References to the Web in daily life are pervasive. In the not too distant past, students were assigned reports or they prepared for tests largely by memorizing information they had learned from listening to their teachers or by examining library materials. The object was to return the information to the teacher as accurately as possible. Students presenting reports had to make sure that sufficient resources were available to support the topic chosen before beginning to work. For today s students, finding information is not the problem.
Resources are obtainable in abundance.
The issue is how to assess, evaluate, integrate, and make sense of the surfeit of information that can be found on the Internet. Books come with publishers, dates of publication, and authors whose credentials can be checked. Examining Internet documents for validity requires a different kind of scrutiny, an ability to assess the accuracy of information and to separate the meaningful from the nonessential-skills that are critical for the future of today s students. The curriculum goals that follow emphasize some of these essential skills. I ve tried to choose words that will assist you in understanding the material that follows.