Welcome to the Big6

Please check out this infograph - 

http://ajhead1.wordpress.com/about/

It's reference in this paper being presented at ACRL - http://conference.acrl.org/invited-papers-pages-265.php

Hi All - 

I just posted this message to LM_NET, the community for teacher-librarians. I thought I'd share it here as well:

Greetings LM_Netters! 

It's been a while since I've posted, but I do continue to lurk.  But - I HAD to post about this development and opportunity.

The school library field continues to experience a slow and painful decline in many states and communities. I won't go into the reasons, rather let's focus on some solutions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/technology/in-some-schools-students-bring-their-own-technology.html?pagewanted=all

The Big6 and the Common Core

FREE BIG6 WEBINAR - by Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz - orginally held TUESDAY - March 12 - The Big6 and the Common Core

http://www.instantpresenter.com/edwebnet/EA53D681814E

Interesting graphic look at what the future might hold - Tomorrow’s world: A guide to the next 150 years. (2013, January 2). BBC. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130102-tomorrows-world 

Terrific Series by my good friend and colleague at the University of Washington iSchool, Joe Janes -http://www.washington.edu/news/2012/12/11/documents-that-changed-the-world-roberts-rules-of-order/

Podcasts definitely worth checking out!

Alison Head, Affiliate Associate Professor at the UW iSchool and PI of Project Information Literacy, wrote an excellent Op-ed in the Seattle Times today - "Old-school job skills you won't find on Google"

http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2019857185_alisonheadopedxml.html

Summary: Young graduates might well be digital savvy, but employers are finding they lack the old-school research skills. Guest columnist Alison J. Head proposes some ways to bring them up to speed.

Bob and I have been talking offline about the Common Core, the information literacy/Big6 connections, and the impact on education K-12.  We thought we'd share our interactions more broadly by posting here on the Big6 website:    Link to Discussion

For background, here are some other  links:

  Common Core home page - 
  http://www.corestandards.org/ 

  Common Core State Standards - 
  http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf

Please contribute to the discussion by adding your comments or questions:   Link to Discussion

NOTE: This message was sent to info(at)big6(dot)com. Marie graciously gave permission to share the question and response with everyone.

My name is Marie Willingham and I am currently enrolled at Sam Houston State University in their Library Science Master's program. I am a third grade teacher to 43 amazing creatures of the future. I have simple question for you that might have a more complex answer. From your research with the Information Literacy Project and Big 6, how should a teacher begin teaching information literacy and what are the essentials that a modern day, 21st century student should know?

Thank you for your passion for students and literacy. Thank you for embracing the future. Thank you for giving teachers hope in the "experts" who often seem out of touch with the youth of today.

Sincerely,
Marie Willingham

Response from Mike Eisenberg: 

Marie – Thanks so much for emailing and also for giving permission to post your question. First, in terms of how to begin – “just do it.”  That is, starting right away, we recommend using the Big6 (or Super3 for the very young) terminology when you are talking to students, teaching, or mentoring one-on-one.

[Click here for the full response - and an opportunity to post your comments]

Excellent report from Project Information Literacy - by Alison Head - about the transition from college to work. Based on interviews with 23 employers and 33 recent grads.  Abstract below - key findings here:

Graduates said they found it difficult to solve information problems in the workplace, where unlike college, a sense of urgency pervaded and where personal contacts often reaped more useful results than online searches. 

The 2012/2013 Big6 by the Month Webinar Series started on August 23rd. But - it's not too late to join in!

Big6 by the Month is our proven approach to a comprehensive and systematic information & technology skills instructional program.  In this webinar series, we work with you each month to plan and deliver a defined, predictable, measured, and reported information and technology literacy curriculum. 

If you missed the first webinar - it's okay! We record each one and make them available to all attendees. And, the "early bird" registration price is still good through the end of August - $113 for the entire series of 9 webinars. If you have any questions, please email us at mailto:info(at)big6(dot)com

The next webinar is scheduled for Sept 6, Thursday, at 7pm EDT, 4pm PDT. The topic is Task Definition. From research and experience, we know that Task Definition is one of the most important and difficult information problem-solving skills. Students report (in Project Information Literacy) that they have the most problems with just starting an assignment or task.  WE CAN HELP - with effective Big6 and Super3 lessons in the context of classroom-based assignments. This webinar will cover all the details!

The instructors for Big6 by the Month are Mike Eisenberg, Janet Murray, and Colet Bartow with support from Sue Wurster.

This is our #1 series for educators interested in developing and implementing an information and technology literacy program. Our approach is systematic and practical. Attendees gain mastery of the Big6 and Super3 information and technology skills processes AND direct experience with setting a Big6/Super3 program, linking to school, district, state, and national standards, and planning for classroom, library, or technology lab lessons and units. EVERY attendee will be able to immediately implement Big6 and Super3 instruction and establish an information and technology literacy program that is

• defined
• predictable
• measured 
• reported. 

