Week+4+Reflections+(Nov.+16)

This video this week was especially good and sparked additional thought about what designing a teaching and learning environment that embraces the 21st Century skills actually means. It narrows it down to three distinct steps: 1. design a creative learning environment; 2. incorporate collaboration, competition and cooperation; and 3. introduce students to their global peers and provide opportunity for collaboration. These seem rather simple but encompass an entirely different thought process than what most educators consider important to the teaching and learning process.

These same approaches can also be used when provding professional development opportunities for staff. The link to the 21st Century Skills and Media Literacy [] provided great information for teachers and has links to some great additional resources. Media literacy skills not only apply to teaching and learning but to every day living in general. The link to the Information and Communication Technologies [] has some great resources for use in professional development. I especially liked all the practical resources and documents that could be used.

I think the most important site is the Information Literacy site at [] //Access and Evaluate Information// //Use and Manage Information//
 * Access information efficiently (time) and effectively (sources)
 * Evaluate information critically and competently
 * Use information accurately and creatively for the issue or problem at hand
 * Manage the flow of information from a wide variety of sources
 * Apply a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of information

It has been my experience that students think they really know how to search for information, but they don't always do it efficiently or effectively. Since many teachers assign research projects without providing the proper instruction concerning information literacy. It's not that they don't believe that it's important but they lack the skills themselves or they believe their primary responsibility is their content area. As technology coordinator, I've always tried to get teachers to understand the importance of properly taking students through the research process.

The evaluation of information is another area that educators need to incorporate into their classrooms. Students must be taught to effectively evaluate the information they find as to it's credibility. Although our library media specialists work hard to address the issues of information literacy, it has to become a part of the teaching and learning process used throughout every classroom. All educators must embrace the responsibility for teaching media and information literacy skills to their students.