Final Reflection on Evaluation of Websites

Final Reflection

Acquiring 21st century skills/fluencies and teaching students on how to evaluate and validate websites are not as easy as it sounds. That becomes very clear to me after I finished the applications assignment this week. Many experts have spoken on the need to teach and empower students to become critical consumers of information, to approach internet with caution and determine the veracity of information encountered online. Beth Philips informed her students on the ABC of websites, while Eagleton, & Dobler, talked about 4As of evaluation, and Jukes, (2007), talked about the 21st Century fluency skills that are very critical for students to have if they must succeed in the 21st century economy. The onus is on the consumers of digital information to predict where major links will lead, explore the website and look for relevance, identify the creator and establish his/her motives, make a note of any suspicious images or texts, and finally make judgment about the veracity of the site and decide whether to explore further or not. From my experience now, this is easier said than done. It requires many practices and great planning for students to get a hang of how to properly evaluate websites as many hoax and malicious websites are out there to mislead people.

Firstly, I like the experience I derived from the evaluation exercise, it empowers me to question every website I visit and explore, to seek validation and to crosscheck every fact listed. I will always look for supporting evidence and look for alternative website to corroborate information. I will subject every website to what Philips, (2010) called the “ABC” of website, as well as advices given by Dr. Warlick on what digital information consumers should do to evaluate websites and expose truth about the website.

The second part of my reflection is how to empower my students to be able to discern the wheat from the chaff when they explore unfamiliar websites. This involves a lot of practice and preparation on my part. It is pertinent to inform students that they need to consume digital information with caution, and strive to dig dipper for truth each time they come across information. I had not been exposed to the unit on how to evaluate website, I will believe all the information I came across on the RYT Hospital without detecting all the fallacy embedded on the site. As Dr. Warlick pointed out, the internet is unregulated, it has no boarder, anybody can publish anything, hence, the burden is on the consumers to evaluate and validate all information taken from a website. This week unit has equipped me with the ability to do this fairly and I will continue to consolidate on what I have learned this week and pass same to my students in other to prepare them for the 21st Century economy.

Clcik Link Below to listen to the Audio from box.net

References

Coiro, J. (n.d.). Coiro, J. (2003). Rethinking comprehension strategies to better prepare students

for critically evaluating content on the Internet. The NERA Journal, 39, 29-34. (Julie

Coiro) –Academia.edu . University of Rhode Island - Academia.edu . Retrieved July 18, 2011, from

http://uri.academia.edu/JulieCoiro/Papers/97344/Coiro_J._2003_._Rethinking_comprehension_strategies_to_better_prepare_students_for_critically_evaluating_content_on_the_Internet._The_NERA_Journal_39_29-34
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New

York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Jukes, I. (2007). 21st Century fluency skills: Attributes of a 21st century learner.

21CFP - The 21st Century Fluency Project. (n.d.). 21st Century Fluency Project. Retrieved

July 16, 2011, from http://fluency21.com/about.cfm

Laureate Education, Inc. 2010 (Producer). Evaluating Information. (DVD). How students should

evaluate the information found on the Internet. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Website Evaluation

Final Reflection

Acquiring 21st century skills/fluencies and teaching students on how to evaluate and validate websites are not as easy as it sounds. That becomes very clear to me after I finished the applications assignment this week. Many experts have spoken on the need to teach and empower students to become critical consumers of information, to approach internet with caution and determine the veracity of information encountered online. Beth Philips informed her students on the ABC of websites, while Eagleton, & Dobler, talked about 4As of evaluation, and Jukes, (2007), talked about the 21st Century fluency skills that are very critical for students to have if they must succeed in the 21st century economy. The onus is on the consumers of digital information to predict where major links will lead, explore the website and look for relevance, identify the creator and establish his/her motives, make a note of any suspicious images or texts, and finally make judgment about the veracity of the site and decide whether to explore further or not. From my experience now, this is easier said than done. It requires many practices and great planning for students to get a hang of how to properly evaluate websites as many hoax and malicious websites are out there to mislead people.

CLICK This Link and Listen to AUDIO

Firstly, I like the experience I derived from the evaluation exercise, it empowers me to question every website I visit and explore, to seek validation and to crosscheck every fact listed. I will always look for supporting evidence and look for alternative website to corroborate information. I will subject every website to what Philips, (2010) called the “ABC” of website, as well as advices given by Dr. Warlick on what digital information consumers should do to evaluate websites and expose truth about the website.

The second part of my reflection is how to empower my students to be able to discern the wheat from the chaff when they explore unfamiliar websites. This involves a lot of practice and preparation on my part. It is pertinent to inform students that they need to consume digital information with caution, and strive to dig dipper for truth each time they come across information. I had not been exposed to the unit on how to evaluate website, I will believe all the information I came across on the RYT Hospital without detecting all the fallacy embedded on the site. As Dr. Warlick pointed out, the internet is unregulated, it has no boarder, anybody can publish anything, hence, the burden is on the consumers to evaluate and validate all information taken from a website. This week unit has equipped me with the ability to do this fairly and I will continue to consolidate on what I have learned this week and pass same to my students in other to prepare them for the 21st Century economy.



References
Coiro, J. (n.d.). Coiro, J. (2003). Rethinking comprehension strategies to better prepare students

for critically evaluating content on the Internet. The NERA Journal, 39, 29-34. (Julie

Coiro) –Academia.edu . University of Rhode Island - Academia.edu . Retrieved July 18, 2011, from

http://uri.academia.edu/JulieCoiro/Papers/97344/Coiro_J._2003_._Rethinking_comprehension_strategies_to_better_prepare_students_for_critically_evaluating_content_on_the_Internet._The_NERA_Journal_39_29-34
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New

York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Jukes, I. (2007). 21st Century fluency skills: Attributes of a 21st century learner.

