Chapter 6:

Leveraging
Technology
and
Developing
Information
Competency

Slides edited by:

Jennifer Houselander,
Professor, Algonquin College

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Chapter 6: Introduction
Learning Outcomes
By the time you finish this chapter, you will be able to:
•Identify technologies that contribute to efficiency and effectiveness in
your academic and everyday life.
•Determine whether taking an online learning course is the right choice
for you and for your learning style.
•Discuss the principles of effective online communication and the
protection of online privacy.
•Identify the negative effects technology can have on your life and how
to counteract them.
•Demonstrate information competency by identifying techniques and
technologies that help you locate and evaluate information and
organize the information that you find.
•Identify the different types of plagiarism, and explain how plagiarism
can be avoided through proper citation methods and the use of citation
software.
© 2021 McGraw Hill
LO 6.1

YOU AND TECHNOLOGY

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 You and Technology
It is a great tool that can help you achieve
success in your classes.
•Use Technology to Get Organized and
Stay Organized
•Use Technology to Get the Most out of
Your Courses

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Use Technology to Get
Organized and Stay Organized
• Set time aside at the end of each
semester to purge
• ensure operating system, software and
apps are up to date
• allocate some time during the year to
catch up on the many developments
that have occurred
• don’t forget about backup storage

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Use Technology to Get the Most
out of Your Courses
• Course or learning management
systems
• Publisher-based online learning centres
and companion websites
• E-books
• Podcasts
• Plagiarism detection technology
• Blogs and vlogs
© 2021 McGraw Hill
 Getting the Most out of
Instructors’ Slide Presentations
• Listening is more important than seeing
• Don’t copy everything that is on every
slide
• Remember that key points on slides are
… key points
• Check to see if the presentation slides
are available online before class
• Remember that presentation slides are
not the same as good notes for a class
© 2021 McGraw Hill
LO 6.2

USING TECHNOLOGY TO
LEARN ONLINE
© 2021 McGraw Hill
 Using Technology to Learn
Online
Advantages
•You can take an online learning course from anywhere
that you have access to the Internet.
•Online learning classes are more flexible than
traditional classes.
•Some online learning classes are self-paced.
•You may have more contact with your instructor than
you do with a traditional class.
•Shy students may find it easier to “speak up” in an
online learning class.
•You can become a better writer.

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Using Technology to Learn
Online continued
Disadvantages
•You are dependent on technology.
•You won’t have direct, face-to-face contact with
your instructor or other students.
•You probably won’t get immediate feedback.
•Online learning classes require significant
discipline, personal responsibility, and time
management skills.

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 POWER Plan
Prepare
Identify online learning course possibilities
Organize
Obtain access to technology
Work
Participate in an online learning class
Evaluate
Consider your “classroom” performance
Rethink
Reflect on what and how you have learned

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Prepare
Remember: POWER
•Start with Prepare
- Identify Online Learning Course
Possibilities
- Check your college or University
- Do an internet search
- Make sure your college will give you credit for
the course
- Get feedback from others who have taken the
course, if possible
© 2021 McGraw Hill
 Organize
Remember: POWER
•Now, move on to Organize
– Obtain access to technology
• You will need basic skills and an email account
• Brush up on your computer skills before taking
an online course
• You will need dependable and regular access
to a computer with internet access
• Make all arrangements for computer access
prior to starting a course

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Work
Remember: POWER
•Now, move on to Work
– Participate in an Online Learning Class

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Work - 2
Participate in an Online Learning Class
•Manage your time carefully.
•Check in frequently.
•Find a cyber-buddy.
•Store a copy of your submissions.
•Have a technology backup plan.

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Evaluate
Remember: POWER
•Now, move on to Evaluate
– Consider Your “Classroom”
Performance
• Feedback comes from your instructor and
classmates
• Ensure your feedback to your classmates is
polite

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Rethink
Remember: POWER
•Now, move on to Rethink
– Reflect on What and How You Learned
• Is distance learning for you?
• Have you met the outcomes of the course?
• Have you learned as much as you think you
would have in a traditional course?

