Sneaking up on Assessment One

Now that you are working  busily on preparing your ideas for Assessment 1 (with Assessment 2 tucked at the back of your mind) I just wanted to share a recent read with you. A catchy title makes it a great addition to your advocacy material at school

Not Your Grandmother's Library!. (2011). Learning & Leading with Technology, 38(6), 16-19. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Download from the CSU database with this link.

As you have moved from the breadth of the web, to Topic 2 which begins to focus more on curriculum and the global context for learning, be prepared to 'graze' over the big picture, and let it inform your developing thoughts in relation to digital citizenship in your school.  It will help you 'position' your proposal for your first Assessment.

As you work through your policy issues at the macro level, consider carefully how the same issues can (and do) apply in your own organisation.   Too often  management of information and resources  within schools can lead to compartmentalization. This is where you, as a person involved with digital citizenship, can begin to draw together strands of interaction within a school, placing all information literacy activities (whether digital or not) firmly into the realm of ethical, collaborative, information practices, which can then contribute to digital citizenship knowledge and understanding.

What am I talking about?   Perhaps you've guessed.

If not, let me share a little of my own experiences with you - to show you how to empower your own navigation of the digitally-enhanced information activities.

If you have been over to my blog you will have seen the reference to LiveBinders. This tool is a great way of putting together an information repository as part of a learning program for teachers or students. The topic of 'information search' is diagonally related to digital citizenship - in as much as knowing how to find and use information, and share it is important for critical reflection and learning.

Here's the link to Knowledge 2.0.

I would also like to share another information tool that is critical to my navigation and preparation of information - across all the platforms and mobile devices that I use. Teaching students how to use these tools is also part of their 'digital citizen' journey. Unless we empower our students with information strategies, we are missing a key part of the cycle that represents learning as a digital citizen.

Look at this vaguely strange marketing video about Evernote - nevertheless, one of my most incredibly useful tools  - then check out what Buffy Hamilton is doing with Evernote with students in her library.



The Verdict is IN:  Students love Evernote. http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com/2010/03/29/the-verdict-is-in-media-21-students-love-evernote/

Students give Evernote and Diigo the Thumbs UP! http://theunquietlibrary.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/students-give-evernote-and-diigo-the-thumbs-up/

There are many different tools you can use online to promote good critical learning experiences, through which you embed the key elements of digital citizenship.  It's not just about talking to students about 'how to use Facebook properly'.  It's about providing quality options for learning that incorporate information fluency and transliteracy approaches in all that you do with technology.

I'm looking forward to seeing your Assessment One proposals!

Image: One is the loneliest number