21CFP - The 21st Century Fluency Project. (n.d.). 21st Century Fluency Project. Retrieved

"21st Century Fluency Skills"

"21st Century Fluency Skills."

Students these days are exposed to plethora of information more than ever before, as pointed out by Warlick, (2010), literacy has gone far beyond ability to read and understand texts, in this age of computer information technology, texts are combined with multimedia information systems where anyone is free to publish without filtration or scrutiny. As Coiro, (2003) informed in his article, users of internet must be able to deconstruct what is being red, identify author’s motive, investigate the source and be able to remove the wheat from the chaff. Many expert spoke on the need to teach and empower students to become critical consumers of information, to approach internet with caution and determine the veracity of information encountered online. Beth Philips informed her students on the ABC of websites, while Eagleton, & Dobler, talked about 4As of evaluation, and Jukes, (2007), talked about the 21st Century fluency skills

Information Literacy and Online Inquiry

Information Literacy and Online Inquiry


This week’s resources really empowered me to become a better online inquirer. Coiro, (2005) and Hartman, (2010) explained how daunting it is for young students to navigate their ways online, and some adults are even in the same shoes. This week’s resources further reinforced the notion that students should be purposely thought how to search for the information they want online. I find some of the methods outlined by Dr. Hartman very tasking and time consuming. Trying to determine the authenticity of a web site by looking at web address and making predictions as to where next the website will take you could not be said to be realistic. On the other hand knowing the conventions about domain names can help students to determine which websites are authentic. November, (2008) and Eagleton & Dobler (2007) give some hints on how to identify and distinguish between a personal and institutional websites which I found very helpful.

Blog: Final Reflection

Blog: Final Reflection
In Understanding the Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology, the experts shared and spoke passionately on the significance of technology in the 21st - century classroom, as well as the importance of exposing students to technology in order to prepare them for the life ahead after graduation. They also distinguished between using technology as a teaching tool and using technology as a learning tool. Orey, (2010) declared that when technology is used merely as teaching tools, such technology tools have not been used effectively. Dr. Orey reminded educators that, learners need to be active participants during learning process, not just as perceive receivers of knowledge, he highlighted many way by which technology could be used as both teaching and learning tools so as to have full impacts on the learners. Orey, (2010) emphasized the importance of collaboration and cooperation among students during classroom interaction; he mentioned that learners should learn with and from one another. As the name of this course suggests, educators ought to be able to choose appropriate instructional technology tools and use same effectively and judiciously to increase students’ achievement.

Reflection on My Personal Theory of Learning

As a result of my exposure to Educ. 6711, I have identified some fundamental flaws in my personal educational philosophy and personal theory of learning. Even though, I hold the belief that learners are not “empty barrels”, they have some knowledge, they are individually unique, and that they learn differently, and as a result, I believe in individualized instruction and that learners should be at the centre of instruction. I am also of the opinion that every student can be successful in an ideal situation. One fallacy I found in my theory is the statement I made that, as a teacher my duty therefore is to locate and bring out those resources and knowledge in my students. The exposure to this course definitely made me to shift from teacher-centered to learner-centered mode of teaching. As (Prenskey, 2010) pointed out, I now put students’ “engagement before content”, instead of deciding for students, I now decide with students.

CONNECTIVISM AT A GLANCE

Link to My Voice Thread: voicethread.com/share/1888478/


Connectivism had been described as the “learning theory for the digital age” Siemens, (2004).
Informal learning has become a very significant part of the learning that learners will be exposed to in their life time, learning now occurs anywhere and anytime in a variety of ways, the amount of information out there makes it even more difficult o manage. Technology is changing the way we learn and even the way we think, many of the learning processes previously explained by learning theories such as behaviourism, congnitivism and constructivism can now be supported by technology, using Siemens, (2004) words, “know-how and know what is being supplemented with know-where” , referring to where to find information in the digital age. Connectivism had altered the traditional way of learning and knowing. Siemens, (2004) described connetivism as the “integration of principles of explored by chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization.” Learning is no longer entirely under the control of any individual, including the teachers. The roles of the teachers are now becoming more of regulators, models, and helpers, to help learners know where to draw the line and make a distinction between important and irrelevant details. In the digital world, learning and knowledge emerge in a diversity of opinions, there is always inclination towards knowing more than what we know now, and maintaining “connection” is a condition that facilitates our ability to know more. Connectivism describes the new medium of learning in the digital age as “push and Pull”, the television and the book age only push their content at us, but the Web age is a combo of two in one, it combines the e one way of broadcast with the two-way interactive capacity of the new digital media that can “leverage your little effort in a big way”.

Constructivism in Practice

Orey, (2001) described the constructionist/constructivist approach to learning as a unique individual interpretation of one’s experience or knowledge. A learner constructs an idea in his or mind about what he or she just experienced, and based on the information, the learner could assimilate, accommodate, establish equilibration and finally store the information in his or her schema. These mental processes depend on the learner’s developmental stages at the time of experience, Lever-Duffy, & McDonald, (2008) noted that if the new experience readily fits into learner’s prior schema, the experience is then assimilated, if not, the learner will adjust his or her cognitive map to accommodate the new experience, in this way, the learner tries to attain equilibration by balancing his or her current external reality with the current belief. Hence, Piaget declared that, knowledge is continually under construction, because knowledge is “dynamic, ever changing with our experiences” depending on the learner's age, nature and nurture.