Improving Digital Literacy

Moanalua High School

Professional Development Conference

April 18, 2015

Dr. Dale Fryxell, Chaminade University

                                                                

                                                                                       

What types of technology do you use

as a teacher?

Are you ready for online learning?https://ensu.nsula.edu/are-you-ready-for-online-learning

1. Do you stay on task without direct supervision, or do you work best when someone is there to help keep you focused?

2. Can you prioritize your own workload, or do you tend to put tasks off for later?

3. Do you learn best from reading text and assignments on your own, or do you learn best from spoken or visual presentations with student interaction?

4. Do you enjoy learning new computer or technology skills, or does the thought of having to learn new computer or technology skills cause you anxiety?

Are you ready for online learning?

5. Do you usually understand written instructions, or does having instructions explained make a big difference for you?

6. Are you planning to allocate as much time in your schedule for your online course as you would for a more "traditional' classroom course (because the workload and time commitment will be the same!)?

7. Are you good at assessing your own progress, or do you need instructor feedback right away?

Facts• 1 in 10 students are enrolled

in exclusively online courses (US National Center for Education Statistics)

• 7.1 million American students are engaged in online learning in some form (Babson

Research Group)

Samurai Hat Getting ready to battle with technology!!

From Calculator watches in the 1980s to Google Glasses and Oculus Rift

21% of US adult students use wearables

71% of students age 16 to 24 want to use wearable technology

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ8Xj_I3aNU

Wearable technology

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1uyQZNg2vE

Google Glass

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSmoezXh28E

Active Learning Spaces

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZE8nCABAX4

Maker Spaces

Comprised of machine-to-machine, machine-to-person, and person-to-person networked technologies.

Turn on lights at home, start dishwasher,

Colorado University – research on traffic with sensors in vehicles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEsKZGOxNKw

The Internet of Things

Captains Hat Be an explorer – try new technologies! Encourage

your students to be technology explorers.

Bishop Hat Encourage academic honesty and integrity. Teach

your students to be ethical users of technology.

Army/Scout Hat Teach students to be self-directed learners and

develop time-management skills. Procrastination is the biggest problem for online students.

Newspaperman Hat Teach students to evaluate technology

and online information.

9 Technology Related Suggestions for Teachers to Consider

1. Online Literacy

• Help your students develop online literacy. The most important technology skill for students is the ability to judge the relevance, reliability, quality and source of information that they encounter in the online world.

Evaluating Online Resources 1Faigley, The Penguin Handbook

For each of your online sources, consider the following questions.

•Source. What organization sponsors or pays for the Web site? What does this sponsor indicate about the credibility of the site?

•Author. Who is the author? What qualifications does the author possess?

•Timeliness. When was this site first published online? When was it last updated? Are its argument and information still timely?

•Evidence. Where does the author’s evidence come from? Does the evidence adequately support the author’s claims?

Evaluating Online Resources 2

• Bias. Can you detect particular biases of the author? How do the author’s biases affect his or her arguments and conclusions?

• References. Are references provided for information given on the site? If so, who considers these references reputable?

• Links. Are there links to additional information? Do the links work? Is the linked information reliable? Do these links offer further insight into the author’s biases?

• Advertising. Is the Web site an advertisement for a product, place, or service? If so, how does this affect the credibility of the site?

Evaluating Online Resources 3

Now, for each of your online sources, answer the following questions. •Should you use this source? If so, how will it support your project? •Will your audience find this source credible and persuasive? Why? •Is the credibility of this source suspect in any way? How?

2. Critical thinking

• Help students use sound thinking and decision making in all areas of life including the use and integration of technology.

• Students often write “Research says…” or “A recent study revealed…” but they don’t look any further into it.

3. When To Use Technology

• Teach students to evaluate whether technology helps or hinders!

• The issue is not what piece of software/hardware to teach our students about, but whether that technology adds to or takes away from the desired outcomes.

4. Adaptability

• Give students exposure to different types of technology and help them develop curiosity about the many different uses and possibilities.

“I believe that having enough resourcefulness, initiative, risk-taking, and creativity to learn and master any technology is necessary, as we actually cannot predict what technology 10 years from now will look like.” —Jane Cacacho

5. Courage

• Have the courage to try new types of technology yourself – it may really excite and motivate students.

“I think a great skill to have is fearlessness: Being able to experiment with a technology or software and not worry if you’re using it ‘correctly.’ It’s important to remember that technology is there to bend to your will, not the other way around. Students are usually great about this, and we as adults need to let them explore their natural tech curiosities and just have fun.” —Anonymous

6. Teach Internet Search Skills

• Read past the first page of Google results!• Teach your students to explore deeper than just what

pops up on the first page of a google search. Try different channels such as Google Scholar and Google News, and keep going until information no longer seems relevant to the topic.

7. Plagiarism

• Teach students about plagiarism!!!

It is very easy today to just cut and paste a paper together from online resources. Many students claim that they did not know what they did was considered plagiarism. (Plagiarism checkers - Turnitin)

• 21% of 7-12 grade students have turned in a paper downloaded from the Internet.

• 38% have copied text from a website. (education.com)

8. Opportunities

• Look for New Opportunities to Utilize Technology - from simple technologies like Powerpoint and Prezi to Myvirtuallife to 3D printers to ?

• What have you done that sparked interest and excitement?

• Set up a Skype interview with someone famous or students in another country.

• Have students create their own blogs, record videos, engineer new apps, etc.

9. Ethical Use of Technology/Digital Citizenship

• Make sure that your students learn to interact on the internet and use social technology in a responsible way.

Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics(Computer Ethics Institute)

1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.

2. Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work.

3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's files.

4. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.

5. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.

6. Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid.

7. Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorization or proper compensation.

8. Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output.

9. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you write or the system you design.

10. Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show consideration of and respect for your fellow humans.

Questions, Comments, Ideas