I agree that the role of literacy and blended technology in the classroom is growing in importance and inevitable in today's society. Although online and internet skills are not specifically addressed in the CCSS, I believe it is a responsibility of educators to prepare our students to be literate in our increasingly technological world. My own eighth grader struggles to understand the importance of evaluating the source of online information. With endless amounts of information available instantly, understanding the source of that information, and the purpose of the originator, gives the reader perspective and understanding that is vital to comprehension and assessing validity. In the article Seeing the forest, not the trees the authors note, "They (students) also are relatively unskilled with critically evaluating onlinesources (Walraven, Brand-gruwel, & Boshuizen, 2008). Many find it difficult to judge the accuracy, reliability, and bias of information that they encounter during online reading and research (Bennett, Maton, & Kervin, 2008)." Evaluating the validity of a piece of writing, and carefully considering the purpose of the author is a skill that must be taught and practiced, and a skill that is extremely valuable in real world applications.
In the article The power of natural frameworks: Technology and the question of agency in CSCL settings by Annika Lantz-Andersson, the author explores what happens to learning activities in school when digital technology and multimedia applications are introduced and to understand how students frame situations when interacting with new tools. "When students are grappling with mathematical word problems with (a) specific educational software and get the feedback that their answer is "Incorrect", they become hesitant about the nature of what is wrong." Is it a problem with the student's procedure, or with the software? The study in this instance revealed that students tend to blame an incorrect answer on the design of the technology, and in these situations they do not seem to engage in mathematics at all. I interpret this as a warning to educators to be purposeful and analytical about the use of technology to enhance student learning. When mathematical procedures are hidden in a technology, students lose their initiative to work through problems, because the procedures are invisible in the technology, and therefore, students do not know whether they are procedurally wrong, or if the software is wrong. This "diminishes student agency at the expense of technology." Educators must be aware of how technology is being used in the classroom, how students respond the the technology, and determine whether the technology is beneficial to student mastery of content.
In the article The power of natural frameworks: Technology and the question of agency in CSCL settings by Annika Lantz-Andersson, the author explores what happens to learning activities in school when digital technology and multimedia applications are introduced and to understand how students frame situations when interacting with new tools. "When students are grappling with mathematical word problems with (a) specific educational software and get the feedback that their answer is "Incorrect", they become hesitant about the nature of what is wrong." Is it a problem with the student's procedure, or with the software? The study in this instance revealed that students tend to blame an incorrect answer on the design of the technology, and in these situations they do not seem to engage in mathematics at all. I interpret this as a warning to educators to be purposeful and analytical about the use of technology to enhance student learning. When mathematical procedures are hidden in a technology, students lose their initiative to work through problems, because the procedures are invisible in the technology, and therefore, students do not know whether they are procedurally wrong, or if the software is wrong. This "diminishes student agency at the expense of technology." Educators must be aware of how technology is being used in the classroom, how students respond the the technology, and determine whether the technology is beneficial to student mastery of content.