A Goal for September 2010

From the ISTE standards one goal I have chosen to focus on this next semester is to advocate, model, and teach safe, legal and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources. For my teaching practice I believe this is an important part of the curriculum and an important skill for the students to learn. With the Internet everything is available at our finger tips, ‘just Google it’ is a common phrase in the classroom. Last year, with my grade 6 class, I tried to do a research project just using the books in the library. I had to relent when I realized that the library did not have the resources available. So the students need to learn to use the Internet appropriately - not just copy and paste and then change one or two words. Even though I teach this and proper note taking, with the use of the computer it is just to tempting to students to take short cuts - so I feel I need to be more proactive.