Transitioning from Knowledge to Synthesis-Reflection
As a result of this course, I realize that there is a great deal more to incorporating technology in the classroom than just introducing new tools. The literacy skills needed to search, evaluate, and synthesize information on the internet are similar yet different than those needed for traditional research.
Students must be taught how to effectively use search engines and utilize key words to find information. Then they must be taught to evaluate the sites for validity and reliability. Students can use the "Get REAL" acronym by Dr. Almasi to read the URL, evaluate the content, ask about the author and owner, and look at the links within a website. But the most important skill our students need to learn is how to synthesize and transform information into new knowledge. To support my students in this area, I plan to use the two-column web journal form (Eagleton and Dobler, 2007). The sentence starters/prompts that are provided on this form help students personally respond to new information and turn it into their own words. By using this form to take notes from different websites, students can learn to link or synthesize information from multiple sources. When creating artifacts, using personal responses encourages intellectual honesty.
As educators we need to teach and model both technology literacy and responsibility. As the technology coordinator in my building, I feel it is my responsibility to encourage and lead others in these areas. To that end, I hope to work in conjunction with our media specialist and administrators to initiate conversations addressing the SMART acronym on the CyberSmartCurriculum.org site.
Safety and Security online
Manners, bullying, and ethics
Authentic learning and creativity
Research and information fluency
Twenty-first century challenges.
Hopefully through staff discussions and monthly technology related e-letters, we will develop a unified approach to these important literacy skills and issues.
Almasi, J. (2009). Critical evaluation. Laureate Education, DVD.
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.
