Testimonials

What have participants said about the contest?

Q: "What did you learn from this contest?"

• "Pathways to information. I almost became more self conscious of the ways I obtain and collect information."
• "I need to improve a lot in terms of knowing how to get the information I want from the internet"
• "There are many resources out there on the internet for information and that to find information requires skill and knowledge of how to best access these databases."
• "That I need to know more about my resources"
• "I learned that I suck at finding information! And that only using a basic search engine limits the depth of the information you can find on the internet."
• "Being part of a library that subscribes to places like jstor and proquest is very helpful for research."
• "I spotted some inefficiencies in my search techniques. I also learned that I can search fairly effectively."
• "How many search resources and databases there are on line and how many non profit organizations there are out there with very valuable information on them."
• "I learned that there is a wealth of information locked up in databases that is not readily available via search engines."
• "I have no idea how to use Lexis-Nexis, and all other academic search engines."

Q: "What do you think this contest is? What does it test?"

• "I think the contest is an effective way to test information-gathering skills; it primarily tests your ability to find accurate information online and to go beyond just visiting the first few links on Google or Yahoo."
• "This contest tests the ability of students to find accurate information on the internet."
• "This contest is cool! it tests my ability to use the internet to my advantage, in a way that gives me a leading edge over my peers who can't crawl through the web as effectively as I can"
• "It brings together a lot of intellectual people under one roof."
• "It tests the ability of monkeys to push buttons in highly unlikely patterns, controlling the flow of electronic signals across a global network."
• "The contest is to show that how effectively people use internet nowadays. It's a measurement how well we spend the time on the internet and what can we get out of it in the shortest amount of time."
• "a way to promote web literacy and celebrate the search for information"
• "It tests how well you can use the tools provided by the Internet and encourages you to become more familiar with different resources for retrieving information."
• "Since I am doing graduate studies, I think it will help me become more efficient when looking for articles and books, and thus spend less time on finding and more time on studying or reading"
• "This generation is almost solely dependent on the internet and this contest can show how well some can use it."

Q: "Why are you interested in this contest?"

• "I like seeing whether and how much I improve; plus, I always learn about new online resources every time I compete."
• "I love solving puzzles and competitions. I would like to see how good my search skills are."
• "I want to see how good I am at finding information on the Web -- especially compared to my peers."
• "This is what I spend a lot of my life doing; why not quantify it?"
• "I use the Internet for almost all of my daily functions (organization, school, recreation, etc) and am interested in the streamlining of my ability to use it productively."
• "I have been told that I am very good at this skill, and I would like to test this against others. I never knew such a contest existed."
• "I was interested in this year's contest because my participation in it last year was enjoyable. I love competition and surfing the internet. So this contest totally fits into my interests!"
• "I want to prove to myself that my Masters of Library Science is a valuable resource and that I have the information literacy skills necessary to train a new generation on how to access information sources."
• "I want to see how good I am. I enjoy looking for info online but in this kind of contest, I may not be as good as I think I am!"

Q: "How does this contest fit into a larger picture?"

• "this contest makes me realize that I'm not alone when I say that the internet has changed the way I live"
• "The internet is a big place, and it's growing exponentially by the minute. The DLC makes it a little smaller for its competitors as they learn to navigate, gather information and utilize resources more effectively, while encouraging people to think about how the internet is changing - and changing their lives. "
• "I can see where my internet literacy skills place among other students."
• "It distributes awareness among the students who participate in this contest on the importance of the internet and how it greatly affects the technology and advancement of this world."
• "Knowing how to use the internet is going to become more important than a persons IQ."
• "As the Internet grows, students are becoming overwhelmed with the amount of information available to them. I think this is a great tool to determine how students use the Internet and filter information. The information gathered through this contest could really help information professionals prepare students to use the Internet and other information sources more effectively."
• "It's clear that the Web has already become the No. 1 source of information in the world. What's not so clear is if people are trained to use it correctly."
• "Can't succeed in business or industry if you can't find the information you need."
• "As the amount of information on the Internet increases, we will need increasingly efficient means of accessing this information as well as the skills to use these new means."

Q: "Additional comments?"

• "This was AWESOME!!"

What have librarians said about the contest?

Four university libraries hosted the Digital Literacy Contest in fall 2008.

Brown University

Indiana University

Purdue University

University of Florida