Developing information literacy skills in elementary students using the web-based Inquiry Strategies for the Information Society of the Twenty-First Century (ISIS-21)

Abstract

This study was undertaken to learn about the impact of using the web-based Inquiry Strategies for the Information Society of the Twenty-First Century (ISIS-21), software developed by the authors, to improve the information literacy (IL) skills of late elementary students (10-12 years). Using a series of multi-media and learning strategies design principles, ISIS-21 was designed to be used in late elementary classrooms given the gap in children’s IL skills and the increasing importance for individuals to be critical consumers of information, particularly when using Internet-based environments. An exploratory, two-phase field trial was conducted in English schools in a central province of Canada. In both phases the research design was a one-group, pretest-posttest where data were collected from 150 students at the baseline and after the use of ISIS-21 for completion of an inquiry project. Teacher self-reports were also collected. The results were encouraging as we were able to establish the feasibility and importance of using ISIS-21 in classrooms to promote the development of IL skills in late elementary students.