I’m pretty sure I.O.S. (information overload syndrome) is something that we have all shared at one point or another. (If you have time to waste here is a funny video about ‘I.O.S.’ in the business world)
I know I definitely have had many, many episodes of feeling overwhelmed by all the websites and articles I have open from multiple sources, especially when doing literature review assignments. (Shamefully, I used to print every article out, sort through them and categorise them accordingly).
In talking about dealing with information overload in class, one great tool that caught my attention was the social bookmarking tool called ‘Delicious’. See a youtube video on how it works and how to use it in the previous post below. It’s a great way to store and index your results and to discover others’ related webpages also. Outside of academic searches for university-work purposes, I don’t think I experience a lot of information overload. Really simple syndication (RSS) is something that I do actually utilise already.
On my laptop desktop I have an RSS gadget that feeds me headlines from MSNBC News. Similarly, now that I am on twitter (thanks to Mark’s invitation to join and follow him), I have chosen to follow other news sources. I have RSS feeds from CNN, The New York Times, etc. directly to my twitter account, which I can access on my smartphone. Surprisingly, (or perhaps unsurprisingly) I don’t feel the obligation to read every new feed or click on every link. The key is definitely finding balance in getting just the right amount of information that I need.
May 30, 2010
Beware of online dangers
For some reason, the often quoted "With great power comes great responsibility" from Spiderman is the first thing that popped in my head in thinking about digital safety. Well I suppose it’s because we have been introduced to the (basically) infinite world of digital technologies, and how it can be used to support teaching and learning. Without a doubt, the internet is a valuable educational tool. But with those endless possibilities, come many risks and dangers also. As educators, it is important for us to bring these dangers to light and teach cybersafety.
According to this article from CNET, the top 5 internet dangers for kids online are data theft, malicious software, inappropriate content, cyberbullying and predators.
On the face of it, tackling these very probable risks seem quite challenging, especially in communicating this to children. The good news is that there are actually quite a lot of resources available out there to boost digital safety. For instance, ACMA has online educational resources specifically for the teaching of cybersafety. Activities provided are suitable for children in 5 different year levels spanning from primary to secondary level.
The same article mentioned above also includes this checklist which I think is pretty useful too— the general idea of ‘think before you click’ could be a great motto to teach kids, and one that could easily be emphasised both at home and in school.
According to this article from CNET, the top 5 internet dangers for kids online are data theft, malicious software, inappropriate content, cyberbullying and predators.
On the face of it, tackling these very probable risks seem quite challenging, especially in communicating this to children. The good news is that there are actually quite a lot of resources available out there to boost digital safety. For instance, ACMA has online educational resources specifically for the teaching of cybersafety. Activities provided are suitable for children in 5 different year levels spanning from primary to secondary level.
The same article mentioned above also includes this checklist which I think is pretty useful too— the general idea of ‘think before you click’ could be a great motto to teach kids, and one that could easily be emphasised both at home and in school.
May 25, 2010
Sixth sense
not the movie. but in reality! potentially.
A friend of mine shared this video with me a couple of weeks ago and today's lesson on how the web meets the world reminded me of it.
Part 1:
Part 2:
It must be awesome to be this curious and brilliant. Absolutely feast for thought.
A friend of mine shared this video with me a couple of weeks ago and today's lesson on how the web meets the world reminded me of it.
Part 1:
Part 2:
It must be awesome to be this curious and brilliant. Absolutely feast for thought.
Information/critical literacy
‘Begin at the beginning’, as emphasised in the Scottish Information Literacy Project slideshow below, sums up my thoughts on the importance of teaching information/critical literacy. There is a lot of information out there, and obviously, a lot of misinformation too. It was quite funny, but also extremely worrying when a classmate related her ‘hotdog’ story. While on prac she saw the children do an online search for a particular topic, come across and actually accept a silly and nonsensical answer (i.e. hotdog) which needless to say, ended up being completely wrong.
