Contributed by EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative and Information Discovery and Retrieval

Zotero is a research tool, developed by the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, that provides users with automated access to bibliographic information for online resources. Zotero “senses” bibliographic information contained in a web page and—when the user clicks an icon—gathers that information and places it in the user’s library of sources, where users can manage and search those sources. By automating the tasks of gathering, managing, and citing online references, Zotero facilitates a more efficient research process.

The "7 Things You Should Know About..." series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning technologies. Each brief focuses on a single technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use these briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.

Google Earth is an interactive mapping application that allows users to navigate (or "fly") the entire globe, viewing satellite imagery with overlays of roads, buildings, geographic features, and the like. Educators can use it to assess and bolster students' visual literacy. Students can use it to develop a context for spatial and cultural differences globally.

The "7 Things You Should Know About..." series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning practices and technologies. Each brief focuses on a single practice or technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use "7 Things You Should Know About..." briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.

In addition to the "7 Things You Should Know About…" briefs, you may find other ELI resources useful in addressing teaching, learning, and technology issues at your institution. To learn more, please visit the ELI Resources page.

The Web—and how we interact with it—has become part of our culture. The Internet is now the information universe, and we expect instant access. Content is created and co-created by amateurs as well as experts. More than ever, we choose what, when, and where to use information. What it means to be "net savvy" is changing because the nature of information itself has changed.

Many students may have only limited knowledge about how to effectively evaluate online resources and use them appropriately. This student perspective on information literacy uses anecdotes, personal examples, and statistics on Net Generation Web usage to highlight gaps in students' net savviness. The author also discusses how faculty, librarians, administrators, and students must work together to close those gaps.

Net Gen students may know the Internet, but they are not necessarily "net savvy." Exposed to huge quantities and multiple formats of information online, they are constantly challenged to sort valid from inaccurate information. Moreover, students are creating information, not just consuming it. This paper explores the challenges students face online in effectively finding information, using technology, and thinking critically.

Today's environment is highly visual—television, Web sites, video, and images dominate our lives—and visuals created with new technologies are changing what it means to be literate. The literacy of the 21st century will increasingly rely not only on text and words but also on digital images and sounds. This paper explores the emergence of visual literacy, which will become as important as textual literacy for learning, and the need to integrate it into the curriculum at colleges and universities.