I posted this last night and decided to see if I had any responses, and as I looked at my blog, I noticed that my post wasn't there to respond to.....so here it is again!!!

In “Using Technology to Enhance Student Inquiry”, Debbie Abilock focuses on three areas of focus that educators need to focus on in order to assist their students be successful. The three areas of focus are collaboration, information literacy, and information synthesis.

In the first area of focus, collaboration, Abilock argues that not only do content area teachers need to collaborate, but they should also collaborate with librarians, administrators, and technology teachers. Abilock states, “Collaboration between librarians and content area teachers produces a rich environment for student investigations” (Abilock, 2001, p.14).

When Abilock discusses information literacy, she is arguing that students need to learn how to learn in a day and age where communication is changing rapidly. She believes that once they receive the technological tools and skills, they will become life long learners (Abilock, 2001). For this to occur, it is the educators, who need to expose the students to forms of technology that are appropriate for enriching the curriculum. Abilock states, “The challenge for students is to understand complex issues, develop an informed and defensible position, locate data supporting their point of view, recognize information that is relevant, and evaluate the authority of sources” (Abilock, 2001, p. 4).

The third focus of Abilock’s article, and a blanket theme that is or at least should be stressed to all educators and by all educators is that technology now has an important role in research and in education(and goes back to the last quote used in this response). Today’s students need to learn how to use the information that is so easily provided with technology in an appropriate and responsible manner. Proper research techniques and synthesis of the acquired information are skills that need to be taught and practiced in all subject areas and classrooms.

It is my opinion (although I am not sure how much of this I should add here) that Debbie Abilock is not saying anything new in this article that educators and want-to-be educators do not already know. Anyone who has sat through one education class quickly figures out that higher level thinking is essential for true learning. Debbie Abilock has focused higher level thinking on her area of expertise: technology. I am in not knocking the article, because I believe technology can be a great tool for the classroom. I think the problem lies in getting today’s teachers who are overwhelmed from all angles and every side to practice what is being suggested.

Abilock, D. (2001). Using technology to enhance student inquiry. In LeBaron,J.F. & Collier C. (eds.). Technology in its place: Successful technology infusion in schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Welcome

Hello everyone!

Welcome to my blog for ITEC 545!!! I've posted on blogs before, but never have I had my own....I'm so excited!!!