I enjoyed reading the articles and seeing points of view regarding this topic. I agree with the author of "Digital Literacy and the Classroom" when she asks, "as teachers we don't just expect our kids will just figure out the general content areas on their own, so why would think technology would be any different?"
I want my students to learn to be digitally literate. For me this means that I want them to understand the validity of websites and how to form their own opinions. I know that as a young child I tended to be naive and probably believed anything I read. If someone wrote it in a book, it must be true, right? So I can only imagine that my students might think, if someone wrote it on the internet, it must be true! Luckily, there are so many great search engines and resources I can share with my students in order to point them in the right direction. Perhaps the bottom line would be "if it seems to good to be true, it probably is...choose a different website!"
Online safety is another huge lesson! I know Brainpop has some good videos that I will definitely share with my students. While I think social networking is great for adults, it really makes me nervous that so many children are getting involved! Since I know some of my students will participate in social networking and use computers at home in addition to what we do in class, I will teach and continue to reinforce online safety in my class.
Online etiquette will be another important topic to cover. I want my students to understand that whatever they put on the internet, will stay there forever! I will remind them not to write or post anything that they would not want their teacher, their parents, or their future boss to see!
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