Questions are the key…
The world of copy/paste certainly isn’t unique to the use of technology. Our local History Day competition was yesterday. I just passed through the Multimedia Room where all the good old-fashioned tri-board project were set up and being evaluated. I took a few moments to look around at them. Some were very impressive, but most were really just a restatement of factual information.
The theme this year was communication. Many of the projects, such as cell phones, the Internet, and Anne Frank lacked any depth. This is a great example of the crucial role teachers play in the educational process. We guide them with critical questions about the things that they study. When we do that enough, and model it effectively, they become more and more capable of asking their own questions. These projects showed that there is definately room for improvement. Granted, most of these projects were done without a great deal of teacher supervision and support, but most of these kids are woefully lacking in the ability to actually do something with the information they acquire.
There is a great website from Jamie McKenzie called questioning.org. He also has a few books out - one being Beyond Technology: Questioning, Research and the Information Literate School. I’ve pulled it off the shelf and am going to make some time next week to look through it and his web site again.
Next entry: Student Weblogs
Previous entry: Teaching with Technology