The Impact of Newer Literacy Skills and Use | Origin: ED134
This is a general discussion forum for the following learning topic:
Literacy is Not an Option --> The Impact of Newer Literacy Skills and Use
Post what you've learned about this topic and how you intend to apply it. Feel free to post questions and comments too.
The socratic method might be a fun way to get students critically analyzing the quality of a source (e.g. article, website, newspaper) and the level of bias (is it possible to have no bias?) or currency (when can a case be made for using older health science sources, and why?) or how well it answers their clinical question.
This training has highlighted for me the importance of developing critical thinking skills in our students when using new literacy in the classroom. Although there is unlimited information at our fingertips through the internet, students need to learn how to critically analyze the source of the information to determine the significane of the information and how to apply and use it.
Today's research involes technologies unlike the past generations. Quick resources of multiple information at your finger tip allow for multiple opinions and research information. This access to quick information can be overwhelming and dauting and you must remember which information would be relevant in reaching your goal.
Newer technologies brings with it the need to critically appaise its contents and to do that, students need to develop solid critically reasoning skills. One way an instructor can help to develop these skills is by using the Socratic approach.
With newer technology researching information is ongoing and continuous. As researching information currently involves multidirectional search and analysis we as teachers need to adapt to enhance our student's literacy.
As technology consumers we all need to develop critical thinking skills and analyze the information presented to us online.
This is what I learned about newer litercy skills and this is how I will use it in the classroom. Students can practice their litercy skills by reading news stories from a telepromter system on a regularly.
I was most surprised to learn about ways to develop good online research habits in students. I have extensive experience with both print and digital research methods, so it was second nature to me, whereas my students are still learning or just starting to. I will be implementing the three methods when approching online information (who benefits from a. statement, question the source, look for obvious statements). I have my students write a research paper on the historical and cultural features of a color, so I'll definitely be including this in my assignment details, and research other methods for approaching online research. I'm sure they'll benefit from it greatly!
The lesson taught me that although mobility of information is a good thing, students much be able to access the information in front of them quickly. We need to make sure they use credible resources when searching the internet and ensure that the author is credible.
It's good to hear a collection of supporting information is more valuable than just finding one source of information.
In the past module I wanted to discuss the need to filter information along with being literate in online media. This progression totally makes sense.
I'm very impressed with how quickly the newest generation of students can find and recognize their target information.
Reply to Mary Ibe's post:
Yes. It's very easy to get distracted when reaserching via www.
Technology allows us to access a variety of media which in turn allows for a wide view of ht chosen material.
With technology and social media, students have more access to information, which is very benefical for them.
It is amazing in this day and age that I can make a video of a demonstration in my drawing class and upload it to a platform like moodle and the student can watch this at 3 am on they're phone and get help.
More schools are using the Socratic method (such as our kid's elementary school) to foster communication and learning, and I think it's an amazing way for students to be engaged. Teachers must be aware, however, of different learning styles (visual vs. auditory, which might make this method harder for some students), and mental health issues (anxiety, trauma, and abuse) that may trigger some students when they are put on the spot.
Getting students to evaluate their sources' quality and validity has been my biggest struggle, as many younger generations give too much credit to all online resources. I will focus on developing ways to have my students demonstrate an understanding of the three methods of who benefits from a statement, question the statement, and look for obvious statements. I feel this is most important with the implementation of a writing component in my culinary classes.
A couple of notes on this section of the course. When I was in High School, many of my classes implemented the Socratic method for promoting engagement in my education, a practice that certainly should be woven into post-secondary education, and yet has not. I believe my continuing to engage my students with questions, and developing answers as a whole, we are not only able to educate our students but better incorporate the 'self' as mentioned earlier.
We also can not reject the importance of social media in the use of education. Most of our students are learning not through traditional texts but through shortened, bits of information propagated through Twitter, Facebook (now Meta) and TikTok. While this has certainly heightened an individual's tendency toward reading it has simultaneously limited the amount of information that can be retained to shorter bytes (generated by the word limits). This is why I have continued to use shorter notation in class, as a way for students to still actively engage with content in the present then engaging with longer content in the future (textbook reading assignments).
We need to help our students think critically about the information they encounter through the internet. That said, the benefits of increased interconnection and the changes in the ways that learners are becoming enamored of the process of learning itself are also valuable, so navigating it effectively is key to learning!
In my situation, teaching in a prison, the students do not have access to technology. I could try to provide more paper resources for them to look up when they are able.
