Study Skills with ICT Locating, Storing, and Retrieving Information

Study Skills with ICT

Locating, Storing, and Retrieving Information

In the digital age, students must learn how to find, organise, and use information when needed. These three skills—locating, storing, and retrieving information—are essential study skills for effective learning. ICT (Information and Communication Technology) makes these processes faster, easier, and more organised.

For preservice teachers of English, it is important to teach these skills so that students can independently search for information, manage knowledge, and use it for assignments, projects, and presentations.

 

1. Locating Information

Meaning

Locating information means finding useful, reliable information from diverse sources, especially digital ones such as websites, online libraries, videos, and academic databases.

Students today have access to a large amount of information on the internet, but they must learn how to search effectively and choose reliable sources.

 

How ICT Helps in Locating Information

ICT tools help students search for information quickly. Some common tools include:

• Search engines (Google, Bing)
• Online dictionaries
• Educational websites
• Digital libraries
• YouTube educational videos
• Online journals and articles

 

Example for English Students

Suppose students are asked to prepare a short presentation on William Shakespeare.

Instead of looking only in textbooks, students can:

1. Search “William Shakespeare biography” on Google.
2. Watch a short educational video explaining his life.
3. Visit websites such as Britannica or educational blogs.
4. Use online dictionaries to understand difficult words.

This helps students gather different types of information, such as text, images, and videos.

 

Teaching Strategy for the Classroom

Teachers can demonstrate this skill by doing a live search activity.

Example activity:

1. Ask students:
   “Find three facts about Shakespeare.”
2. Guide them to:
• Use keywords like “Shakespeare life facts”
• Look for trusted websites
• Avoid copying directly.

This activity teaches students how to search carefully and critically.

 

Important Tips to Teach Students

Students should learn to:

• Use specific keywords instead of long sentences
• Check if the website is reliable
• Compare information from more than one source
• Avoid plagiarism (copying without understanding)

Example:

Instead of searching:
“Tell me everything about Shakespeare.”

Search:
“Shakespeare birth date”
“Shakespeare famous plays”

This gives better search results.

 

2. Storing Information

Meaning

Storing information means saving collected information so that it can be used later.

When students collect information from different sources, they must organise and store it properly. ICT tools allow students to store notes, documents, images, and links in digital form.

 

ICT Tools for Storing Information

Students can store information using:

• Google Drive
• Microsoft OneNote
• Evernote
• Word documents
• Notion or digital notebooks
• Bookmarks in web browsers

These tools help students keep their study materials safe and organised.

 

Example for English Students

Suppose a student is preparing an assignment on Poetry in Romantic Literature.

The student may store information in the following way:

Folder Name:
English Assignment – Romantic Poetry

Inside the folder:

• Word file → Notes about Romantic poetry
• PDF file → Article about Wordsworth
• Image file → Picture of William Wordsworth
• Saved links → Websites about Romantic poets

Everything is organised in one place.

 

Classroom Teaching Strategy

Teachers can guide students to create digital folders.

Example classroom activity:

Ask students to create a folder called:

English Learning Materials

Inside the folder they should create:

• Grammar Notes
• Vocabulary List
• Essay Writing Examples
• Literature Notes

This helps students develop organised study habits.

 

Benefits of Digital Storage

ICT-based storage helps students:

• Avoid losing notes
• Access information anytime
• Organise materials systematically
• Save large amounts of information

For example, a student can store notes on Google Drive and access them from mobile phone, laptop, or tablet.

 

3. Retrieving Information

Meaning

Retrieving information means finding stored information quickly when it is needed.

Students often collect and save information but forget where they stored it. ICT tools make it easier to search and access stored materials quickly.

 

How ICT Helps in Retrieving Information

Digital tools allow students to retrieve information through:

• Search features in documents
• Keywords
• File names
• Tags and labels
• Folder organisation

 

Example for English Students

Suppose a student stored notes about figures of speech.

Later, while preparing for an exam, the student wants to find metaphor examples.

Instead of reading the entire document, the student can:

1. Open the document
2. Press Ctrl + F
3. Type the word “metaphor”

The computer will instantly show where the word appears.

This saves time and effort.

 

Classroom Activity

Teachers can conduct a retrieval practice activity.

Example:

Students store a document titled:

Grammar Notes

Later the teacher asks:

“Find the definition of simile in your notes.”

Students must retrieve it using:

• Document search
• File name
• Folder location

This teaches students how to access stored knowledge efficiently.

 

Best Practices for Easy Retrieval

Students should learn to:

Use clear file names

Example:

Bad file name
Document1

Good file name
English_Essay_Shakespeare

Create subject-wise folders

Example:

English
→ Grammar
→ Literature
→ Vocabulary

Use keywords or tags

Example:

Poetry
Drama
Essay writing

These practices make information retrieval very easy.

 

Conclusion

Locating, storing, and retrieving information are essential study skills supported by ICT. These skills help students become independent learners who can manage information effectively.

• Locating information helps students find useful knowledge from digital sources.
• Storing information helps students organise and preserve what they have learned.
• Retrieving information allows students to quickly access stored knowledge when needed.

For English language learners, these skills improve research ability, writing quality, and academic performance.

Teachers should actively integrate ICT-based study skills in classrooms so that students learn how to search, organise, and use information in a meaningful way.