Critical+Thinking+and+ICT

= **Critical Thinking and ICT** =



 __**A Continuum Model for Literacy with ICT: Across the Curriculum** __  This is a resource that has been put out by the Manitoba Government to help teachers develop computer literacy with their students.

What is literacy with ICT? - “Choosing and using ICT, responsibly and ethically, to support critical and creative thinking about information and about communication.”

What is a developmental learning continuum? - “An assessment tool for learning based on teacher observations. It describes what teachers see and hear students doing, as they demonstrate their literacy.”

Which models informed the creation of the Developmental Continuum for Literacy with ICT? - Bloom’s cognitive taxonomy and Krathwhol’s affective taxonomy - Inquiry Model - Pearson and Gallagher’s model of explicit instruction, which portrays the gradual release of responsibility from teacher to student

This continuum can help teachers with recognizing what level their students are at with literacy in ICT. A lot of is revolves around critical thinking and being able to select materials that are credible and appropriate.

As teachers we like to be there for our students and guide them with everything that they need to do. Now just like scaffolding in the classroom we need to apply the same ideas when we teach our students about using critical thinking with ICT. At first they need to be guided in where to look for materials, what credible sources look like, etc. As time goes on we want to be there as a crutch for them and eventually have them be able to carry out such processes on their own.

The continuum has three categories for the process that students must carry through to be successful critical thinkers with ICT on their own. The first category is “knows-comprehends: becomes aware.” This is the stage where teachers need to highly assist their students in learning what to look for. Students should be able to collect relevant material with a given ICT, know how to find bibliographic information, and take relevant notes from the materials they collect for what is most pertinent to what they are looking for.

The second column is “analyzes-applies: believes.” A student at this stage should be able to categorize information for the purpose (charts, spreadsheets, etc.), analyze whether information found is suitable for subject and audience, and analyze whether information has been altered or manipulated.

“Synthesizes-evaluates: Values” is the last column. Being able to incorporate new information with prior knowledge to adjust inquiry strategies, and assessing all sources to determine context, perspective, bias and motive are the skills that students will need to truly be critical thinkers with ICT. Once a student has achieved all these skills you can rest assured that your students will be able to produce a high level of credible information in all research.

Of course all these skills are important for life after school. It is important that our students are prepared for their lives after school (after all that is the purpose of school). They will now be able to make educated judgement calls on all information, media, etc. that they will come across in their lives. Many times things are posted and presented to people that are not necessarily true, or have all the truth behind them. Being able to see through this and be able to dig a little deeper for yourself will take a person a long way in their life.

The Literacy with ICT document can be found online at [|www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/tech/lict/index.html]

__ **Teaching Critical Thinking Skills: More Important than Ever** __  High school students are spending more time online and using the Internet as a main source of research and information, in and out of school. The wealth of information that can be found on the Internet is amazing, but so is the amount of opinion, misinformation and fabrication. Students can access questionable material that they may accept as fact if they do not apply critical analysis. Alan November gives an example of research gone wrong in his article “Teaching Zach to Think,” ([]). It is essential that students learn and use critical thinking skills to examine problems, to evaluate material and sources found online and to protect themselves and their reputations in the world of social media. Teachers need to ensure that they are teaching and reinforcing critical thinking skills in all areas of the curriculum, as recommended in the Literacy with ICT continuum model.

Critical thinking skills include observation, interpretation, analysis, inference, evaluation, explanation and meta- cognition. The teacher’s role is to provide students with knowledge, understanding and practice of using critical thinking skills to evaluate the validity of what they read, see and hear in the media and on the Internet.

Interesting information about media awareness and critical thinking can be found at: Link: []

__ **The Dangers of Not Utilizing Critical Thinking Skills in ICT** __

Our students will have never known a world without Google, they will never know what it is like to have to rely purely on written text for information or waiting extended periods of time to acquire information. Most students have grown up using their family and/or school computers, smart phones and IPod/IPads but this does not mean, however, that they are using these resources appropriately. As mentioned previously, teaching our students to use critical thinking skills while engaging with Information Communication Technologies is extremely important. If students do not understand what they are reading and its implications, they will be unable to analyze or evaluate this information. This can lead to misinformation, plagiarism, copyright infringement and safety concerns.

The majority of classrooms, schools and post-secondary institutions have clear expectations when it comes to plagiarism. If students do not understand what they are reading, however, or where that information is coming from, they can easily make mistakes when referencing their sources (or not reference them at all!) Whether these mistakes are done on purpose or by accident, due to lack of understanding, students can get into serious trouble. For an example of a high school plagiarism policy please see Vincent Massey’s School Handbook, available online at: []. For an example of a post-secondary plagiarism policy please see Brandon University’s Academic Misconduct Policy, available online at: [].

While a lack of critical thinking skills can easily lead to academic penalty, it can also lead to risky activities, inappropriate behaviour and safety concerns. If students do not understand that the information they are posting online can have very serious implications they can be at risk of a multitude of consequences including: identity theft, cyber-harassment, stalking, abduction, sexual abuse or even death. Students need to learn the importance of appropriate social networking use. This includes the use of Facebook, Twitter, chat rooms, picture sharing sites and texting. //The Door That’s Not Locked// is a website supported by the Canadian government that includes information about safe internet use, including healthy relationship information, sexually explicit material, vulnerability, “sexting”, information for teachers and much more. [|www.thedoorthatsnotlocked.ca]

In addition to enforcing critical thinking skills in our classrooms, teachers should also make sure that do everything they can to establish a positive environment when it comes to ICT resources. Woolfolk, Winne and Perry, in //Educational Psychology,// stress that it doesn’t matter if your students have access to only one or unlimited technological resources in your classroom ensure that: - You select developmentally appropriate programs that encourage learning, creativity, and social interaction. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 95%;">- Closely monitor all students as they work at computers. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 95%;">- Keep children safe as they work at computers.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 95%;">It is safe to say that technology will continue to be an important facet of our society and it is vitally important that our students learn how to use these resources appropriately and utilizing their critical thinking skills. We need to ensure that our students are effectively understanding material, are able to evaluate its validity, can appropriately share information through the internet and be safe. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 95%;">Videos from Concerned Children’s Advertisers are available online at: [|http://www.cca-kids.ca/psas/media_literacy.html] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">These videos have been reminding us to use our critical thinking skills for 20 years and they’re still awesome!

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">__**Work Cited**__

Woolfolk, Winne & Perry. //Educational Psychology.// 5th Canadian Edition. Toronto: Pearson Canada, 2010. pg 338.
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Literacy with ICT[| www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/tech/lict/index.html] Alan November, //Teaching Zach to Think// ([]) Media Awareness[| http://www.media-awareness.ca] Safe Internet Practices[| www.thedoorthatsnotlocked.ca] Concerned Children's Advertisers Public Service Announcements (Media Awareness)[| http://www.cca-kids.ca/psas/media_literacy.html] Vincent Massey School Handbook, Brandon School Division <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 95%;">[| http://www2.brandonsd.mb.ca/massey/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/VM-Student-Handbook-2011_12.pdf]. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 95%;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 105%;">Brandon University Acedmic Misconduct Policy [| http://www.brandonu.ca/senate-office/files/2010/12/Academic-Dishonesty-Misconduct-Policy.pdf]. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 105%;">Image: Creative Commons [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 95%;">
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