Reflection on "Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom"

This week was the end of the course "Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom". As I think back on the course, it was different from some of the other technology courses I have taken at Walden University in that it did not teach and expose you to new technology, but rather required you to use the technology that you have experienced and have at your disposal in your own classroom to create a unit plan.

As the course progressed we concentrated on different aspects of the new literacy skills that students must know and be taught through inquiry-based lessons. One of the biggest realizations I came to is how much of a facilitator the teacher has become. With the use of technology, students are using different skills to find the information themselves rather than be given the information straight from the teacher. Also, since the students are researching information, the topics can be broad and different groups of students will go in different directions. There are many challenges with this as a teacher including planning and assessement. Teachers have to spend more time planning and making sure they have covered all the bases and anticipate many of the questions the students will have and the different directions they will go with it. From an assessment standpoint, the assessment has to be more broad and there is not longer one correct answer. Lastly, since there is no one right or wrong answer, teachers now face the challenge of ensuring that all students are getting the same information and meeting the targeted standards.

Going forward, I want to try to work with my Professional Learning Community at my school to plan more inquiry-based projects utilizing technology. Since Math is a more straight-foward subject than many other subject areas, this is a challenge, but working with my colleagues will help the brainstorming process and we can work together to plan it and agree on assessments. My goal will be to have a project planned and in place before the winter break in December. From this course, my teaching style has changed and I am trying to create leassons that are more inquiry-based even if they do not use technology. I also want to utilize more technolgy, even though there is limited working technology in my building, and reinforce the new literacy skills that the students have already started developing.