While I was searching the internet to fulfill an assignment for my Master’s class, I found many good websites that I could use in my classroom and many bad websites that I would not want to use in my classroom. This activity reinforced my belief that we need curriculum in elementary schools to help students learn at a young age how to effectively evaluate websites. Students need to learn the correct way to evaluate if a website has valid and unbiased material that can help them in their research. I have broken this reflection up into two sections, educational search tools and state and governmental websites.
The three websites I explored for educational search tools was a mixed bag of both useful websites and un-useful websites. The educational search tool websites that I explored all had different attributes that could help students or teachers. The three websites I explored were Sites for Teachers, Kids Search Tools, and the Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM). The Site for Teachers website had links to hundreds of useful websites for teachers to use in the classroom. Some of the websites tried to get you to buy some product from them which was annoying. However, some were great for free lesson plans. There was one link to a great lesson plan for the introduction to the Civil War. The website was unorganized, and I had to read through several different links that would not apply to my classroom. The second website I explored was the kids search tools website, and I found it to be overwhelming and not kid friendly. There were too many search engines for the kids to choose from and too many places to type. However, if a teacher devoted the time to teach their students how to use the website properly, the website would be a great tool for students to use when researching a project. The last website I explored was the Gateway to Education website, and I found that website had the most to offer teachers with helpful links to resources a teacher could use in the classroom. The website was organized into thematic unites and was easy to navigate. Overall, these were helpful, and I was able to find relevant information for myself and to share with my colleagues at the next staff development.
The state and governmental websites were also interesting to explore. I viewed both the Florida Department of Education and the Alabama Department of Education websites. Both websites offered a lot of information to the public, ranging from how to become certified to teach in each state to teacher of the year awards. I found the Florida Department of Education website the most user-friendly with its easy to navigate tool bar at the top of the page broken down into six sections. One county website that I explored was the Orange County Public Schools website. This website was also very user-friendly and easy to navigate. This website allows employees to sign in and look at their pay stubs and change personal employment information. This is great because it helps employees save time and paper by filling out information online, rather than mailing things to the downtown office. The website also has many good links for parents and students.
All of these websites have proven one point to me, and that is that it has become a lot easier for parents, teachers, and students to gather information over the past fifteen years as the internet has evolved. If teachers want to find a good lesson plan about the Civil War, they can go to the Sites for Teachers website and read the lesson plans posted about the Civil War. The teachers still need to take the initiative to read the website, but the information is right there are their fingertips. Parents can access the governmental websites and get any information about schools ranging from accreditation to teacher certification. Students can access a wide variety of information about any topic they choose. It is my responsibility as a teacher to help the students make sense of all the information they are absorbing on the Internet. One thing that I need to improve on is that I need to stop relying on Google and start to explore other search engines. Once I am more comfortable with other search engines, I can help my students use them to their advantage.
Resources
Gunter, G. A., Gunter, R. E., & Shelly, G.B. (2010). Integrating technology and digital media in the classroom (6th ed.). United States: Course Technology, Cengage Learning.
All websites mentioned in my article are hyperlinked and are as follows:
http://www.sitesforteachers.com/
http://www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm
http://www.thegateway.org/
http://ww.fldoe.org/
http://www.alsde.edu/html
https://www.ocps.net/
I have the same opinion as you gave in your statement “We need curriculum in elementary schools to help students learn at a young age how to effectively evaluate websites. Students need to learn the correct way to evaluate if a website has valid and unbiased material that can help them in their research.” I feel that we teach elementary students how to effectively find the information, but nothing on how to determine its validity. My 10 year old daughter thinks it must be true because she found it on-line.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand your remarks from a parent’s point of view; “these websites have proven one point to me, and that is that it has become a lot easier for parents, teachers, and students to gather information”. With a couple clicks of the mouse, I can find out plenty of information about my daughters schools. I can find out test dates, test results, check their attendance and grades, homework, class work, and even request parent-teacher conferences. I love the fact that I now have the tools I need to become a more informed parent!
What a great statement! This remark should hold true for all teachers “It is my responsibility as a teacher to help the students make sense of all the information they are absorbing on the Internet.” We as educators need to take the time to help the students understand the information they are finding on websites and how to use it properly.
When I read this, I had to laugh, because it is so true about me. “I need to stop relying on Google and start to explore other search engine.” The first place I go when searching for anything is Google. This is my comfort zone. I need to remember that there are other search engines out there and I need to start to utilize them, though it is going to be hard when Google is constantly innovating. They literally just added and launched the “instant search” feature today!
GMontcrieff
I know this has been posted about already, but after looking at all of these websites I realized how important it really is to know how to evaluate a website. You made this comment in the very beginning of your blog, but it is the part that stuck with me the most. There are many websites and tools on the web for students to find, but the problem is that not all of them are good. As an undergrad student I was always warned to stay away from ".com" sites and stick with the .edu, .gov sites. While there are some excellent .com sites, I realized that the government and other schools have so much to offer.
ReplyDeleteIt is important that we make our students aware of these good sites, and teach them how to evaluate whether a site is useful or not. You can get some pretty funny reports back if your student doesn't find the correct information!
"One thing that I need to improve on is that I need to stop relying on Google and start to explore other search engines. Once I am more comfortable with other search engines, I can help my students use them to their advantage." I really like this statement because I am one of those people that relies heavily on Google. I need to get out of my comfort zone and start to explore more.
ReplyDeleteYou are right that there are a lot of websites for educators that are great, but that there is a lot of garbage mixed in as well. I also came across websites that wanted me to buy a membership to access their "better" information. You mentioned a website that had Civil War content. Have you ever looked at the FREE website (www.free.ed.gov)? It has tons of resources from different federal agencies, including the Smithsonian, National Archives, etc. on pretty much any subject. Take a look. You may find something you can use on there.
Lori D.