Sorting and Judging Information

Sorting and Judging Information

http://slworkshop.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/train-of-thought.jpg

When designing for information using, I learned that we have to consider the following question:  How can we take information and use it for SSCCS (search, sort, create, communicate, synthesis)?  We have to teach students how to be good users of information, how to be good commenters, and how to take information and turn it into knowledge.  It's important to consider where the information came from and what it's doing to us.  As educators, we want to communicate a strong message to our students, and we must not get sucked into information overload.  It may get to the point (if it hasn't already), where it dominates our lives and it puts us in a bubble where the only information we consume is information that affirms what we already know.  I learned that we need to grab our information from as close to the source as possible and not always consume what "tastes the best".  


In class, we were asked to create a wearable technology that shares what kids need to know to be good users of information.  I now know from reading the book, The Information Diet, and listening to other groups' presentations, what these skills should look like in the real world.  Since there's so much information out there, it's important to be able to understand the benefit of narrowing down your searches or filtering through the fake stuff.  Students also need to understand how to synthesize and create/communicate their own perspective while also remaining active, managing their time/friendships, or eliminating unnecessary sources of information.  We can always improve upon our information using, and, since the internet/social media is not going away any time soon, we must learn to adjust the way we take in information so it does not control our lives.  


Moving forward, I want to teach my students how to manage their time on the computer/internet so they can complete assignments or projects without feeling overwhelmed by the plethora of sources of information out there.  I want to teach them how to search, sort, create, communicate, and synthesize while maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  Our county does a good job of narrowing down some of these resources into the LCPS Go app, but even then it can be overwhelming to students.  I want to teach students how and when to use this information for their own thinking.  Students can then use the tools to create their own source of content and it will be more meaningful to them than staring aimlessly at info that won't stimulate any cognitive growth or improvement.