Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry

Reflection

Before taking this course, I thought that I knew how to research information. Now, I realize that I knew very little about researching a topic and absolutely nothing about validating Websites. I researched topics pretty much the same way my students do. I would type in an assortment of words until I found what I was looking for, and I would usually look at every link that popped up in sequence. It was time consuming and exhausting. I knew that not everything on the Internet was fact, but if it looked right, I believed it. The knowledge and skills I have acquired from this course will enable me, as well as my students, to validate sites and gather much more reliable information. The following are my new tools:

REAL:
1. R = Read the URL
2. E = Examine the content
3. A = Ask about the author and owner of the site
4. L = Look at the links.

QUEST :
Questioning = what do I want to know?
Understanding resources = how will I find out?
Evaluating = is this what I need?
Synthesizing = what does this mean?
Transforming = what will I do with it?

I would like to learn more about using Wikis and blogs with students to collaborate with students from other schools. Dr. David Warlick stated that technology enables students to connect to each other, experts, other classes, and content. More importantly, it allows students to learn to work with information, which is a vital skill to have in the 21st century. By having my students create projects and interacting with students outside of their classroom, they will be honing these skills.

References

Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom. Baltimore, MD.

November, A. (2008). Web literacy for educators. Thousands Oaks: Corwin Press.