The term "digital native" was coined by Marc Prensky, author of several enlightening books about the role of technology in education including From Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom: Hopeful Essays for 21st Century Learning (Corwin, 2012). This term is frequently used to describe kids growing up in the 21st century who have been using technology since an early age. In general, kids today are more comfortable with technology, less afraid of experimenting with new technology, and understand the "language of technology" better than most adults. However, many people have an inaccurate belief that these "digital natives" need not be taught about technology or how to use it. Sure, kids today may be able to set up a video game system, text at lightening speed, and post videos to their social media profile page. However, most "digital natives" lack important technology skills, especially when it comes to using technology for learning and developing critical thinking skills in the context of standard education practices. Many struggle to locate and evaluate Internet resources and don't realize the inaccuracies of information found on the Internet. Teachers must learn how to integrate these skills into the curriculum, for example, teaching about information literacy alongside a research project.
Find section 6b on your student sheet and reflect on information literacy, the information you learned in this unit, and questions you still have about the topic. Use the following questions to guide your response, but please write your reflection in paragraph format (not Q&A format).
What is information literacy and why is it an important topic for K-12 students?
In what way is the ability to locate and evaluate information on the Internet a sub-set of information literacy?
What specific skills (technology and non-technology skills) are necessary to effectively find and evaluate Internet resources?
How does information literacy align to national and state standards and grade level curriculum?
How do the ideas of information literacy relate to teaching strategy and pedagogy?
How can a teacher help students acquire the skills they need to locate and evaluate information found on the Internet?
What questions do you still have about information literacy?
How helpful was this online unit in providing you with basic skills needed to locate and evaluate Internet resources?
If you have completed your student sheet, you have completed the online portion of this unit and are ready to participate in class discussion. Please bring your completed student sheet to class on the day your instructor has assigned.