In order to make sense of stuff I've got to process it by writing it in my own format, then read it, and then write about it.... Yeah, very old school I know. So if you'll bear with me here goes:

"INFORMATION LITERACY:
The ability to assess the need for information
& Be able to –

· Locate
· Retrieve
· Evaluate
· Analyze
· Apply

Within the community (work, home, the coffe shop, etc)."

I like the phrase "assess the NEED". But, what info is needed for the problem we're trying to solve is a very high level order of thinking. How do we teach this "assessment" process?

" MILI Foci (da 3 R's +):
1. Research Process -
2. Reliable Resources - copyright, Creative Commons, and technology use
3. Responsible Use - plagiarism proof assignments
4. The TOOLS that make 1-3 happen"

MILI Intents??:
1. Research Project - (Are we involved in completion of a "research project"? And if so, have we a rubric by which it will be evaluated?) What are the "5 Steps"?
2. Learn Web 2.0 tools that work for:
- collaboration
- communication
- creativity
within classrooms and school bldgs
3. Shareback of experiences and learning

Other quotes/phrases that caught my attention while reviewing stuff at "Thing 1"

Research - the ability to solve problems and answer questions using information and technology.

Also of importance in doing research.... an understanding of the ethical /legal issues surrounding the access and use of information

All of the above making our classroom experience "AUTHENTIC!!!!" (which is inherently valuable to our students)


Truth Article:

Collateral Misinformation - had not heard of the phrase but I like it. What serves as truth and knowledge in this "user-generated world of information saturation"?

The "Cult of the Amateur" and "wikiality" resulting in the "death of information literacy" forces the question "Has information replaced KNOWLEDGE?"

Knowledge is about context. Knowing what to do with accumulated knowledge.
Versus >>> using information merely to reinforce our own belief system
truth = accuracy?

The process >>> the lessons that come through understanding a process should NEVER become a thing of the past.

Lifelong learners must therefore learn to appreciate the intricacies and difficulties in the search for the "truth". Knowing that "truth" is elusive and that the "fight for it can be rewarding"

(99% of the above comes from the resources found at the Thing 1 site. I claim no originality in the above other than the rearrangement of information that merely helps me process said information.)

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS of my own that have filtered down from processing of the above:

How do we teach a faithful process of the search for the "truth" when information found in this search conflicts with a previously held belief system? How do we inculcate our students with the courage to confront a belief system that conflicts with information wrought from the processes described and modeled in the above and our own learning with MILI this year?

In order to run an "authentic" classroom as described, my students need relatively immediate access to the technology. I say this because motivation and inspiration is fleeting at best. When a student is inspired to dig deeply into a topic and truly search for their answers the barrier of a pass to the media center, scheduling time for the computer lab, etc. (you can fill in many more from our daily practice) suffocates the inspiration and motivation.

Having several thin clients connected to a server allowing many students at a time, within the walls of a regular classroom, access to these resources seems a paradigm we as educators should be pushing for. This would allow for real-time student to student, student to teacher, student to resource interactions which would promote a positive and accurate version of the wisdom of the collective. It would allow for real-time challenging of information sources for accuracy, bias, etc. and I think help with the cultue of wikiality.

Shifting Gears:
Looking at the Web 2.0 directory was overwhelming. If I had a couple of years to evaluate their potential use I wouldn't be able to cover all that is in that directory. Are there educator websites that are doing this? Or, are we the people doing this?

Gotta go....it is late....working on another 10 hour day.

RHS - OLC 9-15/2008

Just read several messages from a fellow RHS science teacher, David Groos regarding his efforts to set up his renewed computers (acting as thin clients), flat screen monitors and his server network. He is the one who I inherited the 12-15 G3s and the tables custom built by David, that they sit in. He and 2 other science teachers wrote up a grant last year to get the new/used hardware into the classrooms allowing them to set up their Growing Communities of Scientists (GCOS). Best I can tell he has yet to get the computers up and running - this has involved running electrical lines to computer from wall outlets and network lines from from computers to server as well as custom building a newer and refined version of computer tables.

I am quite a bit behind David et al as I still need to run electrical cables and network wires. This like David's effort involves running electircal cables up from the computer tables, hanging same below ceiling, to wall, running down wall to socket. Additional, these cables must be run into surge protectors for fire code and equipment protection.

After that network lines need to be run from each computer to the classroom server. The classroom server then needs to be connected to the building server. And they all need to cooperatively talk nicely to each other. This will not be a painless process as I know of the issues other teachers in the DigMe program here at Roosevelt have had connecting up their new Mac computers directly to the building server.

I will connect our MILI community up to David's cMap that illustrates what he is trying to do with a variety of applications to get students to talk content online with each other and the teacher. It is really cool and I hope to model some of it in my own classroom, that is when I get allllll the infrastructure connected up and the connectivity issues unbugged.