Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom Reflection

My first four years teaching, I based my days teaching my students to become "literate." Now in my fifth year, and after taking this course, I realize that I have been training my students to become more "literate" than I thought. I have always integrated slightly online inquiry-based lesson into my curriculum, but I now understand the importance and the learning involved in each and every step along the way. I never realized how important and easy it really is for students to evaluate websites before getting information from them. I always thought it was something that I would have to do on my own for my students. The researching aspect of an online inquiry project is, perhaps, the most crucial component. Information students find could be information that sticks with them for a lifetime. Because of this, students need to realize if this information is reliable. I don't want them to go through their life believing facts that aren't entirely true.

Realizing this helps me understand the significance of each and every step of the online inquiry process. In the past, I placed so much emphasis on the final product, not realizing the importance of each step along the way. That's exactly how my teaching style will change: Each step is a learning experience with its own set of objectives and ways to assess new learning.

My one professional goal is to conduct a true online inquiry based project in my classroom with the use of Web 2.0 tools. Currently, I can carry out every step of the online inquiry process with my students except for the final step: Communication. Since Web 2.0 tools aren't accessible in my school due to county restrictions, my students can't share their learning through any online medium (wikis, blogs, VoiceThread, etc). I hope my county realizes the importance of allowing students to access such public mediums to truly learn the new literacies that are essential for their future success. As soon as I get the OK from my county, a true online inquiry project in my classroom will be on!