As defined in the slideshow, “critical literacy is the way we interact and make meaning from different texts” and “involves the reader analysing and engaging with the text”. In early childhood, this usually starts with children’s literature in the form of books. (However, the project researchers point to many other examples of texts including digital sources such as blogs, social networking sites and webpages).
So in developing children’s information/critical literacy, I would start with texts they are most familiar with first, e.g. information/nonfiction books, novels/fiction books, short stories, poems, etc. In looking at these texts, typical activities would involve thinking about the purpose, the audience, (author and reader), the type of text, the main ideas, making connections and comparisons (i.e. trinagulation) extracting and organising information and so on. These strategies for reading and comprehending what is read, would certainly be appropriate for digital literacies also.
‘Crap detection 101’ should be a class made available in the lower levels, definitely. :)
As defined in the slideshow, “critical literacy is the way we interact and make meaning from different texts” and “involves the reader analysing and engaging with the text”. In early childhood, this usually starts with children’s literature in the form of books. (However, the project researchers point to many other examples of texts including digital sources such as blogs, social networking sites and webpages).
So in developing children’s information/critical literacy, I would start with texts they are most familiar with first, e.g. information/nonfiction books, novels/fiction books, short stories, poems, etc. In looking at these texts, typical activities would involve thinking about the purpose, the audience, (author and reader), the type of text, the main ideas, making connections and comparisons (i.e. trinagulation) extracting and organising information and so on. These strategies for reading and comprehending what is read, would certainly be appropriate for digital literacies also.
‘Crap detection 101’ should be a class made available in the lower levels, definitely. :)
May 2, 2010
Podcasting
Once again, a whole new world welcomed and secured into my memory bank.
Thus far, my knowledge/experience of podcasts has definitely been in a web 1.0 sense. For example, in undertaking my degree I utilised Lectopia the university’s iLecture system, greatly. It was fantastic and not to mention convenient that recorded lectures were available on the internet to refer to at anytime (either streamed or downloaded). I remember really content-heavy lectures where 1) concepts would go completely over my head and/or 2) I simply couldn’t keep up with my notetaking. Thus, having access to those ilectures was excellent in that I could re-sit the lesson and listen and watch it in my own pace. Of course, it was also extremely useful for those who had clashing classes, other commitments, etc.
But from a web 2.0 approach specifically in primary education, I can definitely see children being engaged and excited about creating their own podcasts. Not only will they be able to share their work with lots of other people by publishing it on the web, but it will also develop multiliteracies (e.g. writing, speaking, listening and ICT skills combined). I also like how risks are minimal since there’s no need for the children’s faces to be shown. I found the following video quite informative and it includes some great ideas for using podcasts in the classroom. I quite like her dubbed nickname of being a 'technology evangelist'!
To quote, 'the possibilities are endless'.
Thus far, my knowledge/experience of podcasts has definitely been in a web 1.0 sense. For example, in undertaking my degree I utilised Lectopia the university’s iLecture system, greatly. It was fantastic and not to mention convenient that recorded lectures were available on the internet to refer to at anytime (either streamed or downloaded). I remember really content-heavy lectures where 1) concepts would go completely over my head and/or 2) I simply couldn’t keep up with my notetaking. Thus, having access to those ilectures was excellent in that I could re-sit the lesson and listen and watch it in my own pace. Of course, it was also extremely useful for those who had clashing classes, other commitments, etc.
But from a web 2.0 approach specifically in primary education, I can definitely see children being engaged and excited about creating their own podcasts. Not only will they be able to share their work with lots of other people by publishing it on the web, but it will also develop multiliteracies (e.g. writing, speaking, listening and ICT skills combined). I also like how risks are minimal since there’s no need for the children’s faces to be shown. I found the following video quite informative and it includes some great ideas for using podcasts in the classroom. I quite like her dubbed nickname of being a 'technology evangelist'!
To quote, 'the possibilities are endless'.
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