Instructor
David Bell
[email protected]
WEEK #3
Plan for Today
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Questions
“Can We Believe Our Eyes?”
Reading Assignment
Discussion: Your Position Paper
Break
Activity: Web searching strategies
Demo: Literature search with ERIC
Questions?
Reading Assignment
The Position Paper
What’s a Position Paper
It is not
• A literature review
– (e.g. the history of cats as house pets)
• A “how-to” paper
– (e.g. how to keep cats as house pets)
• A pro and con paper
– (e.g. the advantages and disadvantages of cats as house
pets)
• A “copy and paste” activity from a variety of sources
The Position Paper
• Has three key parts:
– Summary of an issue related to technology and
education in K-12 schools
– Summary of the various perspectives held on that issue
– Presentation and defense of a clear and reasonable (but
not wishy-washy) position on the issue
• Referencing (minimum 5) to support your arguments
• No more than 5 pages double-spaced
• Academic writing
The Position Paper
• Why do one?
– Because you will need to shape positions in this
way throughout your career as an educator
Defining the Position
Paper
• It is an argumentative or persuasive essay
– A reasoned argument rather than an assertion of
opinion
• Assertion = “X is true”
– E.g. Computers are beneficial in schools
– Leaves people wondering:
• WHY is this the case?
• HOW is this done?
• What evidence is there? (Is that really correct?)
A Reasoned Argument
• Assertion = “X is true”
• Backs it up with any of the following:
– There are persuasive reasons why X could be true
– There is plausible explanation of how X could occur.
– There is evidence which suggest that X is in fact true
• The strongest argument contains all three above
“Set the Stage”
• The first paragraph or two should introduce
– Your specific issue and the main perspectives on the issue
– Your position (thesis statement)
– Your arguments/areas your arguments will focus on
• Do not waste valuable space
– by starting with general statements
– providing a general context of how beneficial computers are for the
future, etc. or
– a historical account unless it is specifically relevant to you
argument
– E.g. Up to recently, literature has suggested that guinea pigs were the
extent to which apartment dwellers could consider as pets, however cats
are…
What to keep in mind?
• Goal: to persuade the reader (me) of your view. Think of it
along the lines of a newspaper editorial.
– (e.g. cats are the ideal house pets for working apartment dwellers)
• Where you take a stance/position/specific view on a topic
– While "yes/no" issues are tempting (e.g. "should computers
be used for mathematics instruction?"), they are often too
broad
– Ideally a meaty issue with three or four possible positions
that have been studied, such as
– "Why do so few women enter careers in high technology?
Should schools try to change this, and if so how could it be
done?"
Components
• Once you know your stance, make it clear
– Cats are ideal pets for working apartment dwellers
• Then find 3 or 4 arguments to support it
– (Broad) Due to their 1. need for little space, 2. cleanliness, and 3.
independence
– (Narrower) From a psycho-social perspective. Cats 1. provide rich
interactions, 2. are independent when left alone, 3. do not require
socialization with other cats, and 4. can remain indoors without
psychological problems.
• For each argument look for supporting examples from
articles
“Strength” in Citations
[Cats] “Need for little space”
• Reference to support the argument: Cats are suitable for
smaller homes because their compact size enables to live in
smaller spaces (Fuzzy, 2002).
• References to provide evidence to support the argument:
Cats are suitable for smaller homes because their compact size
enables them to live in smaller spaces. Morris (1999) investigated
the relationship between housing size and longevity, health and
temperament among 596 cats. He found no differences even when
housing consisted of 250 square feet. [anticipate a “dog”
argument] A study by Rover (2000) however, suggests a negative
relationship between temperament and housing size for dogs.
