Evaluating information
Young people growing up in the age of digital information need to be able to distinguish useful information from that which is not. Unfortunately, little is being done to help them.
When it comes to evaluating digital information many schools simply fail to provide instruction. To further complicate matters, when students are being trained, school policies and effective instruction are on a collision course concerning what students should be permitted to evaluate.
Every school administrator wants to maintain a safe distance between objectionable material and impressionable students. Blocking students from potential contact with sexual predators and other malinformation is absolutely well-intended. However, blocking sites does not help students think critically about the quality of the information they retrieve or prepare them for the real world of information they encounter outside of school.
When it comes to evaluating digital information many schools simply fail to provide instruction. To further complicate matters, when students are being trained, school policies and effective instruction are on a collision course concerning what students should be permitted to evaluate.
Every school administrator wants to maintain a safe distance between objectionable material and impressionable students. Blocking students from potential contact with sexual predators and other malinformation is absolutely well-intended. However, blocking sites does not help students think critically about the quality of the information they retrieve or prepare them for the real world of information they encounter outside of school.