Internet for Psychology is a comprehensive tutorial and instructional resource website that is designed to help psychology students become more effective consumers of scholarly information online (i.e., the tutorial addresses Internet research skills). Overall, the tutorial serves as a clearinghouse of links that lead to authoritative resources in psychology while also showing students how to develop and apply effective online research strategies. Internet for Psychology is part of the Virtual Training Suite, a set of 60 online tutorials that were "written and reviewed by qualified lecturers and librarians from across the UK." Formerly managed by the Institute for Learning and Research Technology at the University of Bristol, the Virtual Learning Suite (including Internet for Psychology) is now hosted by TutorPro. Internet for Psychology is in its 4th edition (2009).
Type of Material:
Internet for Psychology is an online, self-paced tutorial. It includes primarily text-based information that is chunked in short, targeted sequences to help students differentiate among the various types of information and resources that are available online.
Recommended Uses:
• Internet for Psychology is an excellent tutorial for any introductory level psychology course, college prep in psychology, psychology laboratory and/or research methods course. Because the tutorial takes at least one hour to complete, assigning it as an individual, out-of-class activity would be most effective and appropriate.
• Students can use this website to conduct searches or research that will inform their homework or other assignments in psychology.
• Students can listen to or watch topics related to their coursework through podcasts and videos.
Technical Requirements:
• Must have a system that can run iframe technology and allows pop-ups. Successfully viewed on a PC running Windows 7 with IE.
• Must have an active Internet connection to complete activities.
• Must have Real Player, Windows Media Player or other media software to access podcasts and videos.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
• Learners will develop effective online searching and research strategies.
• Learners will be able to accurately identify valid and authoritative psychology resources online.
Target Student Population:
The target population is high school psychology students and college students (undergraduate and graduate) who are studying psychology. The information, resources, and materials are relevant to students in all psychology disciplines.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
None. This tutorial would be an ideal "first course" activity for students who are being introduced to the evaluation of online material for scholarly relevance. [Note: Academic database inquiries would require familiarity with Boolean logic.]
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
• The content is comprehensive, targeted, and written at a very basic level. The goal of the material is to provide an effective introduction, and the content is written in a manner easily understood by novice investigators.
• The tutorial offers a wide range of resources on psychology topics and presents an organized and effective progression of information on learning/accessing reference works, course materials, and websites.
• The content is interactive and includes quizzes that students can take to assess their proficiencies.
• Overall, the material facilitates learners’ ability to effectively search for and procure materials in psychology.
• All links are functioning; their relevance and relationship to the overall content is clear.
Concerns:
• Because the tutorial is comprehensive and somewhat lengthy, it would be most effective if it were broken down into individual assignments (when given to the student) to prevent rushing through the material.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
• This is valuable, essential information to assist beginning scholars in psychology. The information works to prevent common errors in research and clearly shows students HOW to access scholarly, empirical work.
• The material engages the learner by providing an appealing range of resources that reaches many learning styles. It provides examples of critical thinking development so that students may begin to "judge” resources through their own trial and error. The success and pitfalls area helps students feel supported by presenting hypothetical web search scenarios that illustrate "why it pays to be discerning when you use the Internet for your own research."
Concerns:
No concerns are noted in this area.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
• The site features easy, clear, one-click navigation. The content is presented in a highly readable linear format with easy-to-follow labels that facilitate navigation. Links open in new windows to prevent getting "lost" on the Internet.
• The website is interactive, and the tutorial elements build on one another.
• Overall, Internet for Psychology is a well-designed resource.
Concerns:
No concerns are noted in this area.
Creative Commons:
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