THING 2: Evaluating Sources

"Untutored courage is useless in the face of educated bullets."
- George S. Patton -








As you can well imagine, the question of sources is incredibly important to those of us who teach English. I know, I know: it is important to everyone, but allow me a moment ( a screen?) of latitude here.

Imagine a bit of patriotic music playing here...

We all know that the responsibility of teaching research skills falls squarely onto the shoulders --onto the steely, battle-tested ranks -- of the English Department. Year after year we rally, willing to meet this foe head-on, and each year we gain some intellectual territory, but they are small and tenuous victories.

Reseach is a foe large and notorious, but even worse, our soliders are untried. Rather than relying on the strength and skill of tested warriors, we send rookies, newbies, and greenies onto the field of battle.

Pick your favorite general, be it Patton or Petraeus, and imagine him schooling these youngesters, laying out the mission, the purpose, the plan, the strategies and techniques. Blueprints, maps, satellite images, lectures, and speeches all come together in preparation. But we all know that planning only goes so far and that with action comes truth. Though they may seem readied, the rookies are blissfully unaware of the dangers presented by the electronic age: with Google only a keystroke away, students fall victim to the landmines and barbed wire of cheap information.

Marching orders stipulate, "Head for the Library Resource Page!" but their green ears fail to hear: they are anxious to get started, more likely to "get this thing over with", and with this zeal they rush headlong into Google's vast expanse and the enemies' embrace.

We see them sprint across the Internet, assured by the seemingly smooth path prepared by their website assessment training, but they don't know the pitfalls of the terrain. They grab whatever they find - toxic gas impairs their vision - and they bound back across the library ready to present their spoils: "1-2-3 Help Essays" or "Mr. Felder's Sixth Period Blog," and then -- BOOM!

A flurry of papers, the detritus of shame: they find themselves bamboozled by the easy captive of less-than-credible sources... If only they had followed the commander's orders and headed for the Library Resources Page...

Okay, all silliness aside, I do like the web assessment tools, particularly the two linked below, and I think that they are great teaching tools. With direct instruction, class practice, and individual application, I can see those criteria becoming a natural and intuitive part of research.

Until that day comes, my strategy involves constant vigilance: I watch over my little soldiers and make what they consider unreasonable demands: all of their sources must come either from the Library Resources Page or another library's database. Period.

I'm not sure why they want to google instead of using the library's resources. Maybe it presents a friendlier face. Maybe it seems "easier." The truth remains, though, that there are too many superficial and uninspired sources available, and until the kids develop the critical eye for evaluation sources, this commander orders them to head for the library!


http://www.lib.umd.edu/guides/webcheck.html

http://21cif.com/tools/evaluate/