Chapter 5&6

     Chapter 5 discusses information and digital citizenship. The information circulating on the Internet is astronomic in amount and unfetter in content. We don't lack information; we need wisely locate the information, and find ways to digest them and eventually enhance our understanding and problem-solving abilities. These resources, however, are fraught with uncensored, out-of-date, and even false content, making educational and academic outcome less appealing. We used to complain we had no too many choices; now we are inundated with options. In terms of search engines, most of us only use Google -- every time I visit St. John's official website, I google "stjohn."But Google by no means is the only search engine we as educators use. Many alternatives can be more effective educationally. Also, teaching children, adolescents, and adults how to "critical reading" is important, where they will be asked to evaluate the quality of works of literature and documents, and make their own judgements on the basis of  critical thinking and viewing. This certainly needs practice and professional guidances, as the example given in the textbook of searching "What year was the first Thanksgiving celebrated?" We need to find valid and reliable evidence to defend what we found on the Internet, which I think is why library cannot replaced by any means.

     Another important thing I learned from this chapter is the contributing factors and strategies of plagiarism and cheating. From my experience tutoring international students English, I found that most of them, newcomers, didn't know how to cite or whether the source they googled out should be cited, so that their papers can be considered as plagiarism. Also, teachers should make their assignments emphasis more on critical thinking and analysis instead of close-ended questions.

     Chapter 6 talks about information management. I'm a reckless manager: I am too lazy to label the marked page, so I have to edit and categorize them when the list is too long. Technology has made information stored and retrieved anywhere, anytime and easy to share. Pinterst is one of the best known "connector," from which users can exchange information and discovery further.

     Webquest is a great way for teachers to design classes and for students to garner academic information digitally. I hope after this class I can master the skills of how to design a good Webquest that navigates students to investigate and explore given topics. Distant learning is also a useful way-more clicks than bricks - such as MOOC, which is gaining popularity, and rivals to traditional education. I use Google Hangout a lot, teaching and learning English, where I can share my screen, record the activity and set up a commnunity. Google Helpouts is another good example of how internet can help people out simply through live videos.

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P.S. Today I read an article from TIME magazine " The Paperless Classroom Is Coming." Staring from a real case in a six-grade classroom, it discusses the difficulties and obstacles of using technology: parents who don't know too much about computer cannot help their kids when their assignments are all doing online; health concerns from overexpose blue-light from screens; and unsuccessful cases of investing money and effort in digital-learning. Though, the trend of applying technology in classroom is inexorable.  

Tips for using google more effectively