"Becoming an Academic: Information Literacy" Supplemental Content: Additional Videos/Readings

Additional Videos/Readings:

Videos on Information Literacy

Information Literacy: Why is it important? (Links to an external site.) (2015) This 5:25 minute video produced by Eastern Gateway CCTS provides an overview of why information literacy is important in personal, academic, and professional situations. Examples of real-world issues are provided. Highly recommended for introducing students to information literacy and the consequences for not being information literate.
Importance of Information Literacy (Links to an external site.) (2017) This 3:17 minute diverse and inclusive video produced by Ricci Martos explains in basic ways how information literacy helps students in all ways of life. Recommended for use to introduce information literacy from a student perspective.
Information Literacy Skills (Links to an external site.) (2017) This 4:14 minute video produced by USC Upstate Library covers the basics of information literacy skills and how these skills apply to life, school and work. Highly Recommended for introducing students to college research.
What is Information Literacy? (Links to an external site.) (2017) The 5:37 minute video produced by Modern Librarian Memoirs covers the ACRL Information Literacy Framework and how to use it. Recommended for college research courses.

Readings on Information Literacy

Why is Information Literacy Important? (Links to an external site.) from The Word on College Reading and Writing (Links to an external site.) by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear.
Using the Snow College Library SingleSearch database (Links to an external site.), search using the following keywords: fake news OR misinformation OR disinformation OR media bias OR junk news OR fact-checking for access to over 500,000 multi-disciplinary articles, ebooks, newspaper articles, and streaming videos on the topic. To create your own reading list within Canvas using Snow College Library resources, you can use our Reading List Creator. (Links to an external site.)The Reading List Creator allows you to search for library resources directly in Canvas and add reading material in your Canvas class that students don't have to link out to.
Don’t Go Down the Rabbit Hole: Critical thinking, as we’re taught to do it, isn’t helping in the fight against misinformation. (Links to an external site.)| Warzel, Charlie | New York Times | February 18, 2021
Information Overload Helps Fake News Spread, and Social Media Knows It: Understanding how algorithm manipulators exploit our cognitive vulnerabilities empowers us to fight back

(Links to an external sit| Menczer, Filippo, and Thomas Hills | Also published in print and available through the Snow College Library in the Academic Search Ultimate database as “The Attention Economy.” Scientific American, vol. 323, no. 6, Dec. 2020, pp. 54–61.

We Tracked Down A Fake-News Creator In The Suburbs. Here's What We Learned (Links to an external site.) | National Public Radio | November 23, 2016 | Laura Sydell
"How Fake News Goes Viral: A Case Study (Links to an external site.)." Maheshwari, Sapna. International New York Times, 20 Nov. 2016. | If the link to the article does not work, the article is available through the Snow College Library. Use the SingleSearch database (Links to an external site.) (the orange search box) on the main library website. Search for the article using the full title with no quotation marks. | Gale In Context: Global Issues

Readings that examine the cons of digital age information and deep reading comprehension

Deep reading has become a lost art as digital screens take over, but you can retrain your brain (Links to an external site.) | Turner, Rebecca | ABC News Australia | 2019
Deep Work Is Deep Reading: We need a more literate business world (Links to an external site.). | Leberecht, Tim | June 20, 2021 | Psychology Today
Is Google Making Us Stupid: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains (Links to an external site.) | Carr, Nicholas | July/August 2008 | The Atlantic
The Importance of Deep Reading (Links to an external site.) | Maryanne Wolf and Mirit Barzillai | March 2009 Volume 66, Issue 6 | Educational Leadership | pp 32-27

Resources directly related to the SIFT method:

"Check, Please! (Links to an external site.)" This is a free 3-hour course produced by the creator of the SIFT method, Mike Caulfield. The course walks students through the SIFT process while incorporating authentic information evaluation activities that drive home the misinformation/disinformation/fake news reality and how to combat it. Most of the videos in the "Check, Please" Course are also included in the main section of this handbook, "Sifting Through Information".
Stanford Study: Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning (PDF) (Links to an external site.). (Links to an external site.)Mike Caulfield's SIFT method is based on this Stanford Study.
Civic Online Reasoning (COR) Curriculum website (Links to an external site.). For a different approach to teaching the SIFT method, visit the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG), Civic Online Reasoning (COR) Curriculum website (Links to an external site.). Here you will find a collection of lessons and assessments that teach the same steps as the SIFT method, such as lateral reading (Links to an external site.)and (Links to an external site.) click restraint (Links to an external site.) but using a different approach. You will also find curriculum focused on the Science (Links to an external site.)and History (Links to an external site.) classrooms (a free SHEG account is required to access some of the assessment materials). Some material is focused on the K12 audience, but, can be easily adapted to college-level. In the COR Curriculum, you will also find links to a YouTube series called, Navigating Digital Information (Links to an external site.) by Crash Course (2020) and hosted by John Green. The content in this series is supported by the SHEG (Links to an external site.) and Poytner Institute Mediawise (Links to an external site.) (which is supported by Google).

