If you are among my fellow educators that grew up without computers, know you are in good company. But , those kiddos sitting in front of you did. They have never known life without technology! Inevitably, our two worlds have collided and it is up to us to turn those ‘digital natives’ into Internet savvy learners. For those of you feeling a bit out of your comfort zone, here is a guide to help you do just that. Let’s start with reciprocal teaching first , then build from there. Focus on the four reciprocal teaching strategies without any technology: Predicting Questioning Clarifying & summarizing Begin with direct instruction, guided demonstrations and think-alouds. Lots of modeling! Scaffold those strategies. Provide support where needed. Next, what experiences have your students had reading materials online? A quick written survey of your students can provide this information and give y
For children, there is no higher power than the internet. It is the end all be all for all of their needs. Gone are the days of going to the library and flipping open a book and you can forget about Grandpa and his sage advice. You yourself are reading this article which is only available online. Playing a game, getting food, listening to music, ordering paper towels; all done with the internet. Unfortunately, as Peter Parker learned from Uncle Ben, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” Students are so highly dependent on the internet but they often do not have the skills to be able to make the most out of their experiences. As we all know from browsing social media, there is a lot of garbage unreliable information on the internet that readers need to know how to sift through in order to reap the benefits of its almighty power. As a teacher, you are probably asking yourself, “Where do I even begin?” My hope is by the end of this article you can walk away havi