Technology In The Classroom

Problem 1: Due to the abundance of web information, students find it difficult to find and discern the best sources to support their research. Therefore, settling for what they can find easily. Hence, students often have little idea of what is out there to find or how to find information.

Problem 2: Students do not have the knowledge, skills and abilities to evaluate online information for credibility, nor do they know how to identify information that meets their researching needs.

The article presents a list of attitudes and behaviors demonstrated by effective Info-fluent students. The list can be used to guide teachers as they work to improve Internet literacy. As the article describes, it is import for students to understand the process of searching the Internet for information and how it relates to the life long process of learning. The author states, "Good researchers not only have specific skills, but also a set of attitudes and behaviors" including the following:

1. Knows what they are looking for.
2. Recognizes searching choices.
3. Recognizes there are holes in research.
4. Recognizes that searching the Internet is an interactive process.
5. Knows about advanced searching screens.
6. Knows that there are 3 types of searching keyword, subject and field.
7. Know how to think about a query.
8. Knows when quality matters.

As a classroom teacher, the author makes several recommendations on how we can help students achieve the knowledge, skills and abilities to be Info-fluent students that display the attitudes and behaviors listed above.

1. Create Research Challenges
2. Evaluate Student?s Works-Cited List
3. Help students to create organizers for data collection
4. Create On-line Pathfinders
5. Generate an appropriate Search Tool Page.
6. Use formative Assessments to Check Student Progress.

Tools and Classroom Applications:

I enjoy using the following activity with my 7^th graders. It is very interactive and presents Internet research through the use of Primary Sources in a manner that engages students and introduces primary resources, which are often hard to use and navigate, in a user-friendly environment. This is a true searching challenge.

My class really enjoys mission 7. I begin class with the question, "Do you know what the first sporting event was? If you were alive 3,500 years ago, would you be a willing participate of the Ball Game?

After this research challenge the class will have a change of heart!

Students stream videos into their computers. Video streaming has become a valuable tool in the classroom and can be used to teach a variety of objectives. For example, in the article, "Video Analysis," from our unit on software, the author describes the availability of video analysis programs currently available. Although the author?s primary focus is on the field of science and mathematics there are videos available online to teach students how to be effective Internet users.

The following videos are great tools for instruction. The videos introduce students to the following concepts:

Utilizing the Internet: Browser Basics [4:02 ]
Browsers are specifically designed for looking at webpages, so they have a number of unique tools for doing so. In this video, we?ll take a quick look through the interface of Microsoft Internet Explorer, one of the leading options for? exploring the internet.

Utilizing the Internet: search engines [6:01 ]
A search engine is a tool used to locate web sites or files on a specific topic, such as magnetic toys, marine biology, or your favorite movie star.

Utilizing the Internet: Search Power [5:31 ]
In this video we will discuss how you can maximize your searches by utlizing the features of several types of search engines.

Utilizing the Internet: Online Credibility [5:12 ]
How do you know which information you read on a website is actually true? There are a lot of websites out there, and you?ll soon find that they don?t all line up when it comes to the facts.

Students perform the following activity? http://www.rrcc.edu/teachered/sharon/internet7.html

Needed Worksheet:

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/searching/sevensteps-worksheet.html

Students complete the following activity: http://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/techknowpark/Suitcase/index.html

The following activity is a true classroom hit. The students enjoy using the Web Site Evaluation Form, to evaluate sites they find to be really good, to determine content accuracy, content appropriateness, content scope, technical navigation, technical presentation and the bottom line. The activity then engages students in the process of using the "Evaluation Form" to evaluate the website: The Haggis Hunt is on?" The site is very creative, however, students must use their critical thinking skills and not be fooled.

Students then review advertising tricks used to attract consumers. Once students have a basic understanding of the tricks deployed, they create a cereal box demonstrating their knowledge of advertising tricks.

I must agree. Students have extreme difficulty in the process of completing a research bases project. Once students have complete the assignments above, they are aware of search engines and how to use search engines. They understand that the Internet is a resource for gathering and collecting information, as well as, a resource that must be evaluated for credibility. However, students still cannot achieve the HOTS needed to complete a research project. Hence, I am planning to incorporate the following activities to encourage students to take the next step and develop the skills, attitudes and behaviors needed to succeed in all content areas in the information age.

