Given this project is in its infancy, we are focussing our efforts on the prototype development and are preparing a number of grant proposals to help fund this. Once the team feels that the student module is ready for widespread distribution we will plan a research project that will address such questions as how to best use technology in the teaching of information literacy competencies, along with the sub-skills of critical thinking and problem solving.

2007-2009: Sixteen months was spent designing, developing, and evaluating the first two phases within the student environment. The product--a web-based prototype of ISIS-21--was designed to introduce late elementary/early secondary students to selected components (Planning and Searching for Information) of information literacy. As part of this project, the team piloted the ISIS-21 prototype with 211 students from 12 classrooms in seven schools in Quebec and Alberta, Canada. We had planned on piloting the prototype in three Quebec classrooms, yet ended up with 12 teachers, and expanded to two schools in Alberta. This is a testament to the strong interest in, and need for, the tool. Interest was so great that a number of requests to participate in the pilot were turned down, while others agreed to pilot after completion of the project.

Wade, Abrami & MacDonald (2009) found a strong correlation (+.50) between hours of use with ISIS-21 and the learning of information literacy skills. Thus, sustained use of the ISIS-21 prototype showed demonstrable transfer of learning. The evaluation also revealed that few teachers were sufficiently well versed in inquiry skills to offer scaffolding and support to their students and many of the classroom uses were truncated in time. Teachers generally liked the tool, felt it was easy to use from a technical point of view, and valued the importance of teaching inquiry skills. However, teachers felt that they were short on resources and classroom/library time to scaffold learning, and engaged in general process explanations rather than effective, targeted instruction. The need for teacher professional development, scaffolding, and support to effectively integrate and use ISIS-21 could not be clearer. School librarians also lacked resources that would help them collaborate meaningfully with teachers and to support students when they used ISIS-21 within the school library. Please see http://grover.concordia.ca/isis for further information on the pilot project.

2010-2011: A second pilot unfolded this past year, following the development of an interactive game, designed to instruct and reinforce each of the supported sub skills. ISIS-21 was used intensively in two classrooms (LBPSB and EMSB) over one term. Following implementation, 38 students responded to a 19-item survey about their experience with the Inquiry Learning Software. The sample included 17 grade four and 21 grade five students. Overall students report positive experience with ISIS. Specifically,

• 84.2% of students found that ISIS is easy to use
• 71% of them liked using ISIS
• 76.3% understood what they were supposed to do at each step when using ISIS
• 63.1% learned how to do research
• 65.8% would like to use it again

At the same time, although 50% of students think that it took too much time to do all eight steps in ISIS-21, only 18.4% think that it was hard work to complete them. 65.8% of students used the help pages integrated into ISIS-21. However, 42.1% of them thought that the information provided through help helped them to answer their questions. ISIS-21 interactive Egyptian game designed to model the steps of the entire research process was valued by students. For instance, 84.2% of students reported that they enjoyed using the game, whereas 60.5% think that the game helped them learn each step within ISIS-21. Extra class activities such as smartboard discussions were reported helpful; 84.2% of students stated that these activities helped them to do research. Use of ISIS-21 encouraged certain self-regulation processes with students: 65.8% of them were engaged in setting learning goals and choosing strategies before using ISIS-21 whereas 81.6% reflected at the end of each step to a various extent.

The grade four teacher expressed some concern about the following aspects of her students' use of ISIS-21: easiness to use; liking using; understanding what to do; helpfulness of help pages. Overall, she thought that ISIS-21 was better suited for cycle three students (more developmentally appropriate). Conversely, the grade five teacher was positive in regard to these items. Both teachers were unanimous that extra class activities helped their students learn and going through the ISIS-21 steps was not hard work. Both also agreed that their students were involved in the self-regulation processes as they set goals and strategies before using ISIS-21. Although teachers mentioned that students did come away with the importance of using keywords when researching, both teachers were cautious in terms of concluding that their students learned how do research and would use ISIS-21 again to do their research. Teachers liked the ISIS-21 game as it helped to clarify different steps of the research process. One teacher noted that the game was somewhat lengthy and suggested combining steps. Another suggestion was to add videos and audio-readings for students who struggle with their reading. The researcher's support/presence was extremely useful.