Module #1 Reflection Post

Module One Reflection

Tamara Nolan

July 10, 2017

This is the first of my major classes that I am taking. I found the first module very interesting and it was a good, stimulating way to step into this world of education. The internet and the ability to use it well is an overlooked-very relevant ability. It's kind of like oxygen- it's everywhere, everyone uses it and you don't normally put very much meaningful thought into it. At least, that has been my experience. I am happy for the new insight. Prior to Module One and the information provided, I had never really thought of Web Literacy and what we lacked as a society in the online realm. Beyond seeing the web as a potential mean platform for haters and trolls and propagating a lot of misinformation, I only viewed it as a resource for class, not a place to build, create, synthesize, and connect. Now that I have a better understanding of Web Literacy, I see its importance. It’s also very obvious how far we must go and how much work must be done in order to change the current social education of Web Literacy.

For my part, the first step in understanding web literacy was a thorough explanation of the differences between the internet and the web. I have always known that these two things were separate entities, but after visiting the first web page ever HERE -I felt like I could visualize the difference a little better. This website explained that “The WorldWideWeb (W3) is a wide-area hypermedia information retrieval initiative aiming to give universal access to a large universe of documents.”

From there, the article “Knowing the Difference Between Digital Skills and Digital Literacies, and Teaching Both” by Maha Bali laid the foundation of how, as an educator, this information is pertinent to me. The example given for teaching digital skills, “showing students how to download images from the Internet and insert them into PowerPoint slides or webpages” could not have been more clear. While “digital literacy would focus on helping students choose appropriate images, recognize copyright licensing, and cite or get permissions, in addition to reminding students to use alternative text for images to support those with visual disabilities” also perfectly defined the term for me. In addition, I appreciated that in several other sources, the experts expressed that there was not one “literacy”, but many literacies-like Doug Belshaw in this youtube video and Dr. Kim Jaxon in the pre recorded live hangout. Literacies incorporate everything from being kind on line to the use of 21st Century Skills (“collaboration, communication, creativity, and problem-solving”)

Reading, Writing and Participating on the Web, and doing it well is necessary for students to be successful. By showing students how to read on the web, they can be discerning learners that can comprehend, and advantageously explore topics. As our abilities improve in writing on the web, we can further build and create, expanding and improving the topics that we love and our interested in. And finally, as we dig deeper into participating in the web, we can make more connections that will open more doors and help us learn from others. The ability to break down walls between people and places is invaluable in growing and expanding the classroom outside of the brick and mortar environment.

Combining Web Literacy competencies (Reading, Writing and Participating) with the UbD framework should produce a classroom that engages students with technology and helps them arrive at a desired outcome.

In order to offer a more effective and comprehensive education for the future, teachers and educators must dive into the world of Web Literacy in an effort integrate technologies, in creative and novel ways, into the classroom to better prepare students to navigate a world dominated by all forms of media. The classroom should be an environment that is always on the cutting edge of technology, ideas, and information. As teachers we should resist the lull of complacency and habitualism for ourselves, our students and our lessons.

Don't be like Mr Winkle...video

Hypothesis Links-

https://mozilla.github.io/content/web-lit-whitepaper/

http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/publications/UbD_WhitePaper0312.pdf

https://www.fitnyc.edu/files/pdfs/Backward_design.pdf

http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Summary.html