The UCET conference began today. UEN sponsors a booth each year at this event. Educators from all over the state attend. I spent time working the booth Friday afternoon. Many educators stopped by to see what was going on. The most eye-catching part of the display was two iMacs that were on loan from Apple. We also had a connection to the Internet and were displaying, most of the time, the UEN web site.

One visit left a lasting impression. Dave, an Eighth Grade History teacher from Nebo District stopped by and started a conversation with Rich Finlinson. I stood nearby and listened. It was clear that Dave was familiar with our web site. Rich asked for some input about how UEN can make our resources better. Dave had two suggestions.

1. Simplify Navigation through the site.

Dave indicated that he had been on the site and had, at one time, found the video streaming resources. He wasn't sure where he had found them. So he spent a few minutes searching for them. He was, with a bit of effort, able to find the page he was looking for. Dave pointed out that the resources are good. He asked why we don't make them more obvious.

2. Get the word out about the need to teach proper research techniques.

Dave took me to a page in the core curriculum section. It was deep in the Language Arts area. Two bullet points that justified the need to have online resources and stressed the importance of teaching these skills. Dave's major point was that Language Arts teachers spend most of their time teaching literature. Nothing wrong with that. But there is not emphasis on teaching online research techniques and skills.

He also pointed out that most students don't understand the difference between legitimate sources and undocumented opinion. The latter being plentiful on the Internet. And that teachers are not taking time to make this distinction. This lack of understanding greatly reduces the usefulness of the Internet, in Dave's opinion.

What started out as a lighthearted discussion turned into a teaching moment. I was the student. Dave schooled me on the UEN web site and on the importance of proper Web training. It was a good discussion. I came away from it wondering. Why isn't there an emphasis on teaching web research skills? Who is responsible to make this a priority? What will happen if teaching in this area is neglected? Hmmm.

That's all for now...........
10:51:25 PM    comment []