Logic and Arguments
• Ensure that your arguments are organized logically, related
to each other and flow well from one to the other
• Try to anticipate counterarguments, present them and then
refute them with referenced supporting material
• Avoid circular reasoning:
– E.g. Media literacy education is needed to improve
media literacy. Instead: Media literacy is needed
because it:
• enables students to search the internet more
efficiently (cite studies that have found this)
Summary
• Includes your position statement
• Includes each of your arguments
• May have some additional
ideas/suggestions
• Ties your paper together in a nice package
to try to “sell me on your idea” (in an
academic way)
Position Paper Grading
• 20% - Description of the issue and the various
perspectives held
• 25% - Presentation of your own position on the issue
• 30% - Effective argument for your position (using
references)
• 10% - Closing summary of your argument
• 15% - Overall clarity of presentation, effective use of
English and format requirements met
Broad areas for position
papers
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Media awareness or media literacy
Software design and use for Elementary students
Software design and use for Secondary students
Information Technology policy in schools
Information Technology in the school curriculum
Access and equity with regard to computing
resources in schools
More Position Paper Ideas
• Technology and particular subject matter
– ESL, History
• Technology and the socialization of children
• Technology and children with learning disabilities or special needs
• Technology in the primary grades
• Technology and children’s health
• Particular software applications for the classroom
– Tutoring systems
– Learning environments and simulations
– Productivity tools
– CMC tools
• Equity and access to technology
• The internet in schools, mixing adult and children’s cultures
• Computers and commercialization in the schools
Referencing online sources
• http://www.apastyle.org/elecsource.html
Online periodical:
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author,
C. C. (2000). Title of article. Title of
Periodical, xx, xxxxxx. Retrieved month
day, year, from source.
Online document:
Author, A. A. (2000). Title of work.
Retrieved month day, year, from source.
Activity
• Take a few minutes to think about your
position paper topic and jot it down
• Discuss your topic with David if needed
Break
Researching
Pertinent Searches
• What is a scholarly journal?
http://www.lib.sfu.ca/researchhelp/publicationtypes/periodicaltypes.ht
m
• What’s ERIC?
http://www.lib.sfu.ca/researchhelp/subjectguides/educ/ERIC/ERIC.ht
m
• To access ERIC
http://www.lib.sfu.ca/researchtools/databases/dbofdb.htm?DatabaseI
D=374
How do we find useful
information?
• Often, someone else passes it on to us
• Other times, we need to carry out an active search
• At least three strategies can be used in search
– Keyword searches
– Following links or references
– Referring to a trusted authority
• Which strategy you start with depends on how
much you know about what you’re looking for
• Most of the time we combine strategies
Online resources
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Search engine watch
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http://searchenginewatch.com/
Evaluating websites
–
http://www.lib.sfu.ca/researchtools/internetsea
rch/webevaluation.htm
Search Engines
• List of major search engines
– http://searchenginewatch.com/links/major.html
– http://www.lib.sfu.ca/researchtools/internetsear
ch/index.htm
Search Engines
• Basic techniques
– Boolean searches (+/-) (and/or/and not)
• +Saturn – car
• Saturn and not car (i.e. Alta vista advanced search)
• (car or automobile or vehicle) and (buy or purc
hase) and used
– Quotations for words side-by-side
• “global warming”
– Asterisk (*)
• math*
Some handy tips
• Whenever possible, use nouns and objects as
keywords
– EXAMPLE:
fiesta dinnerware plates cups saucers
• Put most important terms first in your keyword list; to
ensure that they will be searched, put a +sign in front
of each one
– EXAMPLE:
+hybrid +electric +gas +vehicles
• Use at least three keywords in your query
– EXAMPLE:
interaction vitamins drugs
• Combine keywords, whenever possible, into phrases
– EXAMPLE:
"search engine tutorial”
• Avoid common words, e.g., water, unless they're part
of a phrase
– EXAMPLE:
"bottled water”
ERIC
• The world's largest source of education information
• The database contains more than 1 million abstracts of
education-related documents (including reports, conference
presentations, lesson plans) and journal articles, dating
from 1966
• ERIC updates the database monthly, ensuring that the
information you receive is timely and accurate.
• Many documents are available directly through ERIC, or
can be found elsewhere with ERIC’s reference data.
• Get to it through http://www.lib.sfu.ca/
Sample ERIC Search