5A’s of Information Literacy

What is Boolean Search?
Boolean searches allow you to combine words and phrases using the words AND, OR, NOT and NEAR (otherwise known as Boolean operators) to limit, widen, or define your search. Most Internet search engines and Web directories default to these Boolean search parameters anyway, but a good Web searcher should know how to use basic Boolean operators.Where does the term Boolean originate?  George Boole, an English mathematician in the 19th century, developed “Boolean Logic” in order to combine certain concepts and exclude certain concepts when searching databases.

How do I do a Boolean Search?
The most common strategy is to use the standard Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT, NEAR and WILDCARD

• The Boolean search operator AND is equal to the “+” symbol.
• The Boolean search operator NOT is equal to the “-” symbol.
• The Boolean search operator OR is the default setting of any search engine; meaning, all search engines will return all the words you type in, automatically.
• The Boolean search operator NEAR is equal to putting a search query in quotes, i.e., “sponge bob squarepants”. You’re essentially telling the search engine that you want all of these words, in this specific order, or this specific phrase
• The wildcard option * will find similar words with different ending eg. adolescen* will find adolescent and adolesence

C.A.R.P checklist for evaluation websites

Getting started on your poster
Most viewers will spend less than 5 minutes looking at your poster. Before you begin, therefore, ask yourself the question…… 
If a person is only going to remember one idea about my poster, what do I want that idea to be?

Posters tell a story.
A research poster explains to the viewer what you did, why you did it and what you learned from your research. If you are trying to persuade someone to think in a certain way then the text and images will try and evoke a certain attitude about a topic.

Make a plan, storyboard or mind map that will help you organise your information. Draw a rough sketch first and then modify it as you get clearer about what you want o put on your poster.

Choosing your tools
Posters can be created using traditional things like cardboard, magazine clippings and coloured pens and textas OR you can explore some of the great online tools that are now available.
(Check out the tools listed below).

Mastering the basics
A good poster looks simple and uncluttered. Someone standing one metre away should quickly be able to see and understand each component of your poster.

Elements of a good poster:
Have a title. Poster titles created on a computer guarantee that the lettering is professional and easy to read.

Illustrations and photographs should be clear and properly proportioned. Don’t forget NOT to break any copyright rules when you are sourcing your pictures. Try and use Creative Commons images or better still create your own.

Connect your words to your graphic elements.
Viewers can’t read small type from a distance. Use 24pt type or larger.

If hand-making your poster make sure all of your background materials and graphics have straight edges and even margins; use a ruler and scissors to cut out components such as charts, graphics, photos and text before pasting them on (unless you are trying to create a ‘torn-edge’ or burnt effect).

Be concise. Use minimal text. Try bullet points or a photograph to convey information. The saying ‘A picture paints a thousand words‘ is very apt when creating a poster.

Creating design unity
Use white space, type and colour to create unity in the poster:

White space is any area not covered by a design element such as a picture, a word, or even a letter. White space guides the eye and makes the other components stand out. Too much and the viewer’s eye will wander. Too little and the result is confusion.

Serif fonts (top) are easy to read quickly. Sans serif fonts (bottom) are easy to read at a
distance.

Style of type, or font
Limit yourself to three or fewer font types. A font can be either “serif” like Times New Roman or “san serif” like Helvetica and Ariel. In general, fonts like Times Roman are better for the text while Helvetica and Ariel are good for titles and to label figures.

Colour
Think about your colour choices. Individual colours have visual weight. There should be a contrast between text and background. Be aware of the connotations that certain colours and colour combinations carry. Black and orange for example can carry the connotation of Halloween. Try and keep the background colour solid rather than patterned.

Final Tips
1)  Sketch out your ideas early.
2)  Print out your photos, illustrations and other materials.
3)  Print out a ‘proof’ and get someone to check for spelling errors, typos etc.

Some softwaretools for creating posters.
Microsoft Word  Publisher / Powerpoint 
Pages (Apple) (try the templates)

Online Poster Tools

There are many new interactive poster tools online now to help you create dynamic posters. Here are just a few. We will continue to add more as we discover them.

Glogster
Lets you design great posters that have multimedia  elements. 

Poster Maker
Make a professional looking poster to present your work.

PosterMyWall
Cool looking posters.  Poster My Wall.

Compare and contrast wordpower

There are a number of tools available to help you create you own digital books (also known as eBooks or electronic books). Digital books can be read on your computer, iPad or other digital device depending on what program or web tool was used to create it.

Below are some examples or what can be used to create eBooks

Infographics is a new word that you will find being used a lot on the web at the moment. So what are they?

Well, information graphics or infographics are visual representations of information, data or knowledge. These graphics are used where complex or large amounts of information need to be explained quickly and clearly. It is like an online version of the poster you might find at school. For a more detailed explanation, take a look at the definition as defined by Wikipedia.

Infographics can help you create dynamic assignments by adding pictorial representations of complex information.  For spatial (or visual) learners this is a great way to represent and learn information.

KWL stands for 

• What I Know
  
• What I want to know (or learn)
  
• Why I learned (found out)
  

You can use this reflection tool throughout the research process to help you show how your understanding about the topic you are studying has changed. It helps to make your learning ‘visible’.

Guided Inquiry Resource Links