What Is The "Big6"?
The Big6 is a process model of how people of all ages solve an information problem. This encompasses six stages:
1. Task Definition
2. Information Seeking Strategies
3. Location and Access
4. Use of Information
5. Synthesis
6. Evaluation
People go through these Big6 stages -- consciously or not -- when they seek or apply information to solve a problem or make a decision. It's not necessary to complete these states in a linear order, and a given stage doesn't need to take a lot of time.
In addition to considering the Big6 as a process, another useful way to view the Big6 is as a set of basic, essential life skills. These skills can be applied across situations -- to school, personal and work settings.
Big6 skills are best learned when integrated with classroom curriculum and activities. Teaching and learning to use technology as a part of the Big6 process is very helpful for students and teachers. Students see the connection between various technology skills and how the skills can be applied to the completion of the project. Teachers have a context for integrating technology instruction into classroom learning, assignments, and projects. Instead of focusing on the technology itself, teachers can help students think about what they want to accomplish and think how technology might help them reach their goals.
Our school district is adopting the Big6 for use throughout the district, in every school and grade level. With this adoption, students coming into our school should have a common vocabulary and experience with this information process. In our building, Lesley Perkins and Heather Daly attended a district training session, as did Greg O'Brien, Pat Schell and Sue Dell. We hope to provide you at a later date with an introduction and some examples of how the Big6 skills can be integrated into your classrooms.
(Big6 information courtesy of "The Big6 in Secondary Schools", by Michael Eisenberg and Robert Berkowitz)
Make your school laptop even more useful
The world of freeware – software created by individuals or software firms and offered to the public for free* -- has much to offer teachers to help your computer help you. Here are just a few examples:
-- Stickies allows you to put digital “post-it notes” on your computer screen. If you find yourself using the ubiquitous yellow notes despite migrating much of your work to your computer, try this freeware program to accomplish the same feat – without the paper.
-- Paint (Not to be confused with the Paint program that is part of the Microsoft Windows operating system) is a full-featured photo editing program that allows you to easily and precisely label digital photos (such as photographs of specimen slides for science classes), among other tasks.
-- Skype is perhaps the most revolutionary type of freeware to debut within the past few years. Skype turns your computer into a telephone. Download and installation of the software takes just a few minutes; registration requires only a valid email address and your choice of username and password. If your computer has an internal microphone and decent internal speakers, you can immediately begin talking with anyone else who has a Skype account right there at your computer screen… for free. (And if your computer doesn’t have an internal microphone and speakers, see us here at the CVHS Library for an external microphone, external speakers, and headphones.)
With whom might you Skype and for what instructional purpose? To date, CVHS Foreign Language teachers have found Skype very useful for connecting students live to native speakers of the target language in several different locations around the globe. But teachers in other schools have used Skype to help students reach learning objectives in other disciplines, too. Science teachers have used Skype to connect their students their peers in far-flung locations to collect data for earth science projects . . . . English Literature teachers have used Skype to connect their students to native speakers of other dialects of English . . . . and teachers in several different disciplines have used Skype to allow their students to interview experts in a given subject live, right there in their classrooms.
Although Skype can be used for audio only, the addition of a webcam at either end of the conversation allows you to see the person with whom you are speaking.
Want to try it? Stop by the Library for assistance.
*Yes, freeware really is free. However, many freeware creators – especially individuals who do not promote a commercial version of the same software -- invite donations (usually via a PayPal or similar link on the freeware download website) that help defray the cost maintaining a website for the software and producing upgrades and improvements. Do consider this option if you find a type of freeware especially useful.
New technology resources for teacher use…
Stop by the Library or give us a call for details
- An external DVD burner for staff members who need to burn DVD’s, but who might not have the time to spend at a Library computer or who might not have a laptop with an internal DVD burner.
- A photo printer is now available in the Library for staff use.
- If you need more sound than portable PC speakers can provide, the Library can loan you a portable sound system that can project sound a much greater distance, complete with two microphones if your activity includes public speaking.
“There aren’t enough computers for my students…”
If you need computers for your students, consider reserving the Library’s circulating laptop computers in addition to reserving the Library’s desktop computer area. Adding the six circulating laptops can sometimes accommodate your class needs. Please note that such reservations must be made in advance, as individual laptops are often circulated outside of the Library on any given day. Please also note that when two classes have reserved the Library for the same block, our policy is to allot half the computers to each class.
Please help us provide a quiet Library for all
We thank the many staff members who have actively helped us enforce policies that maintain the Library as a quiet work space within our school. This year (for the first time in recent memory), several students have come to us to ask for help in maintaining quiet in the Library, as a number of students have begun using the Library space routinely for study and completion of assignments. (The carrels on the far side of the Library have also seen increased use by students and staff members for this purpose, too.)
As we start the final quarter of the school year, we once again ask that all staff members assist with enforcing the following Library policies:
- No personal recording devices of any kind may be used or worn in the Library.
- Library patrons must turn off and put away cell phones.
- A signed, dated pass* is required for any student visiting the Library without his or her teacher, except VHS students and students with permanent passes from their guidance counselors.
- Group work that requires conversation should not be conducted in the Library; teachers and students should see Ms. Perkins or Ms. Daly for permission to use the A/V room for brief group conversations. Group work that requires much conversation – such as making posters or discussing presentation plans – should be conducted in the classroom.
*As opposed to the teacher’s generic hall pass.
For questions, please contact Lesley Perkins or Heather Daly in the Library at x4178.
