I remember as a student learning how to look through the card catalog to find the book I wanted later in high school we were able to use the computer to find books along with having the ability to search the internet. I remember we were taught the skills necessary to search the catalog and then to find a book. I do not remember being taught specifically how to search the web, nor have I taught students how to search the web. Just type in the key word, that’s it, right? Well, there is more to searching online than that and as teachers we need to teach students how to effectively search online. It is easy to search online, go through a series of websites and get lost in a sea of information.
1. Teach what students should type in the search.
I need to be sure to teach and encourage effective searches. I just printed off this poster to hang for next school year, so students can use it as a reference in my classroom. I think I have heard once or twice to use specific tips to narrow down my search, but I certainly do not use those tips regularly. The first time for the school year where students complete research in my class, I will give students a handout on these tips and discuss each tip. Teachers should demonstrate how to use quotation marks, + (addition sign), OR, AND, - (minus sign), and NOT. Additionally teachers should show students how to search within a specific site, how to search for sites linked to a particular url, how to search for a site with a particular indexed title, and how to search for a site with a key word in the web address(Frey, Fisher, & Gonzalez, 2010).
2. Teach students to evaluate sources.
Here is a link to 7 fake websites. Teachers can use this website to have students go to websites and evaluate if it is a legitimate website. The CARS acronym helps students know what to look for to evaluate websites. CARS stands for Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonableness, and Support.
3. Teach students to cite sources.
When I was a student, citing my sources was a complex task, now it is much simpler. Students have tools such as Citation Machine, which once you enter in the information it will give you your sources in the needed format. We need to make sure students know what information to find so they can enter the information correctly. For example, when typing the title of a journal article, only the first word is capitalized. Citation machine will not correct how you type information, only the format.
Additionally, tools such as Diigo help students organize information as they complete searches. We need to teach students these tools so they can highlight information and save sources. They can also share those sources with others and use those sources if they need to go back to it later.
Source
Frey, Nancy, Douglas Fisher, and Alex Gonzalez. Literacy 2.0: reading and writing in 21st century classrooms. Moorabbin, Vic.: Hawker Brownlow Education, 2010. Print.
"8 Great Free Technology Posters to Hang in your Classroom." Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2017.
Kirschenbaum, M. (2017, May 05). How Savvy are Your Students?: 7 Fake Websites to Really Test Their Evaluation Skills. Retrieved May 23, 2017, from http://www.easybib.com/guides/7-fake-websites-to-test-students/
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteRe: “Teach students to evaluate sources.
Here is a link to 7 fake websites. Teachers can use this website to have students go to websites and evaluate if it is a legitimate website. The CARS acronym helps students know what to look for to evaluate websites. CARS stands for Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonableness, and Support.”
I really liked the resource you suggested on 7 fake websites. I don’t think students truly grasp the importance of evaluating the accuracy and validity of websites. I’ve heard my students say many times, “I found it on the Internet, so it’s true.” Or if I question the information they have found they say, “That’s what the website said.” They didn’t even hesitate or stop to question the accuracy of the information. It has been my experience that kids just want to find what they are looking for as quickly as possible to get the task done. If we don’t teach them what to look for and how to assess these websites, then they will never know. Students need to realize that while the Internet provides a wealth of knowledge, it is created by people. Unfortunately, not everyone publishes accurate information. We need to teach our students how to precisely and productively search through the enormous quantity of information available to them at their fingertips
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteI really like that you included a poster that I can use next year in my room! You mentioned that students need to be able to navigate once they are in a particular site. I find that students have a lot of trouble with working through different websites. I don't really know how to approach that problem. I wish there were more resources at teaching them how to be an effective searcher within their sources of information.
I like that you included citations as a part of search strategies. I got really literal and just stuck to tips for improving the actual search, but if I were teaching students to search in class, I would probably also have them cite as they go. I think just emphasizing that citations are part of the search process will really just make their research process in general much easier in the end.
Thanks for including a resource for evaluating credibility as well.
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteRE: "Here is a link to 7 fake websites. Teachers can use this website to have students go to websites and evaluate if it is a legitimate website."
I teach an undergraduate educational technology course for pre-service teachers. One of their first assignments is to provide them with a list of websites and have them identify the legitimate, high-quality website. I include several of the websites on your list. I am amazed at the number of students who struggle with this. Teaching students how to engage in the evaluation of web-based content is a must, especially in today's era of fake news.
Dr. Dell