The author presented several approaches teachers can deploy to promote better searching skills. Currently I address most of the recommendations in my teaching practices. However, the article presented several recommendations I believe will greatly contribute to the overall process of Info-fluency.

To be Info-fluent a student must have the knowledge, skills and abilities to be the controlling and guiding factor in the process of Internet Research. The Internet and the availability of information can not be the controlling and guiding factor. This leads to the disappointment described by the author, students settle for what they can find. Therefore, the Internet, rather than the subject area content or the student?s interest, becomes the controlling and guiding factor. Hence, Internet Research becomes a game of luck, not skill!

From the article, I compiled a list of factors that contribute to creating an environment in which Internet research is student centered and content centered. For example, these classroom implications would support an environment in which student do not adopt, modify or change their research content/subject area to correlate with the information readily available on the Internet. Instead students will modifying, changing or altering their Internet searching tools and strategies.

I will not begin the unit on "Effective searching" by engaging students in activities that develops their searching skills. Instead, I will introduce the concept of "Effective Searching" by first, providing students the opportunity to devise a need and purpose for conducting research on the Internet. Then, I will introduce online searching strategies and tools, not as an application that exist in isolation on content, but as a tool or application to assist in their quest for knowledge and information.

First, student will create an overall plan for their research project. This will require students to do background reading before settling on a topic and conducting searches. During this Research Phase, Data Collect Phase and Project Creation Phase, students will use the following resources:

http://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/Hovercraft/InfoSkills/KnowFlow/index.htm

Through the implementation of this activity, the Learner will:

1. Identify a research topic.

Great resource for the stumped student: http://www.learnnc.org/students/7/

2. Define essential questions to be answered through the collection of information.

Activities to assist students in this process of creating essentials questions.

(The Starting Block)

Lesson plan: http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/design_resources_start1.cfm

Activity:

http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/startingblock_play.cfm?mode=begin&block_id=2

Activity:

http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/startingblock_play.cfm?mode=begin&block_id=4

3. Examine the idea of "Internet Toxic Materials."
4. Develop the skills needed to evaluate information creditability.

(See activity above)

5. Develop the skills to sort and filter irrelevant information using Boolean expressions

http://kathyschrock.net/rbs3k/boolean/

6. Develop effective searching strategies.

http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/fournets.htm

http://www.rrcc.edu/teachered/sharon/internet7.html

7. Create a Web Searching Planer:

http://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/techknowpark/WoodCoaster/Planner.html

http://www.noodletools.com/noodlequest/

8. Use the Web Searching Planner and the Noodle Tool questionnaire to guide in the selection of relevant Websites using the links in the "Knowledge Construction Kits."

http://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/Hovercraft/InfoSkills/KnowFlow/Become/index.htm#

9. Explore the capabilities of uses specialized search engines.

http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/specialized.html

10. Collect information relevant to their topic and demonstrate their understanding of copyright and fair use.

http://www.cyberbee.com/cb_copyright.swf

http://citationmachine.net/ (Best site ever created!)

http://www.landmark-project.com/permission_student.php

11. Evaluate Websites throughout the process.

http://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/techknowpark/WaterSlide/Questions.html

12. Organize the data collected using a graphic organizer or a format presented by the teacher.

http://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/Hovercraft/Transformer/index.htm#

http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/graphic_organizers.php

http://www.somers.k12.ny.us/intranet/skills/thinkmaps.html

13. Evaluate project ideas, comment to a project idea and create a project to share findings on the selected/assigned topic. Project ideas:

http://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/Hovercraft/OnlineTools/index.htm

http://www.lego.com/eng/create/activities/

http://www.sanford-artedventures.com/play/crimedetection/index.html

Thinking Guideness:

http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/docs/Magnificent7.htm

I enjoyed the article: Collaborative Learning the Wiki Way. The article defines wikis as a collaborative environment by design, which can serve as a base for online collaborative projects. The article also examines the wiki in comparison to a blog. "Wikis are similar to a blog in structure," however, wikis allow anyone to edit, delete or modify. The reading summarizes the value of using wikis: (1) wikis are organized by content, rather than chronology (2) wikis promote collaborative content creation and editing (3) wikis provide an edit trail as part of its structure (4) wikis can allow for limited access by the creators, and editors of the wiki. To demonstrate the uses, functions and benefits of using wikis in the classroom. I invite you to participate in our groups? role-play.