Chapter+1+-+Web+Basics+for+Critical+Thinking

=__**Chapter 1 - Web Basics for Critical Thinking**__= Pages 5 - 16

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 * 1. If you believe that all students should be Web literate, what is the best strategy for your school or district to prepare students with this skill?**
 * Have the kids using technology as part of their education. As we all know, to become web literate we have to do much more than just give them the equipment. - Sheila
 * I do believe students and teachers should Web literate and in order to be prepared it needs to be taught and practiced. Mike
 * Develop activities in which the students will be shown websites and they will need to discern if the information is factual. The students should also do activities in which they need to see information from the web and then make inferences about it based on the slant of the entire web page. -Gary
 * We do need to teach the kids how to discern...when do we do that? Not all HS kids take computer class. Let's brainstorm. - Sheila
 * Seems like the fact finding classes will be doing most of the discerning, social studies, English, science, Bible study. Don't see much use for it for math or Spanish. I have really enjoying learning about for myself, though. - Bruce
 * This is a great way to integrate critical thinking skills and technology. Karen
 * I believe you must set up opportunities for students to research and discern what is useful and what isn't. In fact this week at Rice we were given two websites to look over with no instructions. I spent over an hour looking at sections of the sites on Mount Vernon and Monticello but really don't understand what tomorrow's lesson will expect of us. Archie
 * I think there should be a process taught by someone that knows what is going on. In my case it is the blind leading the blind, but becoming more Web educated as I read, but do not consider myself an expert. - Charla
 * I think that a great way for us to prepare students to web literate is not to be scared of it. We have to equip ourselves and know what to look for and teach them, we can't assume they know. - Kerri
 * I think the best way for us to teach our students to be Web literate is to be Web literate ourselves. I think the best strategy to keep teachers current is through the use of effective workshops and training. I find out about great resources and ways to teach from other teachers at conferences and colleagues as well.-Julie
 * 2. What skills should all teachers have to be Web literate?**
 * I feel like at a minimum, teachers need to know how to navigate the web efficiently so that class time can be used to its fullest and so that teachers can assist students in becoming more efficient. - Sheila
 * I believe teachers should be able to disern if information is from a reliable source. Mike
 * I think it's important for us to know how to determine which sites are safe to avoid issues. In order to become web literate, I think teachers at all 3 levels deserve and need access to the same technology...if we are going to teach kids to use the COW in lower school, shouldn't lower teachers have the laptops too??? Just saying :) Tracy Oh wait...maybe I deviated from the original question...
 * I could not agree more Tracy. It needs to be a priority especially now that the COWS will be headed toward the LS. I find the ""literacy" of URL addresses to be really interesting. I will admit, I did not know much about addresses prior to reading this book. Chapter 3 really goes into detail which is what I need to understand the lingo. - Sheila
 * If the students in Lower School are going to be using the COWS that were used in MS and HS last year, the teachers need to be trained on the Macs similar to what the MS and HS teachers did last year. - Gary
 * I agree we all need to have access to the same machines if we're going to get the job done. - Bruce
 * I agree that we all need to be trained. Or the students will know more than we do even at the lower levels. Karen
 * I agree that teachers need to be able to navigate the web, but also how to analytically and critically manage the time. Note taking critical. Archie
 * I think that all teachers need to to be trained and I don't know if reading a book would be considered trained! Maybe more knowledgeable. - Charla
 * I think we have a good start at getting the computers and the training on how to use the MACs. Now, we could use training on how to find the sites and how to use some good ones. - Kerri
 * Teachers should be comfortable navigating the web and learning how to use new programs. I have found that sometimes just experimenting with a new program is the easiest way to learn how to apply it.-Julie
 * 3. What role should school filtering play in your school district? Who should make this decision?**
 * Filtering should take place. It should be a joint decision between the administration and tech department. Mike
 * This needs to be a collaborative effort between the people who can change the setting and the people who are affected by the filtering. - Sheila
 * Being a Pre-K teacher, I felt I was affected drastically by not being able to access YouTube to show my students science, social studies, and math videos in class. I believe that if we are going to restrict YouTube, we need to have other websites that Pre-K can access. National Geographic now shows commercials before you play videos,. so teaching time took longer than it should have. Rachel
 * I believe that the internet should be filtered at school. The administration is ultimately in charge of what needs to be filtered. Teachers also need to be patient with filtering and not take things personal when a site that they need is filtered. Filtering usually takes place by categories not specific sites. If a site is blocked that a teacher feels should not be blocked, there is usually a way to get it unblocked, but sometimes this will not happen immediately like the teacher would want it. - Gary
 * It definitely needs to be filtered, but I wish teachers had more flexibility to work on the spur of the moment. - Bruce
 * I agree with Bruce. Archie
 * Yes filtered but teachers should not, most of the students @ home will not be filtered and before we rush to judgement we need to be able to access the information as the students did @ home.- Charla
 * If we give the students the websites we want them to use and not give them free time...then do we need a filter? For example, if I want them to do a history project, give them 5 websites that they can get their information. I as the teacher can determine beforehand which sites are useful and has the content I want them to use. Direct them to great sites instead of letting them search for mediocre ones or ones that need filtered. - Kerri
 * 4. Do you believe the Internet is as big a transformer of culture as the printing press?**
 * Yes. Mike
 * Personally, I think that the internet has completely changed the way that people disperse and receive information.
 * With the printing press, communication was a one way street. Now people can communicate about the information
 * that they have received in a matter of seconds. It is amazing to think that we can google anything at the drop of a pin. I love my google. - Sheila
 * Yes. Rachel
 * Definitely and exponentially. - Gary
 * Ditto. - Bruce
 * Yes - Karen
 * Yes. It puts info at your finger tips. Remember all those hours spent in the stacks looking for references and sources for research and term papers, WOW! It would have been nice to have had this in college. Archie
 * I agree with Archi - Charla
 * Yes, I think it is bigger! Kerri
 * Yes, I agree with Kerri.-Julie
 * Yes, I agree with Kerri.-Julie


 * 5. If yes, what part of our cul****ture do you believe will be most affected?**
 * **﻿** Ease of accessibility of information. Mike
 * What hasn't been affected? - Sheila
 * Everything already has been affected. Now that I have a smartphone, my computer has been negelected, let alone my library pass. I find that I spend more time online doing research than I did before because everything is now at my fingertips! Rachel
 * The difficulty in determining what is truthful. - Gary
 * Everything and even things we can't even imagine yet - Karen
 * Communications - all phases and certainly financial, medical, and recreational updates. Archie
 * I agree with Gary and I believe the students will have problems with determining if an article is truthful and just because it is on the web does not make it a truthful article could be full of bias.
 * Everything has been affected. Look at how we are sharing information as a staff!
 * I think the ways kids learn is being affected even from a young age. At a Kindergarten conference this generation was referred to as “technology natives” while we the teachers were called “technology immigrants.”-Julie