Each year, schools in the United States spend billions of dollars on Internet access. Unfortunately, much of this money is wasted, because not enough time is invested in teaching students and educators how to use the Web to research effectively - a critical skill for 21st century workers.
Dozens of studies conducted over the past decade has shown that most students cannot effectively find information online, evaluate it, and put it to use. Furthermore, recent studies show that many educators, overburdened by standardized testing, have not fully developed their own web research skills. Researchers now warn of a new digital divide, between students who do receive effective web research training and those who do not.
Dulcinea Media, Inc. today announced that it is publishing Teaching Web Research Skills, a research-based, multimedia e-book that teaches educators how to teach students to conduct research on the Web effectively.
Please view our video that explains "Teaching Web Research Skills."
Click here for a preview version of two chapters of the e-book.
The book will be available generally beginning May 7, 2012.
On May 21, 2012, the Company will release:
- “Stop Searching, Start Finding: Get Better Results in Half the Time,” an e-book for for students in Grades 7-12 and college; and
- “How to Be a Rock Star Researcher,” an e-book for students in Grades K-6
Format:
Each e-book has 16 chapters. Each chapter offers an introduction, a 3 to 5-minute video, a print guide to the topic, links to expertly curated third-party resources, quizzes to help the reader evaluate retention of the core concepts in the chapter, and activities to practice these concepts. Each chapter builds upon, and reinforces concepts taught in the previous chapter.
Chapter titles include:
- Planning and Adjusting Your Research;
- Using Special Search Functions;
- Finding and Using Primary Sources;
- Why Did the Author Write This?;
- Thinking Critically; and
- Synthesizing Your Sources
The content engages the reader and respect the way people learn best today. Unlike many professional development courses that involve a lengthy, one-time presentation with little follow-up, the e-book offers a self-directed program of video tutorials, with several types of supporting materials and follow-ups.
Summary of Research Basis for the e-Book:
A 2006 report by the Educational Testing Service found, “students can use technology for socializing or entertainment but still have problems finding information, evaluating it and then putting it to use.”[1] Authors of a 2010 Northwestern study of college students reported that “students’ level of faith in their search engine of choice is so high that they do not feel the need to verify for themselves who authored the pages they view or what their qualifications might be.” [2]
Many other studies have similarly concluded that students do not know how to search the Web effectively, and struggle to synthesize multiple resources. Furthermore, no consensus has emerged on how to teach students Web research skills. [3]
The e-book is based on: (i) a thorough analysis of research studies of the habits of both skilled and inexperienced web users [4]; (ii) input from leading educators; and (iii) the research habits of the staff members of findingDulcinea, who have collectively written thousands of articles that effectively synthesize the best online resources about a topic.
Pricing:
The annual license cost per school, for teacher and student versions together, is based on total student population:
|
Student pop.
|
Annual Pricing
|
|
1-125
|
$299
|
|
126-249
|
$399
|
|
250-499
|
$499
|
|
500-749
|
$749
|
|
750-999
|
$999
|
|
1,000+
|
$1249
|
All versions of the e-book will be made available to all schools purchasing the tutorial.
License terms for schools in North America will generally end at the end of the school year in which the license is purchased. However, for all licenses purchased during the remainder of the 2011-12 school year, the term will expire at the end of the 2012-2013 school year.
Schools may acquire a permanent license with a one-time payment equal to 4x the annual fee.
Dulcinea Media will update each e-book twice a year to incorporate new developments in web research and to leverage new learning tools.
Prices quoted above are valid until June 30, 2012.
Standards Alignment:
Each e-book aligns to the Core Common State Standards for English and Language Arts. In particular, they address the standards relating to:
- conducting research projects based on focused questions;
- tailoring searches online to acquire useful information efficiently;
- gathering relevant information from multiple print and digital sources;
- assessing the credibility and accuracy of each source; and
- integrating the information while avoiding plagiarism.
The e-books also align to standards set by ISTE, the ALA, and NCTE/IRA.
Delivery
The e-books will be web-based, accessed through password protected accounts. By September 2012, they will also be made available as an app on the iPad, iPhone and Android phones.
Ordering Information:
Please email info@DulcineaMedia.com or call (516) 406-2709 to discuss ordering the e-book.
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[1] Paul D. Thacker, “Are College Students Techno Idiots?” Inside Higher Ed, November 15, 2006 http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/11/15/infolit
[2] Debra Viadero, “Collecting Evidence,” EdWeek, March 29, 2007 http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/03/29/30tcresearch.h26.html
[3] Eszter Hargittai, Lindsay Fullerton, Ericka Menchen-Trevino and Kristin Yates Thomas, Northwestern University, “Trust Online: Young Adults’ Evaluation of Web Content,” International Journal of Communication 4 (2010), 468–494 1932–8036/20100468 http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/view/636
[4] Anne Aula, Rehan Khan and Zhiwei Guan, “How does Search Behavior Change as Search Becomes More Difficult?” Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2010 http://dub.washington.edu/pubs/215
