The fourth ISTE standard deals with the
responsible use of technology in the digital world (Standards). Teachers are
expected by this standard to ensure that all students have access to technology
when possible and that they know how to use it in a way that does not steal
intellectual property, allows for more cultural growth through technological
communication with other cultures, and deals with other users in a respectful
and safe way (Standards).
One particular advantage of using
technology is the autonomy it affords students for their learning process. An
article for ISTE advises teachers to put the “admin rights” into the hands of
the students; by this, the authors mean that students should have the ability
to download or update software on their learning devices without needing to ask
anyone for permission (Lindsay & Davis 2010, 15). According to the authors,
this gives the students the chance to learn in their own way and develop their
technical skills while practicing responsible technological use (Lindsay &
Davis 2010). However, in order for the autonomous use of technology to be
beneficial, students must learn how to use technology safely and effectively.
One area in which technology,
specifically the internet, can be both helpful and unhelpful for students is
the area of research. There is a vast amount of data on the web, and it is
almost a certainty that any research will unearth some false or misleading
information. One highly important skill for students is to learn how to sort
through information in order to be certain of using only the accurate
information to inform their research.
When I began researching methods of
checking for accuracy online, a number of fact-checking websites were the quickest
search results. However, I do not believe a fact-checking website is the best
way for a student to verify information. First, fact-checkers may be incorrect
themselves; secondly, an instant answer from an outside source takes away the
chance for a student to critically analyze the data on their own. Instead of
using a fact-checker, Edutopia has an article suggesting one method of
analyzing sources that teachers could share with their students, called the
WWWDOT method (Duke 2016). The acronym stands for a process that advises
students to check Who wrote the
information, Why it was written, When it was written or updated, Does it meet the student’s needs, how
it is Organized, and what To do for future analysis, such as
cross-referencing the information with another website or an expert (Duke
2016).
I think the order of steps in WWWDOT can be particularly useful; if a student
can quickly identify an untrustworthy author, then they can avoid spending a
lot of time cross-referencing the information. There are probably more
suggestions for flags and indicators a student could look for to test the
veracity of a website (I would suggest checking to see who published the
website, and not just who wrote it), but the WWWDOT method seems to cover important
information, and it also encourages the students to think critically and
analyze their sources for useful and accurate information.
References:
Duke, N. K. (2016)
“Evaluating Websites as Information Sources.” Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/evaluating-websites-as-information-sources-nell-k-duke
Lindsay, J. and
Davis, V. (2010) “Navigate the Digital Rapids.” Learning and Leading With Technology. Retrieved from https://canvas.spu.edu/courses/16860/files/415845?module_item_id=121326
Standards for
Teachers. ISTE. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-teachers
The model you found, WWWDOT, was very similar to the CRAAP model that was brought up in the past vialogues discussion. Both are good models for helping students evaluate their sources. In order to assist students with finding proper resources, I think it is important that we, as educators, stress the importance of peer-reviewed literature. There is so much that we have access to, especially as students with access to university library databases and journals. The skills we use should be what we are leading our students to attain. While a middle school may not have the use of such databases, it is still important to teach that there are such resources, and that because they are peer-reviewed, they are more reliable than anything that just pops up in Google searches, for example.
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