Individual differences in the new literacies of online research and comprehension

"Online research and comprehension is a process of problem-based inquiry using information on the Internet. It includes the skills, strategies, dispositions, and social practices that take place as we read online information to learn (Leu et al., 2013). During online research and comprehension, readers construct texts, meaning, and knowledge while engaged in several online reading practices: reading to identify important problems, reading to locate information, reading to critically evaluate information, reading to synthesize information, and reading to communicate information.

Online research and comprehension is not limited to lengthy and formal research projects. It also includes shorter tasks when one needs to know the answer to a question such as When was Abraham Lincoln born? or What is the easiest way to get to downtown London from Heathrow? Information queries, both large and small, initiate online research and require the use of new technologies to read, comprehend, and learn." *

* Leu, D. J., Kiili, C., & Forzani, E. (2016). Individual differences in the new literacies of online research and comprehension. In P. Afflerbach (Ed.), Handbook of Individual Differences in Reading : Reader, Text, and Context(pp. 259-272). New York: Routledge.

"Google understands the importance of finding the right information at the right time. We create tools to let you find the information you need, of the kind you need, when you need it. In most cases, a simple search works really well. But for more specialized questions, a bit of instruction in how to search improves all searcher--from middle school students to trained professionals--and lets you discover and use more, higher quality sources than ever before" *

* https://sites.google.com/site/gwebsearcheducation/

Lesson plans: https://sites.google.com/site/gwebsearcheducation/lessonplans