Critical Thinking Skills Needed Even With the Internet

In an article titled "Educators Warn Students: Be Wary of Web," Tom Groening highlights a real problem pervading education at all levels, from elementary to college level. Groening says that students may be savvy on the computer in today's cyber world, but they are not astute and aware of the innacuracies on the internet when researching information.

Websites like wikipedia.com allow students to access a myriad of links on various types of information. However, many students do not know how to discriminate between credible information and discredible information.

Librarians, today also known as Media Specialists, work with students and teachers to show ways in which to decide what web sites to use. Librarians want their students to come away with credible, valuable information. Their worst nightmare is "to send people away without the information they want."

Students use web sites like google to look up information on any type of topic, but when they receive the list of hits, they are bombarded with web sites that are used only as propaganda as well as credible sites.

How do they distinguish good from bad?

Some schools, such as one in Maine, presents a "primer on using the Web to every student," similar to the Dick and Jane reader students received years ago. Teachers and staff are trying to keep up-to-date with the growing technology trends, but they must also be wary of the harmful effects of biased and incorrect information.

The upside to this all?

Students at the college level are more aware of plagiarism.

Technology is rapidly changing in this cyber-based world we live in now, and we must pay crucial attention to the positive and negative attributes. As future educators, we cannot ignore technology. We must learn how to be effective with the new material, because if we are more efficient at technology than our students (or at least at their level), then we can help them to ameliorate detrimental parts of it.

Source: http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=145465&zoneid=500 (from NCTE inbox)