Chapter 2: Transforming Learning with Unique, Powerful Technology.

     Focus Question 4: How do students use technology to access and assess information?

     Nobody can deny that current technology, as never before, allows both teachers and students the access to a large amount of diverse and changing information. Using WebQuests, classroom websites, digital dictionaries, web materials, time lines and others, teachers can make students participate creatively in the search and assessment of the required information for their projects, investigations, homework, etc. However, for this to be successful, the students must develop skills to recognize and find, among all the amount of information available, that they really need, as well as to assess its quality, currency, accuracy, and usefulness. Once the information has been selected and evaluated, they must know how to organize and present it in a logical and attractive way. These abilities are known as Information and Internet Literacy. Without them, students would be lost in a sea of ​​information without being able to recognize which one is the best according to their purposes. They also would be exposed to the risk of contamination with misleading information, which sometimes is difficult to remedy. There is nothing more dangerous to the students’ intellectual and spiritual health that feeding their minds and hearts with junk information.

      Tech Tool Link:Fact Check

      In my opinion this website can be a good educational resource, especially for high school teachers and students. The publishers describe it as “a nonpartisan, nonprofit consumer advocate for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.” It contains several articles based on results of statistical studies, information from official sources, speeches, debates among political figures, interviews, and news releases, designed to reveal inaccuracies or outright lies from mayor U.S. political players.

     Well used, this can be a powerful tool to educate students on the proper analysis of information to separate the lies from the truth and the objective from the subjective. They can come to understand how information can be manipulated improperly to influence the audience’s mind and heart to get them to think and act according to specific politicians’ interests.

     I also liked the webpage Factchecked.org as a classroom tool for teachers and students. Through short videos, with adequate use of music and information, they can gain access to over 80 FlackCheck.org digests of assessments of the accuracy of statements by and about presidential candidates. However, something that in my opinion should be taken into account is that because the amount and depth of its information, teachers must be well-prepared to make a correct selection of the topics and get the most out during activities with students.

     This is a video from this website. It is a proof of the veracity of this statement: "A text out of its context is just a pretext,"

     Summary and personal connection: This chapter makes a summary of the different theories about the learning process and its relation to teaching methods. It also provides an objective analysis about the advantages and benefits of applying technology to the educational process to achieve a “unique, powerful and transforming” teaching and learning experience.

       In a personal sense, this chapter has impacted me because it has helped me realize how much I need to learn about the use of technology in teaching combined with the constructivist approach to learning, and how urgent it is for me to do so. As an educator I have no right to deprive the students of the benefits of these educational tools or to limit their creativity and development possibilities. At the same time, it is my responsibility to teach them to be selective and objective information processors. In one phrase: Go ahead and overcomes your fears to become an e-teacher!