© 2021 McGraw Hill

LO 6.3

USING NETIQUETTE AS YOU

CONNECT WITH OTHERS
© 2021 McGraw Hill
 Show Civility on the Internet
• Consider having an email address for social
purposes and a professional one to use when
communicating with potential employers.
• Don’t write anything in an email or text
message, or attach anything, such as a
photo, that you would regret seeing on the
front page of the newspaper.
• Consider carefully the tone you convey.
• Never write anything in an email or text, or on
a social network, that you wouldn’t say in
person.
© 2021 McGraw Hill
 Show Civility on the Internet
continued
• Don’t use all capital letters.
• Never send an email or text when you
are angry.
• Be professional when writing to
instructors and on-the-job supervisors.
• Manage your expectations when it
comes to getting a reply from your
instructor.

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Use Email Effectively
• Use an informative subject line.
• Make sure the recipient knows who you are.
• Keep messages short and focused.
• Try to include only one major topic per email.
• Put requests near the beginning of the email.
• Keep attachments to a minimum.
• Avoid abbreviations, emoticons, and emojis in
formal emails.
• Reread your message before pressing send.
© 2021 McGraw Hill
 In-Person Netiquette
• Turn off your phone in formal settings.
• Never check your phone while someone
else is speaking “in real life.”
• Don’t expect others to get out of your
way.
• If you use your laptop to take notes in
class, stay on task.
• Never use your phone to text answers
to friends during a test.
© 2021 McGraw Hill
LO 6.4

COUNTERACTING
TECHNOLOGY’S DOWNSIDES
© 2021 McGraw Hill
 Too Much Screen Time and
Social Media
Impact on physical health
•greater risk of developing diseases
•associated with blurred vision, eye strain
and long-term vision problems
•found to interrupt our circadian rhythms
•negative impact on your posture
Read the article in Harvard Health
Publishing to alleviate potential pain
associated with excessive use of devices
© 2021 McGraw Hill
 Too Much Screen Time and
Social Media continued
Impact on mental health
•undergraduates at the University of
Pennsylvania who limited their use of
Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat to 10
minutes per day showed significant
reductions in loneliness and depression
•Another study unearthed an association
between depression and screen time
•Perhaps a “digital detox” is in order?
© 2021 McGraw Hill
 Too Much “Fake News”
How do you protect yourself from it
all?
•News: don’t stop at the headline or the
first paragraph
•Products: are the reviews written by
verified purchasers?
•Lead the way to a more authentic social
media presence

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Not Enough Privacy
• Limit access to your personal information with privacy
settings.
• Information about your family and children is shared
only with those you know well.
• Don’t include too much personal information.
• Think carefully before posting information your
employer would see
• Review your information regularly.
• Get people’s consent before you upload their pictures
or personal information.
• Use strong passwords and logins.
• For more – see top 10 tips
© 2021 McGraw Hill
 Not Enough Security
• Change the default passwords as soon
as you receive your new device.
• Avoid using free public WiFi when
conducting sensitive business
• Use automatic lock features.
• Only download apps from trusted
sources.
• Keep your devices, software, and apps
up-to-date.
© 2021 McGraw Hill
LO 6.5

DEVELOPING INFORMATION
COMPETENCY
© 2021 McGraw Hill
Locate Information in the Library
What Can Be Found in a Library’s
Basic Collection?
•Paper-based periodicals
•Online databases
•Government documents

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 The Internet versus Library
Databases—A Comparison
Internet
Authority Varies at best. Difficult to
verify.
No. of hits Thousands, sometimes
millions, of hits.
Relevance Much Web information is
opinionated and biased.
Search Varies by search engine,
features but often limited.
Access to Information seldom comes
published from legitimate published
information sources. When it does, the
user usually has to pay to
access it.
Library
Authority and trustworthiness
are virtually guaranteed.
Dozens to hundreds of hits
Focus by subject, often
meaning more relevant
information ..
Numerous advanced search
features.
Databases dealing only with
published information, that is,
information that originally
appeared in print.
© 2021 McGraw Hill
 Locate Information on the
Internet
• Evaluate the Credibility of a Website
• Find the Information You Need
Efficiently and Effectively
• Evaluate the Information You Find
• Analyze the Information You Find
• And, Finally, Recognize That Even
Technology Has Its Limitations

