I went to the 2008 Georgia Conference on Information Literacy last weekend unsure of what to expect. I came away with fascinating topical information that will not only help me become more diverse in the classroom, but also give me a new perspective on my personal writing. I am so glad I went.
One of the most useful sessions was the Friday session on the unfamiliar-genre research project. I know how I define genre, but it was helpful to see how my colleagues define it and how they implement the concept in their classrooms. While I was accustomed to the narrow focus of literary genre, they expanded my view to writing genre, which is much broad and more important for students. They demonstrated how students can implement a research project in an unfamiliar writing genre and carry it out in various steps over a semester. Now that I'm updated, students, watch out!
Another concept I brought back from the conference is The Big6 model for teaching information literacy skills. Go to http://www.big6.com/files/Big6Handouts.pdf and download information about: 1) Task definition; 2) Information-seeking strategies; 3) Location and access; 4) Use of infromation; 5) Synthesis; 6) Evaluation. Once you do, you'll never wonder about the steps to solve an information problem ever again. Students, we will be discussing this!
This conference was just another example of the importance of lifelong learning, not only for me, but for everyone. With so much technology developed in the past decade, anyone who does not continue learning will slide backward quickly.
Live and learn!
Mrs. B
One of the most useful sessions was the Friday session on the unfamiliar-genre research project. I know how I define genre, but it was helpful to see how my colleagues define it and how they implement the concept in their classrooms. While I was accustomed to the narrow focus of literary genre, they expanded my view to writing genre, which is much broad and more important for students. They demonstrated how students can implement a research project in an unfamiliar writing genre and carry it out in various steps over a semester. Now that I'm updated, students, watch out!
Another concept I brought back from the conference is The Big6 model for teaching information literacy skills. Go to http://www.big6.com/files/Big6Handouts.pdf and download information about: 1) Task definition; 2) Information-seeking strategies; 3) Location and access; 4) Use of infromation; 5) Synthesis; 6) Evaluation. Once you do, you'll never wonder about the steps to solve an information problem ever again. Students, we will be discussing this!
This conference was just another example of the importance of lifelong learning, not only for me, but for everyone. With so much technology developed in the past decade, anyone who does not continue learning will slide backward quickly.
Live and learn!
Mrs. B
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