Just a note to follow-up on Shonda's posting. I wanted to clarify that there is
just one set of assessments. These are based on 9th grade competency standards for
information literacy. When you choose which assessment you want to use, you will
be asked what grade level this is for. However, this is simply so we can track
what kind of use is being made of TRAILS by grade level. It does not change the
level of the assessment you will be using.
We do have a lot of development underway this summer that we believe will make the
tool even more flexible to use. We plan to send out an announcement when the new
system is live. However, you are invited to check out TRAILS in its current
version. It is freely available at http://www.trails-9.org. In fact today was the
day we reached 1,000 account holders!
TRAILS is a project of the Institute for Library and Information Literacy Education
(ILILE) at Kent State University and is funded by the Institute of Museum and
Library Services and the U.S. Department of Education.
--------------------------------------
Barbara F. Schloman, Ph.D., AHIP
Associate Dean and Professor
Libraries & Media Services
Kent State University
Kent, OH 44242
--------------------------------------
voice: 330-672-1665
fax: 330-672-3964
e-mail: schloman@kent.edu
--------------------------------------
======================================================================================
Date: Fri, 28 Jul 2006 10:06:13 -0500
From: Shonda Brisco <sbrisco@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: SHARE: TRAILS Teaching Information Literacy
If you haven't already seen this website and are trying to teach information
literacy to high school students but don't know where to start, Kent State
University has developed this free online assessment that library media
specialists can use to test their students' knowledge of IL skills. It's
specifically designed for high school students, so you won't have to worry
that you're administering a college-level assessment to your students.
I'm planning to use the program this year with my Freshman Study Skills
Class, but the program is designed to test the IL skills of students from
grades 6-12. So, if you have high school students working at a lower level,
the test can be adjusted to those students working as low as the 6th
grade ability level OR if you want to use it with your middle school /
junior high students, the system is automatically available to provide them
with a testing program for IL skills. (My students work at a higher level,
so I'll move them up a grade level to see how they perform.)
There is an optional TRIAL test that you can take, if you want to see some
of the questions on the test and you will also have the answers made
available to you both in the TRIAL and in the actual test. You'll have a
pre-instruction and a post-instruction test available so you can compare
results. Students will receive a website URL and you'll give them a
specific code (password) so you can keep track of the individual student
(that's the only drawback....you'll be doing your own student tracking;
however, rumor has it that Kent will be releasing some updates soon, so
maybe they've included a student tracking system that you can download and
store results after you've tested your students...but we'll see!)
You'll have to set up an account, but after that, the ability to isolate
problem areas within your instruction and your students' understanding
should be extremely helpful! More instructions are on the website.
Here's the link:
http://www.trails-9.org/index.php
Enjoy! (And send a "thanks" to Kent State if you like the program!!)
~Shonda
--
Shonda Brisco, MLIS
Technology Librarian
Fort Worth Country Day School
Fort Worth, TX
http://www.fwcds.org
sbrisco@gmail.com
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