NVC librarian Amanda Gorrell contributed a chapter to “Discovery Took Cookbook: Recipes for Successful Lesson Plans,” a book just published by the Association of College & Research Libraries.
A discovery tool allows library users to concurrently search the catalog and databases. One Search is NVC Library’s discovery tool. Amanda’s chapter, “Hold the Onion, Please” is a fun way to introduce students to searching for credible news articles through the library discovery tool vs. the internet.
Amanda describes her lesson plan this way:
In today’s information age the competition for readers is fierce. How do news media grab the attention of an audience that has literally millions of online headlines grappling for their attention? The answer in many cases is the use of more and more sensational headlines.
How can students tell which headlines are from real news sources, and which are those just posing as click bait? What if students had a tool available to them to help them quickly locate relevant, credible articles for a class assignment?
“Hold the Onion, Please” is a fun way to introduce students to searching for credible news articles through the library discovery tool vs. the internet. Students compete in groups to guess which of three news headlines is from the infamous satire news site, The Onion. The group that scores the most points wins!
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to describe the inherent biases that can come with searching the internet in order to effectively evaluate information on their topic.
Students will also be able to explain the differences between how information is selected and indexed in a library discovery tool vs. a search engine in order to choose the best search tool for their information needs.