How has the internet changed our concept of information?
Our concept of information has changed due to the internet in that there is so much more information so readily available using this tool that ever before. It is a wonderful tool that opens up the world for users, however with that opportunity and access to information comes the risk of getting poor or completly untrue information. I think that we are learning to do our homework when we look for information online, to really scrutinize the sources of the information before we take it as being true or useful knowledge. It is also so much easier to share information using the internet. We have learned to communicate using this tool with a much larger audience than we have had access to in the past. With this larger audience I think our awareness of what is ethical and moral, as well as what our responsibility as a user of this tool is to our audience, is growing.
What computer and internet skills do you think children should learn so that they will be prepared for life in the Information Age?
First off I feel that aside from basic working knowledge of a computer and how to access the internet, children need to learn to be moral and ethical users of technology. They must learn that once you put something out there - it is out there for the world to see as well as learning that not all information on the internet is correct or appropriate or even safe. As adults it is our responsibility to evaluate what is appropriate for our children.
Children need to be taught appropriate use of resources like search engines and other online research tools so that they will be aware of how to look for good information. They need to learn (as we are in this class) how to evaluate what they are seeing and how to spot the good from the bad. Other tools they need to know about and learn proper use of are email, proper and appropriate use of chat rooms or discussion/bulletin boards, streaming music and video, and the use of devices that work with your computer such as cameras and other equipment. Proper and safe use of personal web space such as webpages and blogs is also so important, because again, once they put something out there - it is out there for the whole world to see.
Aside from the actual equipment, children need to learn about software, file types, different programs and other computer-related information and terminology to help them navigate this new world easier. They will need to learn about tools to help them organize such as Outlook and tools that could help them learn online such as video-conferencing or Blackboards such as the one we use for this course.
Overall, children learning in the Information Age have much they need to know in order to utilize such a wonderful tool with ease, while being safe and using good judgement.
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3 comments:
You had a lot to say about morals and ethics in this blog. This is an important area that I had no idea how to even begin to address in my blog. I suppose this is because of the nature of the Internet. There are so many examples of people without morals or ethics to be found there. It goes back to the awareness you mentioned. We need to not only teach children about ethics and morals, we have to help them to be comfortable sticking to them, no matter what other examples they find.
Moral and ethics are definitely important! I think that every student needs to learn the proper use of computer and internet use. Perhaps we won't have so many students that are "hurt" because of things that are posted if they learn about the consequences early!
I as well agree with your section on moral and ethics. Often we overlook the importance of this section and the consequences are serious. There are so many traps and dangers to students out their that weigh heavily on teachers shoulders. Very Nice Post.
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