I teach literacy and children's literature courses at Emporia State University to undergraduate and graduate students. During the 2016-2017 school year I will be on a leave from the university and working as an elementary school librarian. Integrating technology into my teaching is a passion, and there are always so many new things about technology to learn. A blog seems like a good place to share my experiences and learn from others. Please join in the discussion.
It’s important for our kids to learn effective ways to find information on the Internet – to analyze search results, to check credibility of websites, to make decisions about what to read and what to skip. Preparing kids to do what we do as adults, many times every day, takes instruction and practice. But there … More The Case for NOT Letting Younger Children Search Online (Sometimes)
During this time of remote school, a common activity is to ask students to search for information on the Internet, then share what they learned during an online discussion or by creating a project. The Internet provides a vast collection of resources, which is super helpful during a time when print books may not be … More Looking Closely: Beyond the Grab & Go Method of Website Reading
Providing children with safe access to online information can be a challenge. It’s really about narrowing the scope of information returned in search results. School district filters work to keep kids from being exposed to harmful information during their searches at school. But many students are working from home now, doing research activities as part … More How Do We Keep Kids Safe When Searching Online at Home?
Are you like me, feeling overwhelmed with the vast number of free web resources being shared with teachers and families during this stay-at-home time? It may be worth it to take a bit of time now to organize these resources for easy retrieval when needed. As K-6 students are doing more of their learning activities … More So Many Online Resources, So Little Time!
Teachers are in the midst of a seismic shift, transforming instruction to online teaching and learning. Inquiry activities give students opportunities to search for information and to use what is learned to answer questions, write a report, or create a project. Projects that focus on web reading for learning about real-world issues and answering students’ … More Four Ideas to Begin Teaching Web Literacy Skills
