This week I began reading Empowering Students with Technology by
Alan November. Although I am only about
half way through, I already see what a valuable tool this text can be for any
educator or administrator. It is evident
that November is an advocate for technology in the classroom, and the reasons
he offers prove just how beneficial technology use in the classroom is not only
for students, but for teachers and parents, too. November emphasizes how technology and
computers allow students to take pride and possession in their own learning and
also engage and empower students.
November (2010) stated that "the widespread application of
technology can reform schools, level the playing field for disadvantaged
students, provide disable students with real opportunities for participating in
the mainstream, and create new opportunities for educators to build communities
of best practice" (p. 2).
Initially, I was one of those teachers who were hesitant about
incorporating so much technology in the classroom, mostly because the idea of
shifting control over to the students terrifies me. However, over the past several weeks, I have come
to see just how beneficial and even necessary this new technology is.
One thing November
discusses is online computer learning.
He talks about how the anonymity of the internet and dehumanized
environment empowers students and give them confidence while teaching them to
be self-directed and independent. This
reminded me of the PLATO courses we offer at my school for credit
recovery. Students who failed or are at
risk for failing a course sometimes have the option of taking the course
online. Students, particularly our
"at risk" students, love this.
It allows them to complete the work on their own and at their own
pace. They also like the non-traditional
classroom feel the PLATO lab offers.
Also, students can take these courses after school, which is
particularly beneficial for students who need to take certain courses in order
to graduate.
One of the main things November emphasizes is that as teachers, we need
to teach information and communications literacy rather than computer and
technology literacy. This is a good
point, because by the time I have the kids in high school, they already know
how to use the internet and surf the web for resources, so what I need to focus
on is teaching my students how to use and interpret the information they find. Most people tend to believe everything they
see and hear on the internet, and as a teacher, I need to teach my students that
just because something is online, does not make it true. Students need to learn the skill of
evaluating websites by assessing the reliability, usability and validity of a
web page and investigating the author's credentials. Fortunately, November offers several ideas,
or "E-Ventures" on teaching and learning the structure of
information. I like the idea of having
students dissect URLs and have students investigate what different sites are
linked to.
I could definitely use
activities like these in my English class, especially when students are writing
their research papers. The technology
standards require that students be able to apply digital tools to gather,
evaluate, and use information and also use critical thinking skills to plan and
conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions
using appropriate digital tools and resources.
When students are performing their research for their essays, they will
be meeting each of these standards. Not
only will students need to find sources for their essays, but they will need to
evaluate their sources. One thing I
could do as part of the pre-writing process is put students in groups and have
them work to evaluate websites. I could
give each group a list of websites and students will need to collaborate,
communicate and use critical thinking skills to investigate the reliability and
validity of the sites and explain why they would or would not be "good"
sources to use. Students could then create
a presentation about their websites and what they learned, and present to the rest of the
class. Another thing I could have
students do is dissect the URLs of the sources they find for their essays. Again, students would have to determine the
reliability and validity of the sites before using them in their essays.
One thing I plan on doing is
meeting with the library media specialists and possibly work together to design
lessons that teach students how to evaluate websites and interpret the
information they find online. Students
could even work together to create informational brochures based on their
learning of how to evaluate websites.
These brochures could be put on display in the library for all students
to see and use.
1 comments:
Great post Nicole! I have not yet read any of Alan November's books but I know a lot of you are quoting his books. We actually had him here at my school district a few years ago. To be honest, I don't remember the exact details of the presentation, but I do remember it was about the use of the internet, how to properly look up websites, and how to not always believe what is written out there on the web. What's interesting about thinking of his presentation, although it was only a few years ago, if he gave that same presentation today, it would probably be out-dated!
I like the idea of teaching our students information and communication instead of computers and technology. We have all been talking about embracing technology but we can't forget that we need to embrace technology in order to teach information and communication. Reflecting on my use of technology...I haven't thought about that. Our students know technology, probably a lot more than we know, showing them how to communicate with it and inform with it will allow them to be more successful.
Great post Nicole!
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