit 2: Middle Library Computer Skills

[Piette <pietmike@LOCALNET.COM>]

Here is the last of the responses. Thanks again.

I would recommend focusing and building curriculum on the Nine Information
Literacy Standards at http://www.ala.org/aasl/ip_nine.html around the Big6
concepts http://www.big6.com .  The 'library computer skills' will follow
naturally from them.
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This is my 2nd year as a media specialist in the middle school.  I'll tell
you what I plan on doing this year.
6th Grade :  Computerized Card Catalog.  I show them how to search for
books using our system.
CD ROMs.  I show them the CD ROMS we have and how to access and use them.
Bookmarks.  I've set up bookmarks that can help them in research and called
them MEDIA.  They can be access throughout the school.  I show them what is
there and how to use them.  I've subdivided them
into newspapers (local as well as worldwide), research (World Book on-line
and Infotrac), search engines.
6/7/8       Internet. Introduce in 6, and more advanced in 7 & 8. I teach
Internet searching, Boolean searching, narrowing and broadening their
search.
Evaluate Web Sites.
 I work with individual teachers on computer projects, using publishing to
create brochures and creating powerpoint or presentation reports. Things
like that.  I would like to hear what others do.  I'm always looking for
new and better ideas.
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I'm also a media specialist at a middle school.  A lot of the skills are
taught in the computer labs, but I work with Internet searching, Internet
evaluation and bibliographic formats. I seem to spend a lot of time
reinforcing formatting for 6th graders.
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Fifth Grade are introduced to search engines, boolean logic, create
bibliographic entries on web sites.  Sixth Group compares some of the more
popular search engines, discuss the down sides of using the web and 7th
grade learns to formally
evaluate web sites and copyright law as it pertains to the web.
Have a look at http://www.accessola.org/action/positions/info_studies/
It hasn't yet been formally approved by the government but it at least sets
out some guidelines.
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The new National Standards can be found at
http://www.iste.org/Standards/index.html
I think that you will find that most States will adopt these standards.
This is only the beginning of this project, and more standards and lessons
for students and teachers will be added
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I am currently working on a unit with the 8th graders where they peruse a
nonficiton book using criteria to judge that book.  I go over the 5
criteria with them.  Then they go to a web site that I have given them and
judge it using the same criteria plus some others that apply to the
Internet.  Students tend to believe anything on the Internet. There are
some web sites that have media center lesson plans for middle
school.
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Dawn Piette
Library Media Specialist
Attica Middle School
Attica, N.Y.
pietmike@localnet.com

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