Research by Dr Alison Pickard on how people search for and use digital information has resulted in a suite of practical tools that help librarians, teachers and young people in the UK, Europe and US to use the Internet more effectively as a learning resource.
“The internet is a wonderful repository of human knowledge, but it is also a vast and daunting sea of information. Being able to navigate it and making critical judgements on the quality of information you come across and whether to trust it are essential skills in the digital environment,” explains Dr Pickard.
Her research on the learning experience of young people has shown that finding inappropriate information, in terms of the level of expertise required to understand it, or failing to apply critical criteria to information sources generated by search engines, can actually undermine learning. These experiences can chip away at the learner’s confidence in their own abilities and self-efficacy.
Pickard’s research over the past two decades into user behaviour on the internet and, in particular, a project looking at trust in digital information, led her and her colleague, Dr Andrew Shenton, to develop a project working with teachers and pupils aged 13 to 16. They have created a framework that improves the evaluation and critical thinking skills of young learners when interacting with complex information on the web. The framework provides the pupil with a set of prompts such as: ‘Can I trust this source?’ ‘Have I heard of this person? Is this personal opinion or fact?’
It then takes it a step further and prompts the user to apply their own personal set of meta-evaluation to their search that is specific to their objectives. This aspect helps to develop the individual’s abilities to independently evaluate the value and relevance of the information that they have found.
When tested on sixth form pupils, the framework significantly increased their confidence in using digital resources and increased awareness of the self-evaluation process. One pupil said they had found the method: “just as useful in my history coursework … I feel like I am more in control now.”
There has been national and international interest in using the evaluation framework for secondary education. It has been published in the professional journal Creative Teaching and Learning and is also available from the British Computer Society’s Digital Literacy for Life programme. The UK Literacy Association is producing a mini-book on the evaluation framework, suggesting practical approaches to its use in the classroom.
Pickard is currently working with four national Ukrainian universities to incorporate elements of this tool kit into a new ‘soft skills’ teaching framework for the Ukraine. This work is currently being extended to the broader population, exploring the digital literacy skills of adults to adapt these tools to fit differing digital landscapes.
Additional Links
Resources
Case studies
- Data mining technique developed at Northumbria helps call centre improve efficiency
- Record-keeping strategies for the digital age
- Northumbria University researchers help people with Parkinson’s to walk
- Making it work: involving older people in their own care
- Conserving modern art
- Northumbria researchers help large corporates improve their products
- Digitising the construction industry
- Virtual city provides an interactive platform for architects, planners, heritage and the arts
- Institutional capacity building for cultural built heritage in south east Europe
- Innovation method creates commercial value for business
- 20th Century Design from Shipley to New York
- Creating immersive audio-visual experiences
- KTP improves efficiency and reduces waste at iNPIPE Products
- Books and pop music: challenging conventions that define high and low culture
- Before Depression - a literary perspective on mental health
- Re-assessing own language use in English language teaching
- Improving survival and wellbeing in times of disaster
- Social justice for migrant workers
- Understanding the Scottish Diaspora
- Critical thinking in the digital era
- Northumbria University researcher inspires physics students
- Northumbria researchers advise government on breakfast clubs
- Paving the way for peer-to-peer health advice
- Brief chat with GP helps heavy drinkers cut down
- North East maintains its ‘voice’ in Central Government
- Reducing homelessness among young adults
- Athletes benefit from the therapeutic qualities of cherry juice
- Recognising the needs and interests of women and children in disasters
- Student Law Office Benefits Students and the Community
- Bringing 18th century literature to a modern audience
- Northumbria researchers help tool manufacturer cut costs and increase product lifetime
- Supporting the Solar Energy Market
- Northumbria researchers help give Gibraltar its first official address register
- A warm welcome for female comic book fans
- A KTP with North Tyneside Council transforms sheltered housing
More events
Upcoming events
Archives to Action: Historical Evidence for Policy Reform
Virtual Workshop
-
-
Viruses of Microbes-UK (VoM-UK) Conference 2026
Northumbria University
Commercialising SHAPE Innovations and Impact
Northumbria University
-
Supporting Survivors of Sexual Violence and Abuse Conference 2026
CCE1 - City Campus East 1
-
