Why Johnny Can't Search (Intelligently)

Wednesday, March 7, at 2 p.m., U.S. Eastern time

Diana G. Oblinger is a vice president of Educause, a nonprofit association that promotes the use of information technology in academe. She is responsible for the group's teaching and learning activities.

A transcript of the chat follows.

Jeff Young (Moderator):
    Hello everyone and welcome to today's Colloquy.

I'm Jeff Young, an editor here at The Chronicle, and I'll be moderating today's discussion.

The topic is information literacy. In the age of information overload and Googling, and at a time where groups like the Educational Testing Service are developing standardized tests to measure the tech savvy of students, there are many unanswered questions. Is there such a thing as "information literacy" and who decides what it is? And what, if anything, should colleges do?

Today we're joined by Diana Oblinger, a vice president of Educause, a nonprofit association that promotes the use of information technology in academe. The group has been active on the issue of information literacy, releasing three white papers on the topic this past fall. Thanks for being with us today Diana.

Diana G. Oblinger:
    Thanks. It is a pleasure to be here. Information literacy is a very intersting topic---and the interesting part probably begins with what is meant by the term. And, its not just information literacy....it is information fluency, technology fluency, or being net savvy. But they all encompass the notion that we live in a world full of information and we need to know how to manage the information and what we want as a result of it.

Question from Fran Keenan, Strayer University WDC:
    I don't think the term "information literacy" is important to students and I don't think it should be stressed. I ask our students (working adults) what they think it means and few have any idea even when prompted. If I start from the point of how students look for information now (99% Google)and how overwhelmed they feel by results (very), I get their buy-in on approaching information seeking in a more conscious and strategic way. In my info lit sessions I throw in tips for searching Google as well--I don't treat it as evil. How can librarians and instructors keep "information literacy" concepts relevant in the face of new technologies and ways to get and use information?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    I would agree. I don't think students think in terms of information literacy. In fact, many of us have trouble knowing just what to call this. But students do recognize that they need to find information. What they probably don't realize, until someone helps them reflect on the world, is just how complicated it can be to find GOOD information that helps them address the problem they're trying to solve. And, then they also need the critical thinking skills to make sense of the information. And, it should go without saying that there is also an ethical dimension. But I'm not sure that is automatically understood, either.

Question from Janet, Northern Illinois University:
    Not only do we need to help students learn how to effectively search for reliable information on the Web, we need to teach them how to properly cite that information. Too many students consider information on the Web to be "free" and without the need to cite the source.

Diana G. Oblinger:
    Absolutely true. In fact, I'm always suprised by how many students say they just never knew they needed to cite something. Or that they didn't bother because they didn't know how. Then there is also the notion that if it is on the web it is community property and anyone can use it. I think this points out the importance of values and ethics in the discussion of information literacy. Do our students respect the ideas of others?

Question from Kathleen Johnson, Seattle Academy, private school 6-12:
    I am interested in how the emerging world of collaborative knowledge creation (wikis, creative commons, open content) will effect how we teach the skill of "evaluating" content especially for these formats of information.

Diana G. Oblinger:
    Certainly the Web 2.0 world makes all this more complicated. Part of that is that it isn't just searching for and accessing information. It has to do with modifying information, making it your own, and perhaps someone else making it event better. Part of what is making this more complicated is that this isn't just a set of search-and-retrieval skills anymore. And it isn't a solitary activity. And, I am starting to think that this isn't so much a "skill" as it is a mindset about how we deal with information, the world around us, and how we create knowledge.

Comment from Anne McGrail, Lane Community College:
    I would be interested to hear from colleges that have successfully integrated information literacy into their core curriculum. We are currently under pressure to simultaneously cut our offerings in Writing--from 9 credits to 8--at the same time as we will be expected to increase students' info literacy. So what gives in such a case? Students may become better consumers of information, but in the process I fear that we lose valuable time focusing on the complex processes involved in their role as producers of writing.

Moderator's Note: To those of you following our chat, please feel free to post comments with your experiences....

