This video clip about literacy in the 21st century is a natural next step in the discussion concerning the use of the internet in enabling our students to become independent and self-motivated learners.
This video answers the huge question, "How do we help our students collect and filter the "real" information out of the plethora of data available on the internet?" In the video, the creators outline eight steps that can be used to locate, evaluate, and organize information from the web. Locating and organizing information requires a little more extensive work than it did for the last generation, due to the high volume of data.
What is new for this generation is that they must become skilled evaluators of data. In past generations, students relied on the "experts' " interpretation of what they should learn. This generation has the ability to collect information from a much broader range of sources, which include varied degrees of bias. Determining that degree of bias and the validity of information is a skill we will need to teach early and concurrently with internet research skills.
My own kids, in high school and college, have been taught to look for bias and validity. We have had many discussions, especially concerning Wikipedia. This video highlights the need for teaching these skills early, hand in hand with the use of the technology itself. Just as we teach our students to become aware of an author's point of view in a story, or a painter's point of view in their work, we must teach them to be aware of a writer's point of view in any medium.
Susan,
ReplyDeleteIt is easy for today's students to be overwhelmed with the amount of information that they have access to. When I was in elementary school, we had to physically get ourselves to the library, use the card catalogue, and walk to get the books (or magazines) that we needed. We assumed that since the information was published and in the library, that it was factual and appropriate for a school project. I believe, that the ability to evaluate the information that today's students use will be one of the most important skills for a student to possess. It is our job as educators to teach our students this skill. Expecially since this is now a Web 2.0 world.