Information Literacy and Online Inquiry:

I have noticed that my students most often struggle in the area of locating and managing online resources for problem solving. They most often just open up a search engine and begin to type entire sentences in the search box. When the results page comes up they click on the first link and read the first sentence of that page. If it does not have the answer they are looking for, they get frustrated and either give up or ask me for the answer.

From the knowledge and experience I gained throughout this course, when my students are required to use the internet to complete an assignment, I will make sure I plan enough time at the beginning to help them understand how to search for information, and how to read for the important points. This was one of my weakest points in regards to web literacy and so it was difficult for me to teach. I will let my students know that I used to struggle with this and that because I understand their frustration, we are going to work together. In the past, my students have responded well to this and as a result, they do not ask me for the answer, they ask me to help them discover information. According to Dr. Hartman, “Our past was rooted in book culture. The future will be rooted in online and digital media” (Laureate Education Inc., 2009).

As a professional I hope to achieve two goals related to successful integration of technology into the classroom. The first goal is to teach my students 21st century technology skills so they can be successful in life after school. The second goal is to utilize professional development time set aside in my district to help other teachers become comfortable using a variety of technology in their classroom. To help my students learn 21st century technology skills I will require them to use technology throughout my class so they can become proficient with a variety of research processes and presentation modes. To help other teachers in my district become comfortable using technology in their own classrooms, I will my free time to provide ideas about how they can use different technologies to engage their students in their content.

Our students need to be fluent with the use of the web and it is the job of teachers to help them along this path. It is also the job of technology savvy teachers and administrators to help other teachers who are not up to speed with using technology to educate students.

Resources:

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