Evaluation of reference work

Evaluation and Replacment of a Reference Work

For this assignment I choose the reference resource of a singe volume format comprehensive Canadian content encyclopedia to evaluate using a rubric and then  using my constructed knowledge from this course and discussion feed from my classmates to  decide upon a replacement  reference (online and/or print) resource that meets and or exceeds the evaluative criteria particular to the encyclopedia source as indicated  from Riedling's text  pg ;71. Reference Skills For The School Librarian. 3rd ed.

The Evaluative Criteria being:

1. accuracy/authority

1. currency/relevency

1. format

1. objectivity

1. cost/rationale

1. curricular connection

1. efficient use of library or computer space

My school library included most of the required reference materials differing in format(single volume) scope and audience its intended for(child/youth/adult) .There  were several thesauruses; (age leveled) atlases;maps;dictionaries; encyclopedias and a subscription to the Chickadee magazine for young children.Our school had subject and alphabetically based encyclopedias. For example subject based; of British Columbia;Dog and Cat breeds and Jewish history. We had two multi volume child subject(countries) content encyclopedias. Missing resources were a database;gazetttes;newspapers; youth magazines and digital sources as there is not a computer space in the library but classrooms have their own and an It specialist who teaches internet/search skills. Each mixed aged classroom from grade 3 and up have a full set of laptops.

 reference area in school library

I choose a comprehensive print  single volume of  The_Canadian_Encyclopedia.; this 2,640 paged alphabetically search inquiry encyclopedia was published in 2000 and has 10,000 articles and 4 million words.It was updated with a Cd-rom at the back in 1991 for the first time.This replaced the 4 red bound volumes but with 1.5 million more words. The editor in chief was James Marsh who  had a National Advisory Board to assist him and this reference involved 250 consultants and 4,000 contributors .

An encyclopedia is a  beginning reference source whose purpose is to educate and inform on a wide range of topics  or sub topics for subject based. This reference resource is useful for its source of information in one location that is accessible and more easily retrievable  providing students with enough information/answers that they can then  go more in depth accessing additional resources. 

 I created a evaluative rubric  of THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA using Quickrubric click here  ; evaluation-of-reference-resources rubric

Overall to summarize this resource though exemplary on the accuracy;objectivity and satisfactory otherwise except for currency/relevancy this is a cumbersome heavy reference source that is not conductive to research inquiry skills as its difficult to quickly flip back and forth to other abstractions especially when there is not an overall index to look up search terms  and students must understand the spelling required for alphabetical inquiry .Young children would have difficulty physically using this reference and the fine print is hard to read and the paper is easily torn as well and the cover is annoying a it slops off easily. This is a reference that though not great in accessibility and variability is useful for  specific information as a beginning point or for clarification/answer in  its comprehensive content.This print version has only 2 pages of colour pictures with the flags/emblems at the back and the rest  consisted of afew  small pencil drawings and a couple tables of information.This lack of illustrations is another reason  this reference is not intended for young audiences. 

WHAT REFERENCES CAN I USE THAT WOULD ENCOURAGE MORE INQUIRY AND INFORMATION LITERATE SKILLS? (and meet the evaluative criteria)

The digital format of the Canadian encyclopedia founded through Historica Canada in my evaluation does. I found that it does meet and exceed the criteria especially in being relevant with immediate updates with 60 articles being revised/created per month; it's user friendly format search process and the cross curricular applications in inquiry based learning. This online reference has 5,000 contributors including well known people like Pierre Burton including 19;00 bilingual articles in french. This reference is also free and accessible with any internet connection.This encyclopedia went digital in 2001 to become thecanadianencyclopedia.ca; its publisher is Mel Huritg and editor in chief until recently continued to be James Marsh.

   from their website:

The Encyclopedia contains more than 30,000 multimedia items including images, maps, games, audio and video. Multimedia is augmented through acquisition and partnerships with Maclean’s magazine and The Canadian Press. The new interactive features include curated content exhibits, interactive timelines, immediate updates of important events and a user-generated content map that invites Canadians to share their stories. The site also offers a new learning centre for teachers and parents that contains classroom resources, quizzes and themed study guides.

 I had the opportunity to work with students after I discovered this Free digital reference in their research of Canadian Resources in a grade 5/6 class. The application of this online reference source worked well with students in the grade 5/6 class as it was a quick and relaible source of information that then could be expanded on with further resources. The hyperlinks highlighted in blue allowed students who needed more clarification/information to click in it and be brought to a short abstract explaining the term  to create more understanding. This would be very hard and time consuming to do with the print copy.

