Reflections

Throughout this course there many revelations that I had when it comes to new Literacies and online inquiry.  As Warlick (2009) said, there is such an “abundance” of information available that it can sometimes be overwhelming.  Trying to teach students how to navigate through all of that information and then how to properly use it can seem daunting, but with practice it will become second nature. 

I think that the most important thing to try to remember when using someone else’s intellectual property is to give them credit.   The burden falls on the teacher to remember to use proper citation using intellectual property so that a good model is set for the students.  I have found in this generation and their ability to find things on the web that they are used to not giving credit to the owner.  What I mean by that they are used to finding video games, music, shows and movies on the web and using them for free.  If the students see that the teacher gives credit to everything that they use that isn’t of their own making, or maybe for the purpose of driving the idea home, and things of their own giving credit to what they do.  If I were to use pictures that I took on a trip to Spain or Peru, then I show in the bottom corner that it is my picture then they will understand the importance of citing information.  

Something that I think I will always keep a watchful eye on is making sure that my students always give credit to what they are writing.  The best and easiest way for me to know if my students are borrowing information from somewhere is simply how it written.  If the information from them is well thought out and written with very few grammatical errors then I will be led to believe that they are borrowing someone else’s work.  Then I would simply type in their topic in Google and chances are that it will be one of the first items that the search engine finds.  I will then have to make sure they know how to use someone else’s ideas and then summarize that information in their own words.  They would still have to cite whose idea it is, but at least they will begin to learn how to use other people’s thoughts to support their own beliefs.    

One thing that I would like to explore from this class is to refine my searches on the internet.  Like Warlick (2009) said there is such an abundance of information that it is easy to get lost when you are looking for something specific.  Making searches as specific as possible to find what you are looking for is important so that time is not lost going through many different links finding things that are not important to the search.  With practice and patience I can find ways to navigate the World Wide Web to find relevant information for my inquiries.  This class has been helpful and it will help my guide the students that are from a new digital age use the technology available to them.  

Warlick, David. (2009). “Skills for the Future” [DVD]. United States: Laureate Education, Inc.