By Dr. David Freitas and Dr. Janet Buckenmeyer

This book review of Web Literacy for Educators by Alan November says this “affordable, compact, and indispensable bestseller should be required reading before embarking on any Internet search. It’s not just for educators; it’s for everyone.”

How technologically literate are you? Select the best answer.

1. What’s a Podcast?
A. What a doctor puts your Pod in if you break it
B. It’s the actors appearing in POD, a new Broadway musical
C. A series of audio or video digital media files distributed over the Internet

2. What’s a Wiki?
A. A famous beach in Hawaii
B. A tropical drink made with vodka, white rum, tequila, triple sec, amaretto and various juices
C. A Website tool designed to allow users to work collaboratively on the same piece of writing

3. URL is an acronym for what?
A. U…R…clue-Less
B. Uninformed Response Likely
C. Uniform Resource Locator

4. What do you get when you truncate a URL?
A. UR
B. L
C. Validated Information

5. What are Blogs?
A. It’s what you burn in your Bfireplace
B. A virtual forum where lonely people with too much time on their hands write insignificant thoughts
C. Websites with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events or other material such as graphics or videos

6. What’s COPPA?
A. A popular song sung by Barry Manilow
B. A famous New York City nightclub
C. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998

7. Link?
A. President Abraham Lincoln’s nickname during the Civil War
B. Co-star of Mod Squad, a late 60’s, early 70’s ABC television series
C. An object, as text or graphics, connected through hypertext to a document, another object, etc.

Did you easily “C” the correct answer to each question?

Since we’ve successfully captured your attention through our irreverent comedic talent (don’t worry, we’re not quitting our day jobs), we’ll now share something much more valuable.

Book Talk: Web Literacy for Educators

Have you craved a concise roadmap to safely and effectively navigate the information universe? Have you searched for succinct definitions of the terms listed in the questions above and other common terminology? Have you sought useful Web searching best practices specifically tailored for teachers and students? If you answered yes, Web Literacy for Educators by Alan November (Corwin Press, 2008) is your reliable source.

This practical guide offers readers innovative approaches to “find, sort and evaluate information on the Web.” Chapter titles offer previews into topics explored: 1. Web Basics for Critical Thinking; 2. The Empowered Researcher; 3. Get REAL: How to Validate Information on the Web; 4. Look at the Links; 5. Research Outside the Box: A Guide to Smart Searching; 6. Expanding the Boundaries: Blogs, RSS, Podcasts and Wikis; 7. Strategies and Evaluation: Putting It All Together.

Each chapter is similarly formatted. It begins with short, jargon-free explanations. This is followed by concise instructions on how to directly apply these concepts via the Web. In Chapter 1, for example, after defining essential terms (such as IP addresses, domain names, URLs and links), you then learn how to validate website information by deciphering and truncating URLs.

All chapters end with recommended supplementary information accessible through the Internet, multiple choice quizzes reinforcing content learned (formative assessments) and questions for extended thought and discussion.

Dispersed throughout the book are “Try This” text boxes containing additional relevant application exercises. Here are a few examples: shortcuts to finding resources (i.e. lessons plans, graphics, videos) on teacher websites; effective uses of Blogs in classrooms; collecting, subscribing and organizing Blogs through free aggregator services; tips for searching with the Link: Command; ways to determine the biases and credibility of websites; how to investigate and generate a list of back links; how to search with extensions; creating a virtual index with the same root domain name; and tips for using easyWhois. These creative and authentic activities distinguish this book from others.

“The Internet is the most powerful, convenient and potentially manipulative medium ever invented. It can give you any version of the truth you are looking for,” according to the author. And the risk is staggering. In just one month (August 2007), for example, approximately 750 million people over the age of 15 conducted over 61 billion searches worldwide according to comScore's qSearch 2.0 service. (Here are the monthly statistics from the top search engines: Google - 37.1 billion searches; Yahoo - 8.5 billion searches; Chinese-language search engine Baidu - 3.3 billion; and Korea-based NHN - 2 billion searches.)

“The ability to think critically about Web information is an essential skill for teachers and students.” We completely concur with the author’s assertion. In fact, this affordable ($25.95 in paperback), compact (101 pages) and indispensable bestseller should be required reading before embarking on any Internet search. It’s not just for educators; it’s for everyone!

David Freitas' email is dfreitas@iusb.edu
 

 
Dr. David Freitas has served in a number of leadership positions throughout his career including College Dean at Three Universities, University Professor, University Vice Provost, Public School Teacher/Administrator, State of Illinois Teacher Certification Board Member, State Department of Education Official and Elected City School Board Member.
 
Janet Buckenmeyer, Ph.D., a former elementary school teacher, is currently Chair of the Masters of Instructional Technology Program at Purdue University Calumet and has published and presented nationally and internationally about various topics with a primary focus on instructional technology and design.