Web Literacy and Online Collaborative Environments Justin Reich EdTechTeacher.org Co-Director Harvard Graduate School of Education Doctoral Researcher
Web Literacy and Online Collaborative
Environments
Justin ReichEdTechTeacher.org
Co-Director
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Doctoral Researcher
Goals of this afternoon• Share a rationale for teaching with Web
2.0 tools
• Provide a framework for designing Web 2.0 projects
• Practice some of the basic skills of Web Literacy and Search Strategy
• Develop familiarity with Web 2.0 environments by building a wiki
Skills for 21Skills for 21stst Century Work and Century Work and LifeLife
Richard J. MurnaneRichard J. Murnane
Harvard Graduate School of Harvard Graduate School of EducationEducation
Men's real hourly wage by education, 1979-2006 (2006 Men's real hourly wage by education, 1979-2006 (2006 $)$)
All Males
Less than High School
High School Graduate
4-year College Degree
Advanced Degree
$5.00
$10.00
$15.00
$20.00
$25.00
$30.00
$35.00
$40.00
1979
1982
1985
1988
1991
1994
1997
2000
2003
2006
Year
Ho
url
y W
age
(200
6 $)
The data on w hich this graph is based w as provided by Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute. The data come from the Current Population Survey. The sample includes all w age and salary w orkers, age 18-64.
Computerizing the Routine Tasks: Self-Service Computerizing the Routine Tasks: Self-Service Check-InCheck-In
Types of Tasks Computers Do Not Types of Tasks Computers Do Not WellWell
Tasks that cannot be described well as a Tasks that cannot be described well as a series of if-then-do steps because:series of if-then-do steps because:
• ““We know more than we can tell.” We know more than we can tell.” (Polyani).(Polyani).
• Not all contingencies can be predicted Not all contingencies can be predicted ahead of time.ahead of time.
• We learn to define the task and We learn to define the task and accomplish it through social accomplish it through social interactions.interactions.
Economy-Wide Measures of Routine and Non-Economy-Wide Measures of Routine and Non-Routine Task Input: 1969-1998 (1969=0)Routine Task Input: 1969-1998 (1969=0)
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
1969 1980 1990 1998
Perc
entile
Change in 1
969 D
istr
ibution
Complex Communication
Expert Thinking
Routine Manual
Routine Cognitive
What was the date of battle of the What was the date of battle of the Spanish Armada?Spanish Armada?
Student 1: 1588.Q. How do you know this?
It was one of the dates I memorized for the exam.
Q. Why is the event important? I don’t know.
Student 2: It must have been around 1590. Q. How do you know this?
I know the English began to settle in Virginia just after 1600, although I’m not sure of the exact date. They wouldn't have dared start overseas explorations if Spain still had control of the seas. It would have taken a little while to get expeditions organized, so England must have gained naval supremacy somewhere in the late 1500's.
Q. Why is the event important?It marks a turning point in the relative importance of England and Spain as European powers and colonizers of the New World.
This example is taken from Bransford, Brown and Cocking (eds.)
Implications for EducationImplications for Education
Expert Thinking and Complex Expert Thinking and Complex Communication are not new subjects to Communication are not new subjects to add to the curriculum. They should be add to the curriculum. They should be at the center of instruction in every one at the center of instruction in every one of the existing subjects.of the existing subjects.
What are 21st Century Skills?
• Levy and Murnane: Expert Thinking and Complex Communication
• Skills where humans have a comparative advantage over computers in a labor market
• [[What they are not: skills invented in the 21st century]]
• Levy F. and Murnane R., The New Division of Labor, Princeton UP
11
Why Teach with Technology?
1. Whoever is doing most of the talking, or most of the typing, is doing most of the learning (and the more people listening the better)
2. The more ways we arrange ideas in our head, the more likely they are to stay there
3. Learners need to be both independent and effective collaborators- technology can scaffold both
4. All of the sources that helped us fall in love with the discipline are accessible online
Web 2.0 Project Examples• http://www.flatclassroomproject.org/
• http://www.studentnewsaction.net/• http://greatdebate2008.wikispaces.com/• http://civilwarsallie.blogspot.com/• https://wiki-land.wikispaces.com/Annotated+biliography+-darfur• http://fpms7up.wikispaces.com/Tom+Sawyer+Alphabet+Book• http://www.thwt.org/historypodcasts.html• http://greetingsfromtheworld.wikispaces.com/• http://soar2newheights.wikispaces.com/• http://hums3001.unsw.wikispaces.net/
Student News Action Network
Collect-Relate-Create-Donate
Students Should…• Collect the information needed for the
performance of understanding
• Relate to one-another in collaborative learning groups
• Create meaningful, authentic performances of understanding
• Donate their work to a broader audience
From Ben Schneiderman’s Leonardo’s Laptop
Collecting information:Open Research vs. Guided
Inquiry• Students are free to
search broadly across Web and library resources
• Students are responsible for assessing credibility, bias, and effectiveness
• PRO: Students develop needed media literacy skills
• CON: Much more time-consuming, higher risk of failure
• Students focus on interpreting selected documents and resources
• Students are responsible for assessing bias and effectiveness
• PRO: Focus on interpretation over search; less time-consuming; lower failure risk
• CON: Well, it’s not research
Textbook and Lecture Selected
Resource “Packets”
Library Pathfinders
Online Search Directories
Teacher-Created Custom Search Engines
Original Scholarly Research
Scaffolded Research Projects
Open Inquiry
Guided Inquiry
Search Engines vs. Search Directories
• Index the entire Web• Rank sources based
on popularity (incoming links = votes; popular sites have more votes)
• Provide no editorial filter
• Google.com
• Index selected sites• Rank or organize
sources based on editorial opinion
• Provide an editorial filter on content
• Besthistorysites.net
Best of History Web Sites
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
Advanced Google Searching
Video Tutorial Part I
Video Tutorial Part II
Key Words and Searching
Creative Commons Search
• http://search.creativecommons.org/
Google Custom Search
Video Tutorial
Assessing Credibilitya. http://zapatopi.net/ treeoctopus/b. http://newdeal.feri.org/c. http://www.dhmo.org/d. http://www.bigredhair.com/boilerplate
Why Wikis?• Wikis are flexible environments that can serve
multiple purposes. They are “blank slates”
• Wikis provide an easy mechanism for students and teachers to collaborate and communicate
• Wikis can be used to communicate with text, hyperlinks, images, audio files, embedded video, polls, and more…
Teaching Web 2.0 tools through “Challenges”
• Divide you into groups of ~3• Present you with a list of challenges of increasing
difficulty• Let you explore and practice at your own pace• Require you to turn to your groupmates for primary
support• Ask me anytime you get stuck• If enough folks are stuck in the same place, we’ll have a
mini-lesson
Wiki Challenges• http://FHAO-DMIN-2010.wikispaces.com/
The Creative Agency Classroom
• Students as Knowledge Workers– Working independently or in teams– Creating a meaningful, authentic project for
an actual audience
• Teachers as Project Managers– Creating Goals and Schedules– Providing Just-In-Time Instruction– Managing Executive Function