Beyond the SIFT Method

Most information evaluation methods have similar foundations but are presented in different ways and for different purposes. Whereas the SIFT method and the COR curriculum focus on information evaluation for the casual news consumer, there is also a need to address and learn methods on how to find, evaluate and use academic and scholarly internet information. To help bridge this gap we have included other information evaluation methods (IEM) should you desire to also teach students about online academic and scholarly information. Each evaluation method below includes a brief overview, a link to a website that explains the method in more detail, a handout that can be used in class, and a video(s) explaining how to use the method.

Methods Specific to Internet Information Evaluation

Lateral Reading
- A common method used among fact-checkers to assess the credibility and validity of information by moving across websites to validate information based on more than one source. A method that is also promoted and demonstrated by the Civic Online Reasoning Curriculum and Mike Caulfield's SIFT method and "Stop Please Course"
- FOR INSTRUCTORS ONLY! Sort Fact From Fiction Online with Lateral Reading (Links to an external site.) | 3:47 | Civic Online Reasoning (COR) Curriculum (Links to an external site.)
- Check Yourself with Lateral Reading: Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #3 | (Links to an external site.) 13:51 | Crash Course Series
- "Lateral Reading and the Nature of Expertise: Reading Less and Learning More When Evaluating Digital Information (Links to an external site.)" | Wineburg, McGrew | 2018 | PDF
- For Lateral Reading Worksheets visit the Civic Online Reasoning (COR) Curriculum (Links to an external site.)
CARS - Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonableness, Support (Links to an external site.)
- (Links to an external site.)Created by Robert Harris, Ph.D. in English, Emeritus University of California, Riverside, this method focuses on identifying credible information on websites and steers learners to use steps similar to the SIFT method.
- "So You Found Something on the Web: Should You Use It or Lose It?"(3:11) Georgian College Library (2016) (Links to an external site.)
- "Getting to the Good Stuff: Accessing better web content" (3:06) Georgian College Library (2016) (Links to an external site.)
- The CARS Checklist for Evaluating Internet Sources Download The CARS Checklist for Evaluating Internet Sources(PDF)

RADAR: Rationale, Authority, Date, Accuracy, Relevance
- Originally created by Jane Mandalios, "RADAR: An approach for helping students evaluate internet sources (Links to an external site.). This approach has been modified to teach learners how to evaluate all sources. (Links to an external site.)
- How To: Evaluate Sources Using RADAR (Links to an external site.) (3:32) Loyola MaryMount University (2020)
- Using RADAR to Evaluate Sources Handout (Links to an external site.) (PDF)

Beyond the SIFT Method

Methods that cover evaluation of all information with a specific focus on academic sources (print, verbal, born digital, etc.)

CRAAP also CRAP - Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose (Links to an external site.)
- This method, originally created by the Meriam Library at California State University Chico, has been around since 2010 and is widely used by many information experts to teach evaluation of all information sources. Its main focus is to provide learners with a foundation for evaluating information from many different sources (print and digital). But, as Mike Caulfield points out ("A Short History of CRAAP (Links to an external site.)") with the changing landscape of the internet and information, this method can be outdated for evaluating some online information, such as, newsfeeds, social media, blogs and youtube videos. However, it does teach basic IE skills and in some steps is very similar to the SIFT method.
- Backfile: The CRAP Test in action: Websites (Links to an external site.) (5:00)(Portland State University 2012) (Links to an external site.)
- The Original CRAAP Test Worksheet (Links to an external site.)

AAOCC - Authority, Accuracy, Objectivity, Currency and Coverage
CAARP - Currency, Authority, Accuracy, Relevancy and Purpose
- This is the same as the CRAAP test, but, the order has been rearranged.
- "Evaluating Journal Articles with the CAARP Test (Links to an external site.)" (3:06), produced by the Wichita State University Library, walks learners through the process using an academic journal article.