Question from M.Meszaros, recent LIS grad:
    What about the devaluation of the notion of expertise and authority in our culture? Why should students see peer-reviewed literature as "better" than a generic web page when it's all about opinion anyway? See Gary A. Olson's "That's Your Opinion." (Under Chronicle Careers, Feb. 13, 2007). What are we doing to address and change student attitudes about expertise and authoritativeness?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    Perhaps this is less a devaluation of expertise and authority than it is the emergence of a new participatory culture where people think they have the right to express an opinion and don't hesitate to do so. I think there is still a great deal of respect for expertise and authority, but people can't resist offering their opinion. And, there may be a constructive element to that. If you express an opinion, you have thought about the issue and take time to formulate a response. Perhaps what we need to do is find the right balance point between relying totally on authority and scrutinizing what is said, not just based on the "authority" of the source but on whether it makes sense.

Question from Cy Dillon, Ferrum College:
    Our institution is in the process of designing an in-house assessment program for information literacy--as opposed to using one of the national tests. Can you identify some small institutions who have done this successfully?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    If you take a look at our first white paper on information literacy (Ensuring the Net Generation is Net Savvy) I think you'll find some examples. There has been a great deal of good work done in Australia. If you haven't looked at the work of Christine Bruce, I highly recommend it.

Comment from Jennifer Sharkey, Purdue University Libraries:
    As a librarian teaching primarily 1st and 2nd year students, I am definitely shifting how I view what information literacy entails and this includes moving away from the notion that it skill sets to more of mind set. In the article Information Navigation 101, Barbara Fister made an interesting comment that the current information literacy skills are as flexible when it comes to dealing with new creation of information. I also feel that they don’t deal well with the newer types of information such as multimedia, wikis, blogs, etc. However, I am still trying to formulate in my own mind how to better approach this expanding information environment.

Question from Ed Merwin, Jr., Univ. of South Carolina Salkehatchie:
    I find that a number of students, especially entering freshmen, feel they know all there is to know about computer searching. Thus these students are usually relulctant to turn to a librarian for help; especially if they (the student) believes they are more Internet savey than the librarian. Question: How to we effectively reach these particular patrons?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    Oh yes! I knew a lot when I was a freshman too! Perhaps the first step is helping students see that they don't know everything. That is where a quiz, test, or some sort of assignment helps open their eyes. If you can demonstrate to them that they aren't as good as they think then you've got their attention. But let me suggest that the only place they turn shouldn't just be to a librarian. There are lots of people on campus who should be able to help with these skills and encourage students to develop the habit. Increasingly we're seeing people in student life talk about information literacy and being net savvy. These are lifelong skills that aren't limited to the classroom. Perhaps we should reinforce that with where students encounter those skills.

Comment from Cy Dillon, Ferrum College:
    We have tried to integrate information literacy into all our academic programs in much the same way we have integrated writing. After having specific information literacy assignments in freshman seminar and again in English 102, all our students will have to complete two "Writing Intensive" classes within their majors. These courses will have participation from English faculty and librarians but be taught by a professor in the discipline. We believe students learn information skills best within their major field.

Question from :
    I recently heard that Middlebury College's History department has banned Wikipedia as a source. It seems intuitive to me that an academic department with a good reputation would deny legitimacy as a source to a Web-based encyclopedia in which anyone can edit an entry. However, do you see any value in Web-based and decentralized documents such as Wikipedia?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    I don't have the citation for you, but as I recall there was an article in Science that indicated the error rate for Wikipedia and encyclopedias were very similar. So, I can see their point. But we do have to deal with the fact that students go to wikipedia (and some of the rest of us, as well) and they need to be discriminating about what they believe. Perhaps that means they develop the habit of always finding other sources that validate what they saw on wikipedia. I think it is good that so many people have an opportunity to share information on subjects they are passionate about. If you go back to the word amateur and how many of our sciences were developed. They came into being through networks of amateurs--people who loved the subject--and eventually built a body of knowledge and practice. It isn't all bad.

Comment from Sandra, HPU:
    Just expanding on the ideas of opinions: with such an over-load of information from the WWW (either from Wikipedia or peer-reviewed journals), I get the feeling many students don't hesitate to pass off someone else's ideas as their own opinions. It becomes hard to draw the line after a while, and some students probably don't take the time to make a distinction between fact and opinion, to begin with.

