Tina Emerick writes “CNN.com carried a story yesterday discussing students using only online resources for homework.
Educators are concerned that students have the right information about what makes a good resource.
From the article – Georgia Tech professor Amy Bruckman tried to force students to leave their computers by requiring at least one book for a September class project.
She wasn’t prepared for the response: “Someone raised their hand and asked, “Excuse me, where would I get a book?”
For the complete story:
So, why not require multiple sources?
When I was in Jr High, assignments often took the form “write a paper on Topic X. Use at least five references, including at least two periodical references, one book reference, and no more than one encyclopedia reference”.
The point was not just to learn about the topic of the paper, but to familiarize us with different research methods. I’m surprized this technique isn’t more common, especially with all the complaining I see about students “doing all their research on Google”.
If teachers and professors required a variety of on and offline sources (there’s more to the internet than Google!) then students would have to use them do pass the assignment.
Re:So, why not require multiple sources?
In my public library, children and students from the local university come in looking for print resources because their teachers do require them. As usual, the teachers’ good intentions have mixed results. Yesterday a young man came in who had already completed his research paper using only the Internet, but then had suddenly found out (?) that he was supposed to have five books in his bibliography. We found five books but did he then rewrite his paper? Fifteen minutes later he was gone and I reshelved his books, so I have my doubts. At least his bibliography will meet the requirements.
And then there’s the kids whose teachers tell them they can’t use the Internet at all on this report, but when they come in all the books on the subject are checked out and the adult reference materials are way beyond their reading level, so essentially I am not allowed to use the best available resource for the information.
I try to do my part, though. When a kid absolutely insists on using the Internet when I know a book would be better and easier, I just let him stew for a while by himself on a fruitless Internet search and then casually stop by with the perfect book and watch his mouth drop open. Of course you have to have it open at the perfect page and hold it up between his nose and the screen, but it works. And its fun.