Internet Evaluation and 21st Century Literacy

After reviewing the Critical Evaluation of a Website by Kathy Schrock, I was surprised at how much I did not have any idea what the evaluation was talking about, or where to look to find the information within a website. The evaluation was very overwhelming because of all the technical information and how little I know about the mechanics of a website. This was a huge eye opener to me about what we are asking our students to do at school and what they can be exposed to, because I do not currently have the knowledge to know what makes a good vs. bad website. Asking students to explore the web to find information has always been a concern for me because of how easy it is to find inappropriate information, I now have another worry that students can find inaccurate information that is presented to be believable.

I know that in different ways students are skilled at searching the Internet, because when our district has blocked various websites (gaming, radio stations, videos, facebook) they are able to maneuver through other sites to get to the site that is blocked.  But when teachers assign specific searchers to find information the students type in their search and take the first 2-3 sites that come up and go with the information there to find what they need.  I have also watched my 5th grade daughter search the web for information and stay at one site the entire time to get all the information she needed, without cross checking it to see if the information matched other sites.   

To meet the 21st Century Technology Literacy Skills educators and administrators need to become knowledgeable about the design, organization and reliability of the web.  We need to have more (yes I said more) Professional Development on the use and implementation of technology across the grades, the most beneficial PD is where teachers have computers in front of them completing the tasks as they complete the course.  After seeing my limited knowledge, and knowing what the Common Core Standards are expecting in the areas of research and technology, schools have to rethink what teachers need to successfully met the standards and to stay current with what their students know and are able to do.