The Effectiveness of Electronic Information Search Practices of Secondary School Students in a Singapore Science Education Context

The Internet is a complex repository containing a huge maze of information from a variety of sources. It has become a common fixture in school nowadays. Whether to use technologies such as the Internet to advance teaching in schools is not the issue since technology is already pervasively in use. Rather it is how to effectively capitalize upon technology and harness fully the new opportunities created for learning with the Internet to facilitate greater learning gains. Though in Singapore, Internet access is easily available and prevalent, be it in schools or at homes, this cannot be assumed to mean that effective use of the learning affordances of the Internet is being accomplished. This study attempted to investigate the Internet information search literacy skills of secondary school students in Singapore. The general information search techniques and strategies that were adopted by students during their information seeking interactions with the Internet were examined. It was found that students generally lacked robust Internet information searching skills and require instructional mediation in enhancing these critical skills essential for the electronic information-rich age that is now prevalent.