Blog Post #2 - Information and Digital Literacy, An Information Diet and 21st Century Learning
I can't remember how many countless times I have thought about or said out loud how happy I am that I didn't grow up in a digital world or, for the most part, that my children did not either. It seemed so much easier and more gentle. When I was a little girl there were three channels on the TV and they came on at 6:00 am with the National Anthem and ended at 12:00 am with the National Anthem. The news on all three channels was basically the same information regardless of what channel you were watching and we trusted that that news was correct and backed by credible sources. Now we have to worry about "fake news" and the credibility of sources in everything we see, read or listen to. I've had my heart drop several times after seeing something pop up on my phone or IPad about some famous person dying only to learn it wasn't the truth. Those "news" items were easily found to be untrue, but many things are not. I find myself going to fact-checkers such as Snopes, much more often than ever now. I will use the tips mentioned by Charles Jacob in the Liturgists podcast, Fake News and Media Literacy to help me discern whether what I'm reading or watching is credible. The tips, such as looking for a date of publication, making sure studies are cited, or even a publication location is listed will all be tools that I stick in my toolbox to use in the future. (Liturgists, 2017)
Not only will I use the aforementioned tips, but I will teach them to the children entrusted to my care. Teaching children to be discerning and to critically think about and analyze things that they read or watch is one of the many things that the 21st Century Framework covers. My school asks teachers to consciously think about the 4C's - collaboration, critical thinking, creativity and communication when planning all lessons. I know that this really helped me to focus on 21st Century Framework ideas in my own classroom and will carry over with me into the library. My Technology teacher friend and I sat down over the summer with the ISTE Framework the AASL standards and decided which each of us would teach alone and which we would teach using a co-teaching model. We then used the 21st Century Framework to add things we may have missed with the first two documents. I'm proud of some of the work we've done and I look forward to the coming lessons during this year.
Finally, one of the other things that were discussed in the Liturgists podcast was an Information Diet that was written about in Charles Jacob's book by the same title. (Liturgists, 2017) I thought about my own information diet and I'm fairly comfortable with it. I watch a variety of news channels including FOX News, CNN and MSNBC. I read articles from numerous newspapers and magazines and I feel like I have a healthy and balanced diet that looks at ideas from many different perspectives. I hope that I will always be a strong guidance for my children as I help them navigate their own "information diet" and look at all things through a 21st Century lens.
References
Battelle for Kids. (n.d.). Framework for 21st century learning. https://www.battelleforkids.org/networks/p21
The Association of College Resource Libraries. (2016). Framework for information literacy for higher education. The American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework.
The Liturgists. (2017, March 7). Fake news & media literacy. [Audio Podcast Episode]. In The Liturgists Podcast. https://theliturgists.com/
Hi Robyn!
ReplyDeleteAs a person on the line for Millenials and Gen Z, technology has always been a part of my life. While it has changed drastically during my lifetime from dialup internet to Wifi, VHS tapes to streaming, and landline and car phones to cell phones, I am thankful for technology. While it definitely has its downfalls, it also has the power to improve our lives and allows us to learn and explore more. I think that we are in the time of technology where it is becoming clear that we are using it too much and we must learn to draw our circles and set boundaries. As an early childhood teacher, it is incredibly upsetting to walk into a restaurant and see children sitting at the table with their families watching an iPad or tablet. As a future school librarian, this will be something that I focus on and want to provide resources and activities to families who have younger siblings who are not yet in school. Learning to discern the information that is presented can also be taught when a child enters school in 4K or Kindergarten. It is important for them to know that some stuff is just for pretend and when they aren't sure, they should ask a grown up to help them decide. Teaching internet safety and the challenges that it can cause when it is overused is incredibly important and should be a conversation that all families need to have.
When I think about my information diet, I do not use a wide variety of news sources and I should. It is important to seek information from a variety so that you can compare the details and stories of all.
Oh my goodness, it thrilled me to read that you have sat down with your "technology teacher friend" to determine which skills to teach separately and which skills to co-teach! Honestly, I had not even thought about doing that when I get to work in a school library, so you've given me some inspiration! I hope to read more about your lessons and endeavors in future blog posts or discussion posts (for other courses) throughout the year.
ReplyDeleteI am like you...the steps that they discussed in the podcast about how to determine credibility of a source are some that I plan to pass on to my 6th graders this year. They take a few extra minutes, but are so worth it when determining what is true and what is not. That will be imperative for our students as they continue to grow up in this age of technology.
You made so many great points in this post. I also found it helpful to hear the tips from Charles Jacob concerning analyzing sources. It was interesting to me that some of the details he spelled out are things that I do without thinking. For example, looking at the publication date is something I always do, but I had never thought too much about it until I heard it mentioned as a key to spotting credible news. I also plan to use these tips to teach my students.
ReplyDeleteTeaching at an AVID school has taught me to always be looking for ways to encourage both collaboration and critical thinking, and I have been excited to think about how curriculum plans, programs like AVID, 21st Century Framework ideas, and AASL standards intersect. Technology has profound potential to foster critical thinking that will be useful in any future career.
Hi Robyn,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post this week. I love the idea of the 4c's during planning. Collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and communication are definitely four important parts of any lesson. I also found it amazing that you and your technology friend have decided on what lessons you will coteach and teach alone after going over the ISTE framework, AASL standards, and the 21 Century Framework. You are really on it and I would love to see one of the lessons you and your technology friend put together. I look forward to reading more of your posts.