This site is a class blog space for new Career and Technical Specializations and Heathcare Science teachers enrolled in the New Teacher Institute (NTI) at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Information
Information can be a tricky thing to source. I personally have always been some what of a skeptic, but I would normally call myself a "realist". I take any and all information with "a grain of salt" as some would say, meaning whether I was told something or read something or heard something, I will not take it literally until it has been confirmed through another few sources. I instruct my students similarly. I inform them that things found on the internet, told by a friend, or even heard on the news, are not always entirely true. You should always cross reference any information prior to regurgitating it. It applies in reports, essays, and even social networking. I explain that they would not want several of their friend posting untruthful thing about them on Facebook just because their boyfriend or girlfriend had said it. You should always confirm your information. On the internet, if it is sourced from a university web site, a government website, or organizational website, you are typically safe to assume that the source is reliable. That does not mean not to double check it. If you check at least three site and find the same information all three times, generally you can rest assured your information is factual as long as one of the three fall into one of the earlier spoken of categories.
I wholeheartedly agree with the lessons on common sense you are stressing with your students. Skeptically absorbing and then confirming information through multiple sources is a trait every student should be taught and put to practice. Once they are out of school, this habit should be fully entrenched in them as young adults. This will serve them well as they progress into the challenging world of careers that awaits them. Keep teaching them common sense Trenton! They need it.
ReplyDeleteTrenton, you make a great point about “cross-referencing.” Before the information tsunami swept us off our feet, our longing for confirmation of facts was much more pronounced. After all, we had to hang our hats on our own footwork. Twenty-five years ago, we did not have the digital components supplying the information available today. It was me, myself and I. Today, it’s me, myself and iPad, iPhone; I’ll take your word for it.
ReplyDeleteWe are so quick to want to know something that Google as become a verb. “Go Google it.” Often, we put no credence into whom or what is providing the information. We chuckle at the saying, “If it’s one the internet, then it must be true.” However, we know just how outrageous that attitude is. Cross-referencing cannot be underestimated; it must become a valuable teaching tool in information literacy. Wikipedia can be an interesting source for the curious soul, but that’s as far as it goes. Academic circles do not recognize it has a scholarly source, and rightfully so. Cross-reference your “find” until you can assert it as “fact.” Yes, that is common sense. Scholarly sources are always our best bet. This requires footwork, albeit, “web-feet” now.