Having spent a fair bit of time roaming around the OSLIS site with no useful results (including a direct request for help to an online librarian who did not respond) I went to Google. Yes, I know that it doesn't necessarily contain the best information but I can pretty much always get SOME information.
The site I spend a couple hours exploring was one that had been recommended to me earlier by one of our 4/5 Dual Immersion teachers. She suggested it in reply to my question, "What would be a good target request for a TAG grant?"
In exploring the site I found it to be a good source for information of various sorts, all quite readable by a variety of students. The site is a contest which offers a prize (laptops) to those who win a a variety of areas, everything from Arts to Science. There are twelve topic areas to choose from. Children form teams and choose what they want to focus on as they develop their web site. They are given a rubric which scores in the areas of Educational Content, Global Educational Perspectives, and Web Design. The focus is on using the internet to facilitate young people to communicate globally about global issues. Soem teams form together with members living in different countries. An adult coach supports the process but is not allowed to enter anything on the website. It is all done by children. Some of the sites I explored (there are different age categories) had to do with Artificial Intelligence, Poverty, and Mining. The winner last year for the oldest students (16 and under) was Artificial Intelligence and it was really impressive.
The outcome was probably worth the effort. Lots of research, writing, collaboration, and a great product came out of it. At least for the winners. Anyone with a computer and net access could be involved which makes it feasible. And there is a very useful database resulting which could be an access point for student research.
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3 comments:
Sorry to hear about no luck with OSLIS. It isn't the easiest site to navigate in the world. Also disappointed that the online librarian didn't respond. Ask me about how that system works in class. I'm glad, however, that you found a valuable resource.
This is quite interesting. I have seen web pages where students created their own sites that provided information for others. For example, tobacco prevention or fitness and nutrition tips. I like how this web project is global and includes students teaching students. It is interesting that teachers are just the coaches and that the students are completely in charge.
I had trouble with OSLIS too. So, I found some great articles on Edutopia instead. (Have you ever read it? It is a website but also an ezine. Kind of neat, they send it to you via email, and you can "read it" complete with swishy-sounding pages that flip like a real magazine.) Anyway, glad you were able to find articles elsewhere too! :)
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