Objective
Knowledge of Learners and Learning

Indicator
Candidates support the learning of all students and other members of the learning community, including those with diverse learning styles, abilities and needs.

Suppose you’ve never used a computer in your life. What does information literacy mean to you?

This is the challenge with our school’s ESOL program, which serves students who have immigrated from a variety of nations. Many have had little to no exposure to computers before – directing them to search an online database is like asking them to assemble an aircraft carrier. Some basic computer skills are needed first.

So I collaborated with our ESOL teachers to develop and teach a mini-course in computer fluency. It begins with basic terminology (cursor, folder, window, the difference between screen and desktop) and builds to websites and Google searches. As a culminating activity, students create a one-sheet poster in Word that presents information about themselves, including a digital self-portrait and images of others around the world who share their same name (a fun Google image search). In the span of one week, students progress from abject inexperience to a beginning level of information literacy: they can search the web, download and manipulate image files, and create multimedia documents that share ideas with others – all while having fun!

To support our school’s Reading Achievement Program (RAP) for below-grade level readers, I searched through United Streaming to compile a list of online photos and videos to enhance students’ prior knowledge of the civil rights era before reading about it. When our Journalism advisor complained that even his top writers were copying paragraphs from online news sources, some of them untrustworthy, I talked to his staff about Jayson Blair and Kaavya Viswanathan, then trained them to paraphrase and cite their research.

No two students learn exactly the same way, and many have unique abilities and needs. In talking with teachers around my school I become more aware of these differences – and then have enjoy the privilege of designing activities that meet students where they are and help them reach the next step.

Artifacts

ESOL Lesson Files (PDF):
Computer Vocab
MS Word Sandbox
Image Search
"Self Poster" Model

RAP Lesson Link:
Civil Rights America - Streaming Videos and Photos

Journalism Lesson File:
Paraphrasing (PDF)

McDaniel College
Westminster, Maryland 21157-4390
410-848-7000