Searching for Knowledge: Teaching Information Technology to Secondary Students

Abstract

This paper discusses the importance of accurate knowledge to a knowledge-based society and presents the rationale, organization, and content of a short course in electronic search skills that enables students to retrieve accurate information by evaluating their searches, citations, and resources in a variety of databases. Focusing on the Seven Steps in the electronic search process, the course develops students' skills in thinking, computer literacy, and the ethical use of information. Students learn the concepts, process, and skills of information literacy and technology as they integrate the results of their searches into subject areas across the secondary curriculum. A syllabus and daily topics are included.