TechKnow Park

Hanging out in the Media Center or Computer Lab
This week you are "takin’ it to the stacks" with one of several lessons conducted by your Media Coordinator and/or Technology Facilitator. You will learn about Boolean logic (Boo-what?), search engines, and many other information sources located right under your nose.

There’s a treasure chest of information all around you waiting to be used for hobbies, special projects, reports or research papers. But wait! Sometimes all that information is too much, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you like to save time and learn a few shortcuts before your teacher assigns some big, fat, hairy report? Bookmark this page and BE A SURVIVOR of the next humongous content area project.

A Note to Teachers

Practicing information seeking skills (TechKnow Park Weeks 8-12), though critical to successfully using Internet resources, is only the tip of the iceberg. What we have our students DO with the information they've gathered is the true indicator of the value of the research assignment (Weeks 13-36).So, the point is this--doing research for the sake of "doing research" is simply a waste of instructional time. The next time you take students on an Internet information-gathering activity ask, "Can this be carried out just as well offline?" If the answer is yes, then there is no good reason to be online. "We find ourselves confronting a much more important educational issue: what students do with the information once they locate, evaluate, and comprehend it. This is the step at which mechanical assistance cannot replace human interaction." Harris, Judi. (November 1998). Educational Teleresearch: A Means, Not an End. Learning and Leading with Technology. Vol. 26, #3, 42-46.

In TechKnow Park Weeks 13-36, your students will be doing something with their newly gained information seeking skills. The framework is in place for you. The success of the activities will depend on the quality and amount of teacher facilitation available to the students throughout this process.