[LM_NET] Web 2.0 and Information Literacy

[Laura Brooks <brooksla@NORTHVILLE.K12.MI.US>]

Hi,

Barbara said:

>This distresses me. I am afraid that once again we are making
technology the point not the tool. Why should 5th graders be required to
know blogging as the "standard"? The skills incorporated in a good
literature discussion, online or not, would be one thing, but to say
they should know blogging?

In MI, the point is not technology for the sake of technology, but to
teach it as a tool. In fact, blogging falls under the standard
"Technology Communication Tools" along with e-mail, so I don't think my
initial post was entirely clear. Interestingly, many districts in MI are
even eliminating  e-mail accounts for students. While our standards ask
us to teach these tools, schools are reluctant to embrace new
technologies (unless, of course, it's Accelerated Reader ;-)) for many
reasons one of which they see as any Internet based tool as being
unsafe. If schools realized that we should be teaching an information
literacy component of safety and netiquette, well, we may well have
schools ready to embrace the 21st century.

I'd like to concur with Toni, MI has a start, but until schools begin to
teach tech and integrate info literacy standards systemically and
systematically, many children will not be ready to compete:

My husband, who has spent his career in business and industry, mentioned
at lunch today, as I was telling him about the MI standards and also the
many school systems where Web 2.0 tools are blocked/filtered/disallowed,
that the kids from the systems that do not allow them to learn the
skills and tools the MI kids will have will be competing for jobs with
the Michigan kids in a Web 2.0 (or heck, 3.0!) future.

Has anyone seen the ETS results for high school seniors and college
students? Yes, ETS is beginning to test information literacy and finds
that a majority do not have the higher order analysis skills to research
online. Interestingly, Baltimore Public Schools has responded by
creating a web-based curriculum integrating info literacy. This, in, my
opinion, is where all districts should be headed and media specialists
should be teaching this curriculum, beginning with upper el, instead of
how to construct a fiction call number. I think most of our kids are
going to be competing with Baltimore's future gradates!

ETS article http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=6725

Best,

Laura

Laura Brooks
Library Media Teacher
Amerman Elementary School
Northville, MI
brooksla@northville.k12.mi.us

"Unless someone like you cares a whole lot,
nothing is going to get better. It's not."
 -The Lorax, Dr. Seuss

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