Question from Billy Thomas, Florida Community College at Jacksonville:
    Thank you for taking this time for a conversation. My question has to do with leadership. When there is so much resistance to change, how do we get faculty, librarians and administration to buy into some of these technology based needs?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    I've asked this kind of change questions many times, myself. One of the best answers I got from some one basically said that the impetus for change came when they couldn't ignore the facts anymore. In this particular case, students weren't learning material correctly. The number of majors was declining. And so on. If all of us had to face the facts about information literacy or being net savvy, we might sit up and pay attention. But we also have to be very clear about what is at stake if we don't get this right. There is a lot of talk about economic development, global competitiveness, and civic engagement. If our students (and ourselves) can't deal with new information and new issues then we have undercut our economics, our societies, and ourselves. Lots more could be said here. But we also have to show people how they can take the first steps--and the difference it will make. I do think there is a way but this message can't just come from the library. It has to come from people all across campus--and people off campus.

Question from Dan Hood, Information Literacy Fellow, Carnegie Mellon University:
    Here at Carnegie Mellon we use a two-tiered information literacy instruction model. Entering undergraduates receive a unit on general information literacy skills in a required "Computing Skills Workshop" and then receive course integrated discipline-specific instruction as upper level undergraduates. Assessment occurs with the SAILS test and customized assessments for the discipline-specific modules. (California State University is another example of this type of integrated information literacy program, though it is, probably, more complete in its scope). I wonder if EDUCAUSE has any planned future initiatives to promote multi-tiered programs and incorporation of information literacy competencies into general education curricula.

Diana G. Oblinger:
    We are planning a focus session on information literacy for next year, so we'll see what emerges from that. Our hope is to move on from the white papers we've done to helping people with a process to think about some of these issues. And, yesterday we talked about doing sort of an op-ed piece that talks about what we know we need to do. Let me pick up on your point that information literacy isn't like an innoculation: you get it once and you're set for life. People need to learn these skills--and habits of mind--in a context of use. As you have described. But students tell us that if something only appears once or twice, they know the faculty really don't care a lot about it. When information literacy is embedded in many, many courses throughout someone's college experience, then it is obvious this is a critical skill.

Question from Red Wassenich, Austin Community College:
    We are toying with the idea of converting our info lit tutorial into an interactive game, with 3-D graphics and a narrative plot. With the assumption the quality would be reasonably high,I'd like to hear if you think that mode would appeal or backfire as us looking like we're trying to be hip.

Diana G. Oblinger:
    I think it will appeal to some students and not to others, to be honest. Not everyone likes interactive games. But if you provide the material in multiple formats you're going to be more effective that if it just available in one way. The other thing to think about is whether you can develop small modules that are embedded within courses. When I was at the University of Sydney they were talking about developing small snippets of information that would provide learning at the point someone needed to know it. Some people call this embedded learning. But it is highly effective because people don't remember information out of context. They pay attention to information when they need it. Might be worth considering.

Comment from Dan Hood, Carnegie Mellon University:
    Responding to other comments: I too am beginning to alter my definition of information literacy from a set of standards to a "mindset" or set of critical thinking skills. This emerging definition reinforces the need for contextual, integrated approach to instruction. Students must receive information literacy instruction in their discipline's context to perceive it as valuable.

Question from Ann, academic librarian:
    Do faculty recognize that their students have to learn how to do bibliographic research and that part of their job is to ensure this, or do they assume it as background or infrastructure that is unrelated to their own role, as irrelevant as to whether they get to class, by car, bus, or bicycle? If faculty don't recognize this as a priority, why should students?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    I know some faculty do think this is part of their responsibility. Others may assume it was taken care of in high school or someplace else. Its kind of an "expert blind spot." We know how to do it, and know it is important, so assume everyone else does as well. As with so many things, that isn't the case. Perhaps the way to make the priority understood is less by telling students than by demonstrating that the results are critical to how they do in the course--and what they do outside of class. And, again, perhaps we should be looking for help in other places, as well. Students may be able to learn an awful lot when they are working on a service project or the homecoming parade. Maybe those are the places we can really get students to appreciate information literacy--becauase it is something they have chosen to do, not something they were told they had to do.