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Evaluate the Credibility of a
Website
Carefully evaluate every website you
reference using these 5 criteria:
•Audience
•Authority
•Bias
•Currency
•Scope

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Find the Information You Need
Efficiently and Effectively
• Phrase your search as a question
• Identify the important words in the
question
• Type these words into a search engine
 Quotation marks
 Plus signs
 Minus signs
 An asterisk
 Boolean operators
© 2021 McGraw Hill
 Evaluate the Information You
Find
Important questions you must address
before you can feel confident about what
you’ve found:
•How authoritative is the information?
•How current is the information?
•How well are claims documented?

© 2021 McGraw Hill

Analyze the Information You Find
Nicholas Carr argues that easy access to
information in the age of Google is
compromising our ability to read and think more
deeply
•summarize what you’ve found
•look for patterns in the findings
•come to your own conclusions
•challenge what you’ve found or
•integrate your findings in a compelling way

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Research Skills and Striving
Styles
Style Skills
Leaders Skim through to get main points that support their argument.
Quickly categorize what is useful and what isn’t.
Socializers Enjoy reading and gathering information when researching
topics of a personal nature.
Performers Analyze their research and easily connect patterns.
Adventurers Need to research with others to keep themselves focused.
Artists Gather a wealth of information with great depth and breadth.
Intellectuals Dig deeply into subjects and find obscure references others
don’t. Easily see which facts support their argument and
which don’t.
Visionaries Mind takes leaps in understanding; only need to read small
amounts to understand.
Stabilizers Thorough, methodical, and detailed.

© 2021 McGraw Hill

LO 6.6

PLAGIARISM: WHAT IT IS
AND HOW TO AVOID IT
© 2021 McGraw Hill
 Plagiarism
So what exactly is plagiarism?
•turning in someone else’s work as your own
•copying words or ideas from someone else without
giving credit
•failing to put a direct quote in quotation marks
•giving incorrect information about the source of a
quotation
•changing words but copying the sentence structure of a
source without giving credit
•copying so many words or ideas from a source that it
makes up the majority of your work, whether you give
credit or not
© 2021 McGraw Hill
 Plagiarism continued
The penalties for plagiarism can range from getting a
zero on an assignment or on the course to being
expelled. If you are working in a group, the penalty
incurred could affect more than just you. To avoid
plagiarism:
•upload your report to a plagiarism detection site and do
a self-check
•Resist the temptation to simply cut and paste the
material into a new document once you’ve found the
information you’re looking for.
•If you must quote a source directly, use proper citation
methods
© 2021 McGraw Hill
Chapter 6

GOING FURTHER

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Chapter 6:
Going Further
For further benefits Go even further with:
and understanding • Time to reflect
take time to: • Did you know?
Try It! • Looking back
•Access your course-taking • Visualize it!
style
• Resources
•Identify online learning
opportunities • The case of the
•Use email netiquette empty page
•Work the Internet: Information,
Please!

© 2021 McGraw Hill

 Chapter 6: Conclusion
Learning Outcome results
• Identify technologies that contribute to efficiency and
effectiveness in your academic and everyday life.
• What LMS does your school use?
• Is your technology up to date?
• Determine whether taking an online learning course is the
right choice for you and for your learning style.
• Research the credibility of the course
• Will you thrive?
• Discuss the principles of effective online communication and
the protection of online privacy.
• Make smart decisions about what you post
• Are you using netiquette?

© 2021 McGraw Hill

Chapter 6: Conclusion continued
Learning Outcome results continued
• Identify the negative effects technology can have on your life
and how to counteract them.
• Consider the physical and mental impacts
• Demonstrate information competency by identifying
techniques and technologies that help you locate and
evaluate information and organize the information that you
find.
• Is the source credible and published?
• Identify the different types of plagiarism, and explain how
plagiarism can be avoided through proper citation methods
and the use of citation software
• Consider using a plagiarism detection site

© 2021 McGraw Hill