Information Literacy

Since we are using technology in the classroom more and more, and using the Internet as a source of information, it is critical that we teach our students how to evaluate websites and be critical of the information they find on the web. I have found MAPing to be very useful for myself, and will be useful for my future students. By evaluating the Meta-web, Author, and Purpose we can determine how appropriate or valuable the information we are viewing is. To introduce this to my middle years class I would discuss M, A, and P with them. Together we could go through a few websites and I could have them guide me in finding information to help us determine how high of quality the sites are. At the beginning of a computer lab class I could have them work in pairs or small groups to evaluate websites I give them. This allows them to apply their skills, collaborate, and learn from each other. However, I know that such information can be easily forgotten when you are wanting to do some quick research. I myself am bad for getting excited that I find what I want, but don't evaluate the material. Therefore, MAPing is an activity I would have the students do once a week, or maybe every other week. Another option would be to have an information literacy page on a class wiki. Once a week, the students would be expected to go the page, go to one of the links provided, evaluate the page, and write in a journal what they found. The journal could be used in the evaluation for a computer or ELA class.
I also believe that as a teacher, I need to pay close attention to websites in my students bibliographies when they submit essays or other writing. I can use websites submitted in bibliographies as examples in the MAPing section of the class wiki. This way, students are evaluating sites that they have actually looked at and used. They will see more value in the skill.