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"Learning how to evaluate online content is an essential step in the process of developing digitally literate students. I have already featured several materials on strategies and skills for students to evaluate web content and today I am adding a great resource from Lisa Hartman. The presentation below features the 5 elements ( CRAAP ) students should look for when evaluating online content. These elements according to Lisa are : Currency Relevance Authority Accuracy Purpose Watch this short introduction to CRAAP:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDGKsT7QHNs#t=24

"Digital literacy, as a set of skills that students need to develop and master in order to properly use digital technologies , is an essential component of the 21st century education. Being digitally literate should not be confused with being comfortable using certain types of digital media such as social media. And as Danah Boyd argued in her book "Understanding The Social Lives of Networked Teens" teenagers know how how to use Facebook, but their understanding of the site's privacy settings did not mesh with the ways in which they configured their accounts.They know how to get to Google but had little understanding about how to construct a query to get quality information from the popular search engine. Along with learning how to conduct effective online searches comes the the second most important skill which is that of evaluating and assessing the validity of information found online. One of the versatile tools teachers can use to teach students about web content evaluation is called CRAAP . The acronym CRAAP stands for Currency, Relevance, Authority, and Purpose. CRAAP is a test developed by the University of California at Chico to help students evaluate web content ( and any other content) based on those four dimensions. Below is a public domain document, a checklist, that teachers and students can use to evaluate web content. Click here to download it."

"Perhaps the most important effect of the new economy of information is the need to make sense of information that is around us. "In order to do this, students need to literally create their learning and demonstrate not just what they know, but what they can do."

"It's inevitable that the kids of Generation Z will be the most naturally tech-literate generation yet, but that won't happen through osmosis. They'll still need tools to get them there. Kids older than 10 or so are covered: In the past few years, smart companies like littleBits and Kano have helped pave the way toward make learning about circuitry and motherboards as fun as playing with Legos. But those products are still a bit sophisticated. Think of them like the grammar and syntax of computer science: great educational tools, so long as you can already grasp a few basic building blocks. To get those building blocks-let's call it the alphabet-younger kids can now turn to Hackaball, a ball that's also a computer, that gets programmed via an iPad app."

""Ms. Clark, when are we going to do that again?" Nothing makes me happier as an educator than hearing those words - and lately I have been hearing them a lot! It is not the question as much as the look on the faces of my students that I enjoy the most. It's the inspiring glow of engagement and enthusiasm and the fire in their eyes that makes me want to keep trying new projects. Their relentless desire to do collaborative-based work is proof that they enjoy the journey, the connections and the role of play in their learning. One of the thrills about being an educator in 2013 is this ability to redefine the typical classroom landscape in this way. This year we did it campus wide with some pretty amazing projects that helped everyone see the value in collaborating, and the immense power of thinking outside the box - in this case, I literally mean the constrictive box of the traditional classroo"

Our guest literally wrote the playbook on starting and running a MakerSpace. In this segment he shares some inside tips. Follow: @dalepd @travislape @nmhs_lms @bamradionetwork

"You could call it a trashlight, a handy and handsome AA flashlight made out of little more than a soda can and a cereal box (plus a bulb and two AA batteries). Before you say anything, yes, of course you can buy super-cheap penlights like this. But that would be largely missing the point here. This is about making something yourself, something out of nothing. And I guarantee you that if you take the time to do this project, to render literal garbage into an useful everyday tool, you will get the warmest, fuzziest feeling every time you illuminate some dark corner of your world with it."

"(CNN)"I would rather not eat for a week than get my phone taken away. It's really bad," said Gia, a13-year-old. "I literally feel like I'm going to die." "When I get my phone taken away, I feel kind of naked," said Kyla, another 13-year-old. "I do feel kind of empty without my phone." Both participated in "#Being13: Inside the Secret World of Teens," a first-of-its-kind CNN study on social media and teens. More than 200 eighth graders from across the country allowed their social media feeds to be studied by child development experts who partnered with CNN. This is the first large scale study to analyze what kids actually say to each other on social media and why it matters so deeply to them."

