EXPLORE and EXPLAIN: Teaching with Technology in the Subject Area
Review of issues in the field:
Hot Topic Debate: Should Wikipedia be Forbidden in Students' Social Studies Research? (p. 342):
Well, I've already discussed Wikipedia on this blog. So anyone who has been paying attention will know by now that I'm a big fan of Wikipedia. I think people who criticize the site have really reductive arguments. Wikipedia is a tool, and like all tools and resources it can be misused and abused. But it can also be a great educational resource.
The real problem is a lack of student preparation so that they are capable of critically engaging with and using Wikipedia. Wikipedia can be inaccurate, but so can any encyclopedia (or really any book for that matter). They're made by humans, and humans are flawed and biased.
Instead of being immediately fearful of Wikipedia and its potential inaccuracy, we should teach students digital literacy so that they may be best equipped to judge for themselves. Chapter 12 mentions the concern about information overload in this new digital age (Roblyer, 339). Unlike any previous time in history, we are flooded with information from a variety different sources. This only makes it more difficult to know when information is valid and trustworthy. It also makes it problematic for students who have known no other daily reality in their lives.
Students are going to be raised on this new technology (and probably much more savvy and gifted about it, if we're being honest with ourselves). We should teach them how to critically use the Internet. Teach them how to do effective research. Teach them how to determine the trustworthiness of a source. Teach them how to figure out where to find information when a source doesn't hold all the answers. That last point I think may be the most important when it comes to Wikipedia. The problem with Wikipedia isn't that it's unreliable, but rather that it's limited. There's only so much that the site is capable of. It's a great starting point, but it can't be your only source.
Collaborate, Discuss, Reflect (p. 350):
1. Oh, wow, I really like this comparison between Martin Luther's publishing of the Bible in vernacular languages and the rise of the Internet. The printing press, created by Johannes Gutenberg, opened up the availability of what could be written as a book allowing for more opportunities for and different kinds of information to reach a wider audience than ever before. That sounds an awful lot like what the Internet has done. It's created a chance for all the information established by humanity to be accessed right at our fingertips, and it's done it in such a way that more people than ever can utilize this information.
2. There are a lot of things that students should be doing when researching online. But a few guidelines run true for almost any topic or subject. For starters, find out who the author is and why he wrote what he wrote. Why are they qualified to discuss this subject? Is he biased? Does he have a certain political leaning? Next, check to see if the website is known to have biases. Is it known for having certain political leanings? Could that explain the way they frame the information? When it comes to social studies (especially the discussion of United States history), politics are frequently the explanation for misinformation. People ignore the facts in the name of their political beliefs.
References:
Roblyer, M.D. (2016). Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching (ed. 7). Boston: Pearson.
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