Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom Reflection

I knew the importance of teaching my computer students new literacy skills but I struggled with myself determining the best method of how to teach and communicate these skills. The most important facet that I am taking from Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom course is the Quest method. "The Quest method engages and supports students as they tackle the complexities of reading on the Web" (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007). The Quest method is the best usable teaching tool to assist in teaching my computer students how to question, understand, evaluate, synthesize, and transform Internet information.

The information obtained from this course will change my teaching practice when teaching new literacy skills. I will utilize the Quest techniques featuring evaluating websites, synthesizing information, and transforming information into a digital project in advancing the educational level for my students. With these new approaches, I can begin to teach my students Quest techniques at a younger age resulting in the students achieving an exceptional understanding of new literacy skills by the time they progress on to the middle school.

A personal professional development that I would like to pursue is the implementation of the Quest method into my classroom so that my computer students become more adapt in conducting research. A goal that I would like to share with my colleagues is the CHoMP technique which is "an effective metaphor for the concept that notemaking involves selectively biting off small pieces of information" (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007). Our school district has been focusing on improving students note taking and summarizing skills and the CHoMP method would be a simple approach to teach our students to achieve this goal.

These 21st century skills are crucial in our children's education because technology holds a dominant presence in our society. The daily usage of computers and electronic communication devices are essential tools necessary for our students to succeed in the 21st century economic environment. If our students leave school without these skills, "they will absolutely not be prepared for what awaits them after school in life and the workplace" (Jukes & Macdonald, 2007)

Eagleton, M.B. & Dober, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet Inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.

Jukes, I. & Macdonald, B. (2007). 21st century fluency skills: Attributes of a 21st century learner. Retrieved from www.committedsardine.com/handouts/twca.pdf