Acceptance Remarks

When I first came to Findlay High School, I was approached by the chairman of the English Department, Becky Pfaltzgraf, and she said, “How can I teach my students to find relevant and credible Web sites?”  Well, that’s a librarian’s dream! I spent a week with her students, evaluating Web sites and basically teaching them the difference between search engines and research databases. We referred often to the INFOhio Web site for the tools to teach them the differences. Then, we spent time using the different databases that INFOhio had to offer. When we finished, she was amazed at how well the students listened and learned. Becky then told another English teacher, and that’s all it took.  Fifteen teachers, 73 classes and 1,800 students later, I think we covered teaching most of the Findlay High School students who were doing research papers.

The INFOhio Hugh Durbin Leadership Award is an award that you can’t earn on your own. You have to have teachers that want their students to learn the difference between relevant Web sites found in INFOhio and just plain Google. Then, the teachers need to support you when you take the time to teach it to their students. I was lucky to have both.

I feel very honored to have been nominated by my peers for an award that honored a man truly devoted to helping students learn to do research the correct way. The INFOhio way. Thank you very much.