This week I evaluated a website for my Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom class from Walden University. We were required to make a screencast of our computer as we commentated our process of evaluation through a "think-aloud". This was a helpful experience since now I know the steps to take if I should want to make a tutorial video to share with others. I learned that I need to use a script to make sure I discuss all the points that I want to make. Also, this experience taught me to search out more videos to explain the process of making the screencast. After learning about evaluating websites, I can share that information with my students. Sometimes our students (especially the younger groups) think the teachers know everything and that they need to be like that. By showing them this website and asking questions to which I do not know the answers, I can show my students the process they should take to find their answers. I also became more aware myself of how I should be critically thinking about websites and using the information I gather with discretion.
While showing my students this website, I talked about how this website, in particular, had fooled people. They were really caught on the fact that they saw pictures of the Tree Octopus so it must be real. Unlike print material, it's not as clear whether you are reading fiction, nonfiction, editorials, or advertisements on the Web. Therefore, thinking critically about the information on the screen is imperative (November, 2008). After viewing this website, my second graders were very interested in other websites that they could evaluate and practice their skills.
One of my students had been talking about UFO's and how he saw videos of them on Youtube. This lead us to discuss if UFO's really existed and how would we find out. The students are starting to lead the discussions with their questions and what they want to know. It is a very exciting process and a big change for the teacher!
Please click on the link below to access my video of my evaluation of this website.
November, A. (2008). Web Literacy for Educators. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Corwin Press.
2010-03-24_2146
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