Rethinking CRAAP: Getting students thinking like fact-checkers in evaluating web sources

For over two decades, librarians have been at the forefront of helping their patrons and students discern what online information is reliable, and what may be biased or outright false. Particularly as more formal information literacy programs developed at the college and university level (and the attendant inclusion of information literacy in many general education programs), academic librarians have developed curricula and taught students how to evaluate web sources for credibility. In many institutions, this has frequently been achieved via a “one-shot” session with a checklist of sorts, often some variation of the CRAAP Method (Currency, Reliability, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose) developed nearly 15 years ago at California State University-Chico.

Arming students against bad information

In the age of fake news, teachers in every subject area should redouble their efforts to help students distinguish between credible and deceptive sources of information. The author calls attention to a few key resources, including the CRAAP guidelines developed at California State University, Chico, and promoted by the American Library Association.

Enhancing Instruction and Reducing Costs: Chico State University’s Approach to Course Redesign

In 2009, California State University-Chico implemented a unique system of course redesign with the aim of improving student learning, increasing instructional efficiency, and reducing university costs. Inspired by and modeled after the National Center for Academic Transformation, the “Academy e-Learning” program involves a 3-week training covering models of course design, learning theories, assessment methods, and a host of instructional technologies. This paper summarizes data from 40 courses, across five separate cohort groups from 2009–2013, with respect to the efficacy of Academy e-Learning (re)design training. Data show improvements in student learning outcomes in over half of the course redesigns. Benefits of course redesign included increased instructional efficiency, enhanced student learning, and a reduction in university costs by offering some instruction online and increasing enrollment caps. Barriers to a successful course redesign included lack of time, technology malfunction, and workload concerns. This paper outlines the redesign process at California State University-Chico, discusses similar redesign initiatives at other institutions, and offers solutions for measuring effectiveness of a redesigned course.

Society of Modeling and Simulation (SCS) Election

The results of the recent SCS election of Board Members are as follows: President: David Cook, Stephen F. Austin State University, USA President-Elect: Jerry Couretas, Lockheed Martin, USA, and Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Defense Modeling and Simulation (JDMS). Directors-at-Large: Helena Sczcerbicka, University of Hannover, Germany; Agostino Bruzzone, University of Genoa, Italy; Andreas Tolk, Old Dominion University, USA; Bill Waite, Aegis Technologies Group, Inc., USA; Levent Yilmaz, Auburn University, USA, and Editor-in-Chief of SIMULATION: Transactions of the Society for Modeling and Simulation International; Mike McGinnis, University of Nebraska, USA; Ralph Huntsinger, California State University, Chico, USA and Technical University of Bialystok, Poland; John Sokolowski, Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center, Old Dominion University; and Mike Chinni, US Army – RDECOM – ARDEC, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, USA.

Preventing Iron Deficiency in the Hmong Community

There is a high prevalence rate of iron deficiency in Hmong children in the USA. An iron deficiency prevention brochure was developed for the Hmong community to educate parents about the subject. The brochure was developed as a result of a Hmong nursing student working closely with a California State University, Chico, faculty member and the county health department.