Students  with little direction were able to come up with high precision quality information at their reading level.
the SEARCH engine tab on the home page had  narrowed down choices of;
EVENTS;PEOPLE;PLACES;THINGS and under each link were about 40 sub headings to assist students in making their search more precise.
So under places they clicked on provinces and territories ; then selected their PROVINCE/TERRITORY and then from that page their is a DIG DEEPER BOX on the right which lists further topics such as ECONOMY to find accurate information on a particular provinces resources. This  specific retrial process of gathering information helped students to  stay engaged and focused.
 As mentioned above this online encyclopedia database specific to Canadian culture; geography and terminology is a multi media interactive collection;exhibits and timelines which can be searched by subject using the  subheadings or alphabetically listed topics that have corresponding small pictures that then breaks down the topic by province or subject. The pictorial depiction is helpful to new readers making it more accessible. Teacher resources downloaded are provided alphabetically;  I was impressed with the extras like studyguide/how-to-find-a-reliable-online-source/ poster 5 pointer that could be laminated and posted in a library/classroom. Also included are quizzzes like this one for example /black-history-in-canada/and studyguides  are listed alphabetically.

The Historica.ca  online site (can be accessed through Canadian encyclopedia site as well) offers alphabetically searched videos of Canadian events and people (59 of them) that are 43 to 57 minutes long. The biography series for example includes historical figures like Tom Thompson; Grey Owl etc. 

  Historicacanada.ca/content also offers a 360 degree film called Horizons produced by Sesqui .This films travels across Canada  highlighting people and geography and uses virtual reality Google cardboard(10$ each) which goes over a smartphone to view or on large screen for whole class. They include a teachers resource and assembly information.
This alphabetical collection also includes points of view reference from:

 Indigenous Arts and Stories(2000 youth contributions so far)

Passages Canada( stories from newcomers to Canada) and Here's My Canada.

Historical Minutes-one minutes videos on Canadian historical events and people. Below is an example:

Halifax Explosion Heritage Minutes video from Historica.ca
These videos help create interest and motivation to delve deeper into Canadian events/people as well as an example for student created videos/dramas. 

Im my evaluation I was impressed with the online version of the Canadian encyclopedia and I would definitely replace the print version with the digital as it better meets the goals of creating information literate students. The national council of English Language art teachers defined it like this:NCTE definition of  21ST Century literacies

This form of reference resource address one of the goals in particular. which is:

• Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts;
• 
  
• An additional concrete resource that would complement students learning of timelines(one feature of the digital encyclopedia); an abstract concept for younger students is the-black-ribbon. This hands on material helps children put the historical Canadian events;periods in history (as well as lifespans;solar system calendars etc) onto a concrete representation.

This resource can be ordered online for about $200 from Neinhuis who is a well known company from Netherlands that creates Montessori materials.
Online I found you could purchase timeline cards and/or use student created figures or cards. The online Canadian encyclopedia timeline in combination with this would be a great extension where students could take turns presenting their information using the Black ribbon.

This assignment helped me to construct an evaluative mindset when selecting references and using references to lead learning towards creating students who understand the information seeking process and are evolving into becoming information literate.

Resources;

NCTE. (2018). The NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies - NCTE. [online] Available at: http://www2.ncte.org/statement/21stcentdefinition/ [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].

Google Books. (2018). The Canadian Encyclopedia. [online] Available at: https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Canadian_Encyclopedia.html?id=wR_-aSFyvuYC&source=kp_cover&redir_esc=y [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].

Historicacanada.ca. (2018). Sesqui | Historica Canada. [online] Available at: https://www.historicacanada.ca/content/sesqui [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].

Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. (2018). The Canadian Encyclopedia. [online] Available at: https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/ [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].


Clever Prototypes, L. (2018). Quick Rubric :). [online] Quick Rubric. Available at: https://www.quickrubric.com/r#/qr/emom/evaluation-of-reference-resources/edit [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].

Riedling, Ann Marlow et al. Reference Skills For The School Librarian. 3rd ed., Santa Barbara, California, Linworth, 2013,.

. (2018). The Black Ribbon. [online] HeutinkBrands. Available at: https://www.nienhuis.com/en/the-black-ribbon/product/3153/#longdescription [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].