Until recently classes were sent to the library to check out pre-selected books that would have some information about their topic.
Allowing students to search for their information on the web makes teachers often uncomfortable.
* They can't control the content, students encounter
* Overwhelming number of search results
* Inappropriate sites
* Inaccurate information
* Citation
All the above mentioned reasons are valid points, but can't be used as a reason to "stick to the book" when allowing younger students to research.
We do have to prepare them for research in media that is current for our times and one they most likely will use as as their primary source for gathering information as they grow.
** good to share with PLC
Copyright for Kids: A Three Part Lesson
One of the most challenging aspects of my job is teaching copyright to elementary school kids. They honestly just don't get the idea that they can't take others' work and then claim it as their own. It's widely known that the problem lies with 20th Century teaching in a 21st Century environment: When finding information is no longer a challenge in the age of the Internet, why do we continue to assign research projects that register way-low on Bloom's taxonomy (Remember, Understand)? We need to cater our projects to the higher levels, like analyze, evaluate and create. So if I'm going to walk the walk, I need to create a project that helps students to evaluate, analyze and synthesize information and ideas about COPYRIGHT.
University of Kansas project "to improve middle school reading and math achievement through the development of interactive educaitonal games hat use PDAs, iPods and video cameras, along with web-based resources . . ."