E-Learning & Online Teaching

Join Carl Heine and Dennis O’Connor in San Antonio for NECC 2008.

Monday June 30, 2008

Web Site Investigator: An Introduction to Information Forensics

[Session: Lecture]

Carl Heine, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy with Dennis O’Connor

Monday, 6/30/2008, 11:00am–12:00pm; HGCC 206 A

blog tags: necc, n08s402

Tuesday July 1, 2008

Teaching NETS•S III: 21st-Century Information Fluency Project

[Poster: Traditional]

Carl Heine, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy with Dennis O’Connor

Tuesday, 7/1/2008, 1:00pm–3:00pm; HGCC Tower View Lobby, Table: 26

blog tags: necc, n08s781

Look for new online classes coming from Information Fluency this summer!

• 4 Week Online Course: PowerSearching in a Web 2.0 World (Starts July 7)
• 1 Week Online Course: Website Investigator: Introduction to Information Forensics (Starts July 14)
• You may view the course offerings in ‘guest mode’. To register online, first create an account.
• Online Registration Information

I’m spelunking in the ISTE Learning & Leading data base of previous articles. You have to be a memeber to access past issues and this resource alone more than justifies the cost of a years sub.  Go see for yourself!  Join ISTE and connect with a community of teachers making a difference.

• ISTE | Past Issues

  Past issue archive of Learning & Leading with Technology. (Membership & Password needed) Great resource. Join ISTE!

  (tags: iste database web2.0)

• ISTE | Search L&L

  Search page for Leading and Learning with Technology. (Membership & Password required)

  (tags: iste archive web2.0 Search)

Reasons and Excuses

A common complaint: “There isn’t enough time to teach searching and evaluation of digital resources.”

One would hope that this reaction to integrating technology (such as digital literacy) would be unheard of by now. Unfortunately, we all struggle daily with this excuse for not preparing our students for 21st Century Learning skills. There may be reasons for saying this; things like lack of administrative leadership, insufficient resources (hardware, software), inadequate professional development, or just resistance to change. However, we cannot allow these reasons to become our excuses.

Administrators set the expectations for their staff. We need to educate administrators about the importance of embedding digital literacy skills in the work that teachers design for students. One way to do this is to familiarize administrators with the ISTE Standards . Currently standards for students are being refreshed. In this newer version Research and Information Fluency includes developing searching strategies, locating, evaluating, and using information. Administrators must set the expectation that all teachers will design student work in their curriculum areas that reflects these digital information literacy skills.

NETS-S (Refreshed 2007)

3. Research and Information Fluency

Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

Students:

a. plan strategies to guide inquiry.

b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.

c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.

d. process data and report results.

Resources can be problematic. Funding may be a reason why teaching digital literacy skills is an issue but we can’t let it be an excuse. Whether we look for ways to incorporate skills using our available resources or decide to look for additional funding through grants the important thing is to move forward toward a shared goal of providing the education students need.

Professional development for digital literacy must include information about how to embed digital literacy skills in all curriculum! They cannot be considered a separate topic to be covered in a computer room. Resources for teachers should include the ISTE Standards , state resources (in Ohio we have Technology Academic Content Standards ), and my personal favorite, the Library Media Coordinator. Everyone in the building should share a common vocabulary regarding digital literacy.

I mentioned earlier that I feel we should be past using “there isn’t enough time” as our excuse for not teaching digital literacy. Reflecting on the amount of time I have spent developing and facilitating this topic in professional development over the last 9-10 years, I could easily be discouraged by the fact that it is still not being done. One thing I know is that passive resistance is tough to fight especially if school administration is allowing excuses to become reasons for not doing what needs to be done to prepare students for their future.

(Mary Ann Guidos is a Technology Integration Supervisor for the Orange City Schools in Pepper Pike, OH. She is currently training to become an online instructor.)

NETS-T Online Survey

Participate in this online survey for Refreshing the NETS for Teachers is now available at www.iste.org/nets-survey. Please feel free to widely share this survey with educators and others who may want to contribute.

The coming year will be rich in discussions about the ‘refresh’ for NETS-T. Here’s your chance to get in on the ground floor of a national discussion!