Evaluate
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.Source”
- Aristotle
Definition:
The dictionary defines evaluate as a verb- “to judge or determine the significance, worth, or quality of. When used in those terms, it is easy to see that much of what we do on a daily basis has evaluation as a critical component. We are constantly evaluating throughout the day as we teach, as we problem solve, and as we think critically. Now more than ever, teachers and students need to be able to think critically when it comes to any type of research. We need to question all materials. We want our students to question things they see on television and read in the newspaper or magazines AND we want them to question things they read on the Internet.
Rationale:
There was a time that when you needed accurate information, you went to your library and checked out a book, used an encyclopedia, or more often than not, went without. The major barrier to publishing information was money. Publishers either made money from their print materials or you had enough money to pay to publish your own book, newspaper, or magazine. Since money was the key issue, lots of junk was kept off the market but there were also lots of great things were never published.
Fast forward to your students’ world. Students don’t remember a time before information was not available to them instantly and easily. No more trips to the library in the rain. No more cutting black and white pictures out of your parent’s encyclopedias. Publishing effectively has no barriers. Anyone can be an author or publisher online and it usually doesn’t cost a dime. The good and the bad of that? There’s lots of great things being published by individuals who might never have had an opportunity to do so AND there’s LOTS of junk on the web.
The Office of Technology at the University of Maryland says,” There remains a larger challenge for schools: how to develop a new generation of knowledgeable digital citizens who can operate in the unregulated online world. The Web IS an electronic repository for books, data collections, encyclopedias, libraries, AND any disparate piece of text, graphic, or sound byte that someone chose to put online. And some of it is inaccurate, biased, out-of-date, shallow, and inappropriate for academic use.” 21st century learning focuses on real-world problem solving and critical thinking. Students must be able to demonstrate knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems as well as problems posed by teachers in a school setting.
Being able to evaluate all forms of media (print, visual, multimedia, etc) online is an important, necessary skill for all teachers and students.
