Measuring student info skills "in the real world"

[Robert Hiebert <rhiebert@SD6.BC.CA>]

Hello All,

April often brings a couple of weeks of relative calm to my work day -- the
fires burn low for a while -- and a chance to reflect on all the things I'm not
doing but should be. One of these is measuring the gain (or loss!) of
information processing skills made by students. I've found no end of websites,
school board initiatives, magazine articles, library organizations, conference
gurus, etc. which tell me I need to do this, but I can't think of a practical
way to do it.

Ours is a grade 8 to 12 school with 500 students. I'm in the library full time
(hurrah! it wasn't always so) and I have a technician who works 8 hours a week
(hurrah! it used to be 0 hours). I have visions of setting up a database of all
our students which will track their level of competence in each of a number of
info processing skills. As the years go by the students will be assessed and the
changes noted in the database. At any point in time we will be able to see where
any student is on the information skills spectrum.

Well, that's my vision. In reality, this looks so daunting I don't even begin. I
can't see how any meaningful measurement can be made without doing at least what
I've outlined above, so I assume that the people who write the articles and
draft the policies and dispense wisdom at conferences are doing this, but I
don't know where I will find the time (except in April). And that little word
"assess" -- putting aside the tracking difficulties for a moment -- promises a
mountain of work by itself: meaningful assessment of the components of
information processing is another mind boggler.

So, my questions are:  Has someone out there found a manageable way to track
student info skills development? (And please, don't throw it on the backs of the
teachers -- ours are already over-burdened.)  Am I just making a mountain out of
a molehill? Is all that I read and hear just part of a conspiracy of talk
intended to delude those on the outside of the system? (Now that's cynical!) Is
there anyone else out there in a pensive mood this April?

Thanks for listening.

Regards,
Robert


Robert Hiebert
Librarian, Golden Secondary School
www.sd6.bc.ca/gss/library/
Fax: 250 344 7116
rhiebert@sd6.bc.ca

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law.
To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST), send email to:
listserv@listserv.syr.edu   In the message write EITHER:
1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
4) SET LM_NET MAIL  * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv.
For LM_NET Help see: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
Archives: http://askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/LM_NET.html
 See also EL-Announce for announcements from library media vendors:
    http://www.mindspring.com/~el-announce/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=