REFLECTION

After taking EDUC-6712I-2 Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom, I am more aware of a lot of things when it comes to teaching students literacy skills. Teaching students traditional literacy skills is not enough to prepare them for everything that it is available to them via internet. A lot of students spend hours and hours of researching on the computer, and don’t even know what they are really looking for. Students need to be taught specific literacy strategies such as: questioning, searching, evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating (Laureate 2009). I think that I am pretty strong in those particular areas. My weakest area if I had to choose, would be synthesizing. Dr. Hartman said synthesizing was “making sense of multiple resources” (Laureate 2009). This would be something that I would need to become stronger; however I do tend to use a variety of resources. I also really think that this is the toughest area for my students to grasp.

The biggest revelation I had in this class was on the assignment when we had to view and evaluate a website. I viewed a website on Martin Luther King Jr., and it really looked like it was factual and everything a person would need if they were researching him. When I looked at the website a little closer and examined some of the links, it was the most horrible and degrading thing that I have ever heard about MLK. It really was a wakeup call. Students have access to so much on the internet, and a lot of the stuff is not true. Students have to be taught how to look for reliable and valid resources. All people have to look for that when surfing the net.

Personally, I think these technology courses at Walden have been very beneficial for me. I have learned so much, and feel so much comfortable with technology now. But I still have a lot to learn when it comes to using technology more effectively and teaching my students how to use it. I am going to continue pursuing my degree at Walden, and also take advantage of the free technology courses my district offers. Like I said, “I still have a lot to learn.”