Move beyond index cards: 12 ways to organize information online
By Christian Howd | July 10, 2007
Wavy lines, wavy lines. Now we’re in full flash-back mode. See the card catalog over there? Students are taking notes on index cards, only one idea for each card. Some are looking through book bibliographies to hunt down books for further study. Some are tracking down articles through those proprietary research databases. Just insert your copy card to print them out. Wavy lines, wavy lines.
Okay, we’re back. Collecting information and research sure is different than it used to be. In fact, it’s a lot different, according to a recent survey:
Seventy-one percent of teens say the Internet is their primary source for information for completing their most recent school project or report. Research by the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows that teens are increasingly using the Web as an essential study aid outside the classroom. For instance, 78 percent say the Internet regularly helps them with classroom assignments…
While this doesn’t mean completely eliminating the old methods of research and organization, it does mean that students should be taught how to effectively use the web for research. They are already doing it, so let’s help them do it better. But that’s not the only reason. Accessing information online will only grow in the future, and it will be imperative for their future careers to be able to effectively collect and organize information online.
If you are planning on your students doing any type of research in your class(es), then why not also introduce them to a way to organize that information online? You will not only be targeting language arts standards, but technology standards for information literacy as well. Here are 12 resources for information collection and organization:
Organizing bookmarks and websites. These sites replace Internet Explorer Favorites by allowing users to not only save a favorite site, but to also assign tags to sites and write a small description, all searchable later and accessible from any internet connection.
Organizing information. These sites allow users to copy and paste information and save online, eliminating the need to write down long internet addresses, print out pages, or copy down information onto paper.
Wikis. These sites can adapt to multiple purposes, but can serve as a way to collect information from around the web. These sites are also ideal for collaboration among project partners, as a wiki is easily edited by others.
Mind mapping. These sites allow users to create a visual map of related ideas. Once the information has been collected, a mind mapping site can help tie the information together.
All of these sites are free to use, and should be accessible behind a school firewall and filter. In most cases, your students will need email addresses to complete the free registration.
Which methods do you use to organize and collect information online? Are there any good web apps we left off the list? Let us know in the comments.
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February 26th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
You make an excellent argument! I have started using Google Notebook for research for my grad classes and it makes perfect sense to incorporate it into my classroom as well. It also seems like a great resource to use with students with special needs because for some just copying down information may be a difficult task in itself. However, an application like Google Notebook would make taking accurate notes a breeze.
July 4th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
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August 3rd, 2008 at 8:36 pm
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