Final Presentation Reflection

I was very concerned with the time limit of only 8 minutes. Because the topic of Information Literacy is so HUGE, I knew I would only be able to brush the surface of it in 8 minutes. I felt that the best way to use our time together was to "teach" you how to teach your students how to determine if a web site's information can be trusted. I hope I was successful at providing you with ways to help your students perform better searches for information and how to evaluate the information once they have located it.

What did I learn?
I learned that Information Literacy is a huge topic. I learned the importance of teaching our students how to find information on the web that can be trusted. I learned how to find who published/owns a web site, how to find the history of web site, and how to conduct better searches for information.

More to learn?
Of course there is more to learn! I would like to know more about how to incorporate information literacy into the classroom with regards to reading and writing.

Pedagogical Applications
There are endless possibilities of how to incorporate information literacy in the classroom. Foremost, we need to teach our students that not everything on the Internet is true and that they need to be aware of the authenticity of web sites. If we don't teach them, who will?

Updated Website

Check out my updated website. I've made some huge changes, so check it out and let me know what you think! Thanks.

It's So True!

The week before Thanksgiving (where has the time gone?) I subbed for the 8th grade English teacher for the entire week while he dealt with some personal things. I was really impressed with what he was doing with his students. He had set up a debate for the entire 8th grade and all the other 8th grade teachers were active in it as well. The debate issues consisted of really sophisticated and relevant issues such as stem-cell research, building the wall to keep immigrants out, video surveillance in schools, etc. On Monday, the students wrote their rough drafts. Being only 8th graders, they had some really great arguments for their sides of the issues. They had previously researched the information on the Internet the week before. Tuesday they did peer-editing with the speeches. It was the typical peer-editing task we all have been through and can consider a waste of time. I do think peer-editing can be helpful, but it needs lots of structure.

Wednesday we went to the computer lab to type the final drafts of the speeches. Here is how I am relating this to our class. Like Shade Gomez said when he came to our class earlier in the semester, students do not know how to do simple things like double space their paper within Word. Even though Shade had talked about this, I was still shocked that it was so true. In the beginning of each class as part of my instructions for the period, I had to walk the students through the steps to get them all set up to have a double-spaced essay. I would estimate that in the 5 sections I taught that day, only about 10 students actually knew how to do it. It was funny b/c these are the kids who were complaining that they couldn't play games or get onto MySpace or IM after they were done typing (although most sites are blocked anyway). It's just interesting I, a digital immigrant, could teach them something. I loved it. Of course, there is a whole lot more that I could learn from them!!

Final Project Summary

Here is my summary for my final project.

Truth or Lies? Information Literacy in the Classroom
Because anyone can create a website these days, it is important to teach our students how to tell if a site is supplying them with the truth or with lies. After reading Alan November's research on this topic, I plan to create a PowerPoint teaching others how to be sure that the information they come across is valid and how to incorporate a lesson on Information Literacy for their students.

I am creating the PowerPoint on my PC at home, and I'm not sure if it will open on a Mac. I would prefer to be in the PC lab, but if there is no room there and my PowerPoint will open on a Mac, I have no problem being in the Mac lab. I can test it on a Mac Tuesday in class.

Professional Website

Here is my professional website in progress. Check it out and make comments for improvements. Thanks.

Professional Website Differences

I created a freewebs account last week to begin my professional website, but I didn't get much further than giving it a title because I didn't feel that it looked very professional. I don't know if you can get rid of them, but I don't like all the ads. Does the iWeb have ads on it, too? I'd love to have access to the website at home, and that's why I was thinking about freewebs, but I might take the time to check out the iWeb option on campus.
Any useful comparisons of the two?

iMovie Reflection

My movie hasn't been viewed in class yet, but I thought I would reflect on my experience with iMovie now instead of waiting. My experience was overall a positive one, though I did run into some saving issues like many of us did. I had some problems with some of the special effects I tried to incorporate. Some of my images at the beginning of the movie turned red every time I used the Burn's effect, so I ended up using different effects on those images. The transitions between shots could have been smoother, but with limited time, I guess what I have will have to do. The experience of filming was a new one for me as well. I had never really used a video camera before, so it was nice to have an excuse to use one.
My husband and I took a hike at Filmore Glen State Park in Moravia, and I brought my camera along and filmed the beautiful scenes and waterfalls that we saw along our 4 mile hike. Then I pieced together some images I found on Flickr to show my peaceful escape into nature and away from the stresses of everyday life.
I have been very impressed by the movies that have been shown so far. I can't wait to see more!