Today, students have tons of resources available when trying to find an answer to a question they do not know. Many students and adults rely on Google to give them the answer. Don't know the answer, students type in the whole questions- "How many moons does Jupiter have?" Many times you will find an answer but if a student types in "What planets neighbor Jupiter?" the search doesn't know what you are asking. My other huge concern with students searching for answers is that they skim the page and if the answer doesn't jump out at them they move on to the next website. They do not take the time to read through and seek out the information they are looking for. If it is not big, bold, bright font they assume its not on the page.
The students should rely on the Internet to find information, just as adults do- but they need to understand where that information is coming from and who is providing it. (Some adults also need to learn this) Who should be responsible for teaching this skills and at what age should we start talking about it?
School are already cramming in every last minute of available teaching time to cover material that students will be tested on, so where is this curriculum going to fit.
Students using the computers are getting younger and younger, my 3rd and 4th graders think Google is the answer to everything. The need to get on the school website, they Google the school name and the first link is what they are looking for, they need to find information for a animal report they Google it. They know the internet will help them find information but they do not understand the internet. They don't understand what a wiki is and use it as creditable sources. They believe everything they read it true. We need to get the students thinking about reliable sites. This video would be a good way to start a conversation with students.
I think that this is an important lesson for students. Students need to be introduced to it but then apply it when they are researching so the skill becomes second nature when looking at any website.
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I've never seen anyone "ask dex" in real life. I found the googlers to be 95% of the class last year. I had to teach them about other resources and to test the validity of their sources.
ReplyDeleteHow did you have then test the validity?
ReplyDeleteExcellent statements, but just like you at the beginning of the school year, every teacher is require to teach a lesson on how to use the internet, check for correct information on sites,validity,etc.., I think it must start with the principal being aware, and the teachers enforcing the importance of reliabity when using the internet and stressing that everything that's on the web is not true or thought provoking information it's just brief and just an overall summary or lesson. We must keep the students using their critical thinking skills and researching a variety of sources and not just the internet for an assignment.
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