Comment from Terry Cottrell, University of St. Francis, Joliet, IL:
    To bolster Fran's comment below on what exactly to call "information literacy," I'll add that I support dropping the term in favor of "research literacy". I feel very strongly that this issue has never been purely in the realm of libraries and also that the term "information" is much too broad for any one profession to claim. For example, CFPs will use the term "financial literacy". But isn't financial literacy also information? I feel that libraries have classically been linked with research and that in order to do research one will have to interact with a library at some point (even if just to see their test case wind up in a journal that resides in a library, at the very least). Is anyone else out there willing to drop the term "information" from info. lit.? Finally, on a second note, is anyone out there exploring the idea of unmediated instruction through online modules rather than through face-to-face encounters? With shrinking budgets, unmediated instructions starts to look more and more attractive. Thanks.

Question from Brock Read, Chronicle of Higher Education:
    A few librarians have complained that in the era of information-literacy training, their jobs are too focused on teaching Web-research skills, and not focused enough on encouraging a love of books. Is there room for the librarian-as-bibliophile in colleges these days?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    I hope that when they teach information literacy is isn't just about web-research skills. As I mentioned before critical thinking is a very important part of what I consider information literacy. Students must also understand that bad things can happen on the Internet. Criminals are not dumb. They will find ways of using the Internet for their own devices. Our students need to be aware and alert for these things. So it is more than web-searching. I think people begin to love books when they love the subject and become immersed. So perhaps as people find those things they are really interested in, they will be led to books.

Comment from Ursula Zyzik, Saint Xavier University, Chicago:
    I'm tempted to modify the title of this discussion to Why Johnny Can't Search and Read(Intelligently). Students don't seem to improve their information competence because they often lack the rudimentary skill of making sense of what they read in an academic source. The ability to follow argumentation based on facts and reasoning is what contributes to intelligent searching, selection and evaluation. These are integral elements of the process. That is why students embrace web sources because in the myriads of pieces of information there is always one that fits their point of view and abilities. Therefore, I strongly believe that isolated programs of information literacy are not going to be successful no matter how often and extensively we test the students and teach them the rules of research.

Question from Anonymous, Idaho State University:
    I agree that students are overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of information that is available. I see many students resorting to a generalized skepticism and resisting any attempts on my part to justify empirical research as a source of authority. I live/teach in an area that is dominated by one particular religion, and at least 60% of my students recognize their church leaders as "general authorities" (a term used within their religion). Unfortunately, in the face of conflicting claims, many of these students decline to attempt an evaluation of information in favor of accepting the "general authorities'" guidance. How would you approach the teaching of critical evaluation of information, given this dynamic?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    I heard an interesting story about how some people get students to pay attention. They take a story or an article and change a word and see how long it takes for the students to see the flaw. One example was about an article dealing with growing artichokes, at least that's what I recall. The faculty member replaced "artichokes" with velcro. The students took a bit before they spoke up and said that didn't make sense. I'm sure I've got the example wrong but you get the point. Another opportunity may be to show some of our "errors" in history. We have believed certain things to be true and then realized it was a distorted view of the facts. So even authorities, given poor or misleading information, may come to the wrong conclusions. Perhaps a bigger question is how to develop students' independent thinking skills.

Question from Noel Kopriva, recent LIS grad:
    Last June I attended the ACLR's session at ALA in which the proposition "information literacy is an educational fad and a waste of librarians' time and talent" was debated. After the debate, the audience voted overwhelmingly against the proposition. In spite of this, a debate about the relevance of information literacy as a movement in libraries persists--and in fact did at the session, as well. Why do you think that librarians continue to question information literacy's usefulness, and how might we use this skepticism as a way to better communicate our information literacy goals to students and faculty?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    I think information literacy runs the risk of being not being taken seriously enough if it is defined in a narrow way, and if the only ones talking about it are from the library. That is where terminology is probably against us. So long as people can categorize this as how to search the card catalog (you can tell my age now) they won't understand how important it is. If you've ever read George Siemens work on connectivism you begin to develop a different definition and different picture. He talks about how you'll never know enough information and how you need to be able to find it--not just by searching but through networks of people. And if you begin to think about the fact that information itself has changed--and continues to change--then we're at a very interesting point. It isn't just that information can be visual as well as textual. It isn't static. People create, recreate, remix, and editorialize.