There are 9 one-hour webinars in the series:

Check out this excellent (and fun) research game and overview from the Kentucky Virtual Library. It's Big6-based, of course.l

http://www.kyvl.org/kids/homebase.html

I'm learning about Keene and Zimmerman's "Mosaic of Thought" reading comprehension approach. It looks excellent and very compatible with the Big6.

Has anyone used this with the Super3 or Big6?  (I also posted this on the Big6 Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/big6skills

Mosaic of Thought is clearly compatible to Big6, directly connected to Big6 #4 - Use of Information: 4.1 Engage, 4.2 Extract.  It also links Use of Informaiton to Task Definition.  I think the Big6 can help students to use the Mosaic of Thought comprehension strategies and tactics in a problem-solving context.

Many teachers use Mosaic of Thought in a mini-lessons approach - 

15 min - mini-lesson modeling a strategy

15 min - meet with small groups for extra guidance and practice.

15 min - one-on-one work with students 

15 min - full class summary and discussion.

I think it would be useful to frame the mini-lesson and specific comprehension strategy in a Big6 context. That is, if students learn the Big6 process, they can relate the comprehension strategy to Big6 #4.1 or 4.2 (or even Task Definition 1.1, if relevant).  They can also assess their degree of expertise in comprehension and the specific strategy under Big6 # 6.2 - Evaluation: Judge the Process.

Again - please share your experiences with Mosaic of Thought or other relevant instructional models.

Check it Out - new lesson for Big6 #1.1 (and 6.1)

http://big6.com/pages/lessons/lessons/how-to-get-an-a.php

We are pleased to post this valuable lesson for upper elementary as well as middle schools. 

The lessons is from a packet of excellent materials shared with the Big6 team by Melanie Bonanza from the Hyde Park (NY) Schools.

We plan to post additional lessons and content from Melanie and her colleagues in the future.  A Big6 thanks to Melanie for bringing these to our attention and giving permission to share.

Hi All -

I just posted a similar messge on the Big6 Facebook page - 

Information Alchemy: Transforming Data and Information into Knowledge and Wisdom

March 30, 2012

Mike Eisenberg

Dean Emeritus and Professor
The Information School of the University of Washington

One of the key conceptual models of the information field is the "information spectrum," the hierarchy of data - information - knowledge - wisdom.

I first learned this model from Bob Taylor, former dean of the Syracuse University School of Information Studies, and it is explained in his book, Value-Added Processes in Information Systems, Ablex, 1986, as the "Value-Added Spectrum," (p. 6). 

I teach this model to almost all of my classes, especially to my undergraduate students as part of developing an "information perspective" -- looking at the world through information-colored glasses. 

This is the way I explain the information spectrum (sometimes referred to as the DIKW hierarchy):

• Data = characters, symbols, numbers, signs whose meaning may or may not be apparent.
• Information = data with labels or definition; data that has structure or relationships.
• Knowledge = collected, combined, organized, processed information for a purpose. 
• Wisdom = knowledge over time; knowledge without thinking. 

We recently uncovered this short, 1 minute video of a "young" Bob Berkowitz explaining the Big6 to Danny Callison from Indiana University. This clip has been used in courses at IU and IUPUI for years!  Still highly relevant!

http://www.indiana.edu/~video/stream/launchflash.html?folder=slisal&filename=nquir03.m4v

Crediting and citing - let's make it positive, easy, and fun, not punative, hard and a chore.

I've been thinking a lot about developing citing/creditng skills among elementary students.

This can and should be fun - creating a "culture of crediting" in a school with classroom teachers, teacher-librarians, technology teachers, administrators and even parents modeling for students by continually crediting and citing sources - in coversation, teaching, on paper, and electronically.

====>>>>

Musings from Mike Eisenberg - 

I'm preparing a number of presentations for different audiences about information and technology literacy and information problem-solving. In order to "set the scene" I like to talk about what it's like to live in our information society - in a world where there is an abundance of information, not scarcity.

This wasn't always the case.  Even 30-40 years ago, it was a challenge to find and gather relevant and credible information. We aren't that far removed from the times when you had to make an appointment with a professional librarian if you wanted to conduct an online search. Access was so limited and costly, that the librarian would conduct a pre-search interview and then do the search for you - sometimes not even with you present! Again, those were the days when the challenge was finding, search, and gathering.

The new Big6 store is up and running!  - http://big6-store.hostedbyamazon.com/

To celebrate, we are holding a Spring Sale of the blackline masters - for Super3 and Big6.

• Super3 Discover Blackline Masters
• Big6 Basics Blackline Masters

Also, due to extra inventory, we are offering the Super3 Project Instruction DVD (normally $89.95) at 50% off = $44.98.

This is a ready-to-go kit for classroom teachers and teacher-librarians to implement projects aimed at very young students (pre-K through grade 2). The kit includes templates, PowerPoint slides, teacher, and student training materials.  

Super3 Project Instruction DVD

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We will be adding more resources to the store in the near future. Please contact sales(at)big6(dot)com if there is something missing that you would like us to include.