Teaching Information Literacy

The great thing about the Internet is that anybody can publish their thoughts and ideas. The problem with the Internet is that anybody can publish their thoughts and ideas.

How do you know that what you are finding is accurate and without bias?

We need to teach our students to watch to see of they are getting their information from authoritative sources. It is not good enough to say I found it on goggle. (although Goggle does design their search method to give legitimate, referenced sites higher ratings.).

I like what I have heard from journalist about guidelines for non authoritative sources. Do other sources reference the source? Do other sources confirm the information?

Fun with Google Docs

I learned how to use Google Docs forms to create a survey for our Supervisory Union. I can see where this is a useful tool for teachers. Students don't have to have a Google Docs account to use. Good for surveys, quizzes, etc. Be aware there is no authentication of identity.

Digital Natives

Students may be digital natives but this doesn't mean we can assume they are always competent. They still need opportunities to explore and master 21st century skills.

Clonezilla

I'm using Clonzilla to backup, restore, re-image Windows and Linux computers. I haven't needed it often enough to dedicate a server to it. I'm using it with an external hard drive. It works very well. It takes about 30 minutes to create an image and 15 to restore a computer.

The hidden cost of MS Office

We use MS Office 2008 on our Macintosh network. I have 5-10 cases a week helping students and teachers with Office errors. Read only/in use errors, locked up, clearing preferences and user info so Office will work again. I am not happy with this program.

Improving an old router

We were using Linksys routers as wireless access points. One or more of them was losing its IP address causing IP conflicts. I replaced the firmware with DD-WRT. WOW, what an upgrade. More reliable, more controls, I can even set then signal strength higher.