Comment from Tina Hertel, Lehigh University:
    "Perhaps a bigger question is how to develop students' independent thinking skills" I agree with this. I think that, unfortunately, many of us are limited by time and workload to full address and teach a broad spectrum of 'information literacy' competencies. How do we go beyond the 'how to find information' to the 'how to critically analyze and evaluate information'? Of course, many would argue that is not the librarian's role, but the faculty's role. I would argue it is everyone's responsibility.

Question from Nicki Lerczak, Genesee Community College:
    My question has to do with assessment. Authentic assessment is hard to come by in info lit land, in my opinion. A test is good for short term learning and favors good test takers. Analyzing student papers seems like an obvious answer but may prove a burden to continue. What lies in the middle?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    Perhaps good assignments lie in the middle. If you design a good assignment that relies on solid information you develop the skill without testing for it. Or consider some form of peer evaluation. What about having the students quiz each other on their sources and why they think the information is legitimate? What if we were to model for our students a form of "precision questioning" that was all about knowing if you'd "done your homework right. That might be an interesting way of approaching this.

Question from Jennifer Sharkey, Purdue University Libraries:
    I agree that any type of information literacy instruction “sticks” when it is within the context of the class or major. One of the issues I deal with is trying to convince TAs and faculty that this is important. I often get the standard comment “The students just need to know about the databases.” I am trying to figure out a way to approach the issue in a good way to ensure productive and open dialogue. Any ideas or thoughts?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    Perhaps one way is to take it "outside the classroom." What if there really isn't a database for the information? What if the problem to be solved is something in the community or politics or the environment? Or what if it deals with culture and history? I saw a demo of a game called Peacemakers a couple of weeks ago that deals with the Palestinian-Isreali conflict. I don't think a database would help you if you were trying to work through the game. Again, it is more than just finding information. Students aren't going to find their ethics or values in a database. Nor will they improve their critical thinking skills by going to a database.

Question from Nana Owusu, DeVry University - Pennsylvania:
    What strategies do you recommend to help patrons appreciate the fact that quality information may require a little bit of patience. Patrons will gravitate towards 'any' information than invest the five to ten minutes it might take or sometimes more to obtain the quality information they need. This is especially the case with non-senior level undergraduates

Diana G. Oblinger:
    I suppose we're all like that, in a way. In a rush. Perhaps it is by illustrating the tradeoffs. You can have the information now, from the Web, and then spend the next 10 minutes trying to validate it or you can give me 5 minutes to find it in a databse where things are already validated. Or perhaps it is illustrating the downside. How long will it take to raise your grade if you get it wrong on this paper?

Question from Amber Cushing, Reference Librarian, NH State Library:
    Many students enrolled in online degree programs come to our state library becuase they lack access to a University library. They have often chosen the online degree becuase they work fulltime and are often in a rush to deal with other life demands. How can one help these students when a good academic library, let alone an information literacy class is not available and they can often only spare a few moments?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    Again, information literacy isn't just about libraries or a type of class. It is how we approach our lives. We all self-educate on many levels. If you want to know something about the flu, you probably go to WebMD. If you are planning a vacation, you'll go to Expedia or Orbitz. How do you know the information you're seeing is legitimate? trustworthy? Do you know how to check it out? And let me also bring in a more global picture of information literacy. UNESCO has done some interesting work here. For people in developing countries, the lack of access to information keeps them from changing political systems, keeps individuals from knowing their rights,....all kinds of things. People need information to make good decision. And they need good information. This is true for politics, for decisions about the environment, personal health or the term paper due next week.

Question from Gina Padgett, grad student, Northern Arizona University:
    I'm a student in NAU's online M.A. in English in literacy, technology and professional writing program. As a co-writer in the book, "What Business Wants from Higher Education," do you see a connection in students becoming more information literate and their success in the workforce after college?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    Absolutely! You'll never know everything you need to solve a problem in the workplace today. You'll have to find new information, seek out others with expertise, collaborate, evaluate the option and then implement a solution. The answer isn't in a database. You have to sift, sort, and sieve information and then piece it all together. I'd much rather learn that in college than when my job is on the line. I was talking to a major employer 2 days ago and we talked about the need for agility, constant feedback and modification and the ability to get things done. That means you have to constantly consume and interact with information and work with others. Other employers are telling us they are increasingly likely to hire students from outside the US because our students are "lazy." I know that isn't always the case but it is a bit disconcerting to ever hear that.

