Crap Detection Reflection

Howard Rheingold’s vlog was very interesting. It talked about the different types of literacies we need for the internet. They are: attention, participation, cooperation, critical consumption (crap detection) and network awareness. He also discussed how we need to teach our students and children to think for themselves (critical thinking skills) so they can question what is on the sites they are visiting on the internet. This will allow them to determine which sites are legitimate or not. I found that he did not go into detail on what tools to use to determine which sites are legitimate or “crap” until the end of his vlog, he did mention that we have to teach our students to: to ask questions in search engines properly and to determine if the answer is accurate? Students can determine this by looking at the site where they found their answers and to look at the sources and who the author was of that site. They also need to see what others have said about the site or its author. They should also look at what the “agenda” of the site might be.

It is important that students at a young age are provided with these tools. As educators we need for to teach our students critical thinking skills. Not just for determining what is legitimate on the internet but as a way of determining everything that goes on in their lives. We need to try to teach them these skills during our practice so that we can engage our student’s active inquiry and to work with their inquiry to make them think even more critically. It is also imperative that we also use these skills when we are researching professionally. We need to make sure that we ask the right questions and follow up on what the right answers are.

Connectivism

Learning to me is when you gain knowledge or information about something that you did not know before, or an expansion of an idea or concept. I believe that learning is affective when it takes place in a network because you are hearing other people’s views and opinions on topics and this in turn can change or add to what you already know. I belong to my school network and learn from my colleagues. I learn from my LTT network and from my network of friends and family. All these networks help me to learn new ideas, concepts, and knowledge about topics through discussions. I believe that I need to expand my professional network and in doing this I need to blog and read other people’s blogs. I also need to join different types of online networks.
I am not sure…but this is what I think…you may think you know something and you may know it well but after talking to others you may realize that your knowledge on that specific topic is not as good as you thought and after listening to others views, discussions and ideas on that topic your view also broadens. I believe that now you may know more on that topic then before these conversations. Can knowledge reside in a network or do we use networks to access knowledge? I believe that knowledge can reside in a network and that we can also access knowledge from a network as well. As mentioned above’ I believe that it is a two way street and that we give and take knowledge from each other and from out networks. Knowledge is transferred by the communication between people in the network, and by online communication and the sharing of information. I need to use my networks more so that I can gain more knowledge and expertise from the members of my networks and then use this knowledge to improve the learning that occurs in my classroom. The questions that come to mind are: How can I increase my collaboration time with my colleagues on what is happening on a regular basis within my classroom?