3 Annotated Bibliography: EBSCOHost

Brodsky, J. E., Lodhi, A. K., Powers, K. L., Blumberg, F. C., & Brooks, P. J. (2021). “It’s just everywhere now”: Middle‐school and college students’ mental models of the Internet. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 3(4), 495–511. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.281

People’s mental models of the Internet tend to focus on the functional affordances of Internet-enabled devices. Given that today’s adolescents and young adults (Generation Z) have grown up surrounded by the Internet, we examined the extent to which the Internet’s ubiquity was salient in their mental models of it. Middle-school students (Study 1, N = 78, Mage = 13 years, Range 11–15) drew pictures and explained what the Internet looked like. Responses were coded for indicators of four facets of the Internet: technical components, functions, attributes, and feelings. The adolescents mostly described components as user hardware (i.e., Internet-enabled devices) and functions as information access or storage, socializing via social media, and communicating with others. About half described the Internet as “everywhere,” suggesting awareness of the Internet’s ubiquity, though few mentioned Internet-enabled household objects. Students rarely described it as “connective” (i.e., a network) or mentioned negative feelings about the Internet (i.e., online antisocial behavior). In Study 2, college students’ (N = 109, Mage = 19 years, Range 18–22) mental models mostly aligned with the adolescents, emphasizing Internet-based functions and devices. However, the young adults more often cited negative feelings, including Internet addiction. Across studies, mental models mostly did not differ by age, gender, self-reported grades, or social media use. Students’ awareness of the Internet’s ubiquity may offer a starting point for fostering understanding of how users’ data are collected and used and associated privacy and security risks.

Cohn, S. (2021). Professional ethics and learning analytics: A reflection [sic] on a cross-departmental assessment project. Urban Library Journal, 27(1).

I will explore how librarians can bring ethical and professional issues of the collection of student data to the forefront when working with departmental and campus administration on learning analytics projects, despite the power imbalance that is generally present in an administration-librarian collaboration.

Nagra, K. A., & López-Fitzsimmons, B. M. (2019). Organic Learning in Undergraduate Library Instruction. International Journal of Librarianship, 4(1), 72-. https://doi.org/10.23974/ijol.2019.vol4.1.109

Organic learning engages undergraduates in discovering new knowledge based on prior learning through variety of guided activities that stimulate inquiry-based learning and critical thinking in the research process. Some activities include searching, browsing, accessing, gathering, evaluating, assessing, reflecting, organizing, linking, and synthesizing. Learning how to access informationby using a variety of search strategies as well as delivery platforms such as Google, discovery, individual databases, and the internet can be overwhelming and challenging. When students discover how to search and access desired sources through a variety of explicitly designed information literacy instructions with clearly defined learning outcomes, they take ownership of developing their learning and research skills. Through organic learning, they experience lightbulb moments, asking questions, discussing topics, and then searching again for more information. Organic learning unconsciously involves students in self-education, engaging them in the research process without pressuring them to practice redundant, rote exercises. Often undergraduates encounter difficulty in conceptualizing the research process as complex and multi-faceted. The authors argue that organic learning strategies to activate prior learning that builds advanced searching skills and increase new scholarly knowledge.

Parker, R. M., & Ratzan, S. (2019). Re-enforce, Not Re-Define Health Literacy-Moving Forward with Health Literacy 2.0. Journal of Health Communication, 24(12), 923–925. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2019.1691292

An introduction is presented in which the guest editors discuss the theme of the issue, a proposed new definition of health literacy.

Stadler, D., Rojas, A., Perrenod, W., & Keyes, C. (2021). Using a Scaffolding Approach to Integrate the Information Cycle into a Library Instruction Course: A Review and Small Case Study. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 62(2), 119–136. https://doi.org/10.3138/jelis.62.2-2020-0011

Librarians at a community college in New York City identified that, unassisted, undergraduate students often find it difficult to categorize the various information formats they are locating and citing, such as a newspaper article, a book, a scholarly article, a blog or wiki entry, or a reference source. Due to their untrained approach defining formats and judging information, broader perceptions go unidentified, specific cues go unnoticed, and the value of information is not acquired. This review and small case study assessed how academic libraries implement the information cycle in library instruction and investigated techniques to determine the credibility of information sources. The information cycle is a sequence of learning based upon publication type. The small case study highlights how the authors developed a scaffolding approach to integrate the information cycle into a credit-bearing library instruction course. By receiving feedback and guidance from their instructor and classmates and analyzing the media progression of a newsworthy event, students develop an understanding of information and modify their heuristic approach toward identifying, evaluating, and using information.