Diana G. Oblinger:
    Earlier today I was looking at a book on student engagement and information litercy. The editor has a very nice way of explaining what this is about. He says that the concept of information literacy is evolving into a way of thinking, a dispositional habit and a cultural practice. It is a way of thinking, not just a set of skills. It is about critical thinking and reflection. It is about forming hypotheses, collecting information and testing the strategies. It also adapts as situations change. Certainly the web we have today isn't the one we experienced a couple of years ago. Who knows what we'll be seeing a year from now? He also talks about it as a cultural practice that brings people in and acculturates them to the discipline, what ever it is. Craig Gibson is the editor. It is a nice way to think about information literacy.

Question from Tara Carlisle, Scottsdale Community College:
    It seems that some faculty resist collaborating with librarians to integrate information literacy skills in their curriculum. What key actions do you think academic librarians could take to promote IL on campus?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    Perhaps the librarians need to find champions in other places rather than trying to do all the heavy lifting themselves. A major employer from the area might do wonders to get people's attention. Or the president.

Question from david silver, media studies, university of san francisco:
    please excuse my lateness - i had to teach a class until now! thank you for the great exchange thus far. Diane, i am interested in hearing your thoughts about the intersection between information literacy and information creation. in addition to teaching our students how to find, assess, and evaluate information, we need, i believe, to also teach them how to create, or curate, information. what are your thoughts on this?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    Thank you for the question. Yes, it is not also about creating information, and as you suggest, curating it. I think the best examples we've seen so far deal with visual literacy. For example, students have learned a great deal by developing a digital story. Or, at Carleton I saw an example of a course where students used a video documentary as a way of analyzing a critical issue in education. I assure you the students learned a great deal about narrative, about logic, about the issue they were sorting through, about bias. And, they learned they could convey some things much better in a different medium. The hard part was making people feel comfortable with evaluating the visual media. They did that by developing rubrics. Let me suggest one other obligation that is embedded in this. That is that we all inherit the responsibility to try to stay in touch with what is happening "out there." That is hard because technology and the applications students make of it are changing all the time. But if we don't realize students are becoming media creators, we aren't going to adapt our programs to help them consider the ethics of what they do in that medium, for example.

Question from Jocelyn, current LIS student:
    In your research/studies, do you find that current community college students are more information literate than incoming freshmen at a four-year institution, even though these freshman are at a different level, cognitively?

Diana G. Oblinger:
    I'm afraid I haven't seen any research on that. If you know of any, please let me know. I'd be quite interested.

Question from Heather Zeng, Ph.D. ,Career Counselor:
    Presumably these issues center on competencies of critical thinking and investigative skills? What are states largely doing in Standards Based Education to address this developmentally? What initiatives have taken place to address this issue? Seems the SCANS or Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills in 1990 imbedded this as a goal- information literacy. But this addressed largely vocational subject areas and programs only.

Diana G. Oblinger:
    There are some new competencies that are being talked about. AACU released a report on integrative learning that talked about some not long ago. But the kind of things that are showing up--across disciplines and across employement sectors (e.g., manufacturing, retail, etc.)--are critical thinking, ethics and moral reasoning, cultural awareness/sensitivity, etc.

Comment from Nana Owusu, DeVry University -Pennsylvania:
    Without buy-in from faculty members, our efforts are undermined. Faculty members engaged in research and publishing know the rigors of publishing academic information. It is imperative to give their students a head start on the process. They know that questionable sources of information and poor citation will not fly when they submit their material to publishers or for peer-review. Librarians are not imposing anything new, we are just advocating for faculty members to teach their students the right way of finding and using information - that is information literacy.

Jeff Young (Moderator):
    I'm afraid we're out of time, though obviously this is an issue that could keep us going for a bit longer. (Feel free to continue the discussion in our Forums.)

Many thanks to Diana Oblinger for the ideas and advice on this complex topic. And thanks to all of you for participating.

Diana G. Oblinger:
    So, I think there is no question that our need for information literacy will continue. I think it is up to all of us to be sure we address it in a constructive way. There is a lot at stake--for getting it right, as well as getting it wrong. I hope we take the opportunity to put information in our students' paths. They may not know they need these skills--or habits of mind--unless we help them discover it.