Redefining Literacy for a New Age - Peter Johnston is a Professor at the University at Albany-SUNY. He researches the consequences of teaching and assessment practices for the literate lives of children and teachers. He chaired IRA and NCTE's Joint Task Force on Assessment Standards and is a member of IRA's RtI Commission. He was recently elected to IRA's Reading Hall of Fame.

"In celebration of Media Awareness Week (November 2-6, 2009) we are encouraging students, teachers, and the general public to create videos, digital stories, text, images or any digital media that showcases the different ways they are Media Literate. To get things started, we have created a video that is hosted here on our YouTube Channel (also located at http://drop.io/medialiteracyvideo). Watch the video and then we encourage you to create your own short digital representation of media literacy. Anyone can then upload their video responses or link to any digital artifact you create here in the comments to this video. Celebrating and Sharing: Teachers and students are encouraged to take part in this exposition of student media literacy, we encourage you to promote your activities with local media outlets and draw attention to the critical importance of developing media literacy in the digital age. We hope you choose to participate in this exciting event with your students. You may attend the Media Literacy evening in person on Monday, November 2, 2009, from 7:00 - 8:30 PM CST at the St. James-Assiniboia School Division's Professional Staff Development Centre (PSDC) - 150 Moray Street (access off of Portage Avenue) or via our uStream channel (http://www.ustream.tv/lwict) where everything will be archived. If you have any questions regarding any aspect of this event, leave us a comment here. Category: Education Tags: lstu manace literacy medialiteracy mediaawarenessweek media education lwict "

"Educators literally have a "world of knowledge and resources" at their fingertips, as one director of curriculum and instructional technology declared in response to THE Journal's national survey. "What better way to learn about the situation in Syria than tweeting #Syria and receiving a tweet from someone there?" But guiding your students in learning new concepts, gaining insights and building their skills requires you to be comfortable with the technologies that can make all of that happen. Where do you start? We asked your colleagues that same question, and they responded in multitudes. Their recommendations covered the alphabetic gamut, from adaptivity and apps to wikis and a willingness to learn. We compiled and consolidated 121 different results to develop this year's list of five must-have multimedia skills for 2015."

How do we prepare students for work that hasn't been invented yet? While it's difficult to predict what the social and economic climate will be like in the years to come, we can analyze trends and extrapolate future scenarios.

"It's always revealing to watch learners research. When trying to understand complex questions often as part of multi-step projects, they often simply "Google it." Why do people migrate? Google it. Where does inspiration come from? Google it. How do different cultures view humanity differently? Google it. Literally Google it. Type those questions word-for-word into the Google search box and hope for answers. Educators cringe, but to the students it makes sense. And if you think about it, this is actually helpful-a rare opportunity for transparency into the mind of a student. When your formative years are spent working your fingers through apps and iPads, smartphones and YouTube, the digital world and its habits can bend and shape not just how you access information, but how you conceptualize it entirely. And among the most powerful forces here is the Google.com search engine."

"When used effectively, iPads can develop thinkers and problem solvers. They can be used to transform learning inside and outside of the classroom, and offer limitless opportunities. Many educators are effectively integrating technology in the classroom using iPads to achieve the 4C's, or "super skills," that digital learners need to compete in our global society. But in order to do that, the focus has to shift from apps to content: that's when true redefinition takes place. When my district rolled out our iPad initiative in 2012, teachers thought they needed specific apps for every content area. Eventually, we ended up with literally thousands of apps in our portal. This was extremely overwhelming, difficult to manage, and eventually, a turn-off for teachers. Are you ready to adjust your teaching for this new learning revolution? Let me take you inside the idea of SAMR with a helpful metaphor: Starbucks. The simplest way I know to describe the levels in the SAMR model is using a visual created by Tim Holt, who uses Starbucks as a unique way of looking at the model."