February 2005
No.50
http://www.aelweb.vcu.edu/

“Measuring Literacy in a World Gone Digital,” an article in the New York Times www.nytimes.com/2005/01/17/technology/17test.html, discusses how we evaluate the vast information resources that are available to us in the Information age. The article is concerned with college students doing internet-based research and being able to distinguish reliable information resources from the unreliable.  Having our students become critical consumers of all media (web-based and other) is, of course, a concern for adult literacy practitioners as well.  Here are some resources that may help you in teaching your students to be critical consumers of web-based information.

Internet Tutor: Evaluating Web Resources – An extensive, step-by-step tutorial for evaluating websites 
http://gateway.lib.ohio-state.edu/tutor/les1/index.html

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Or Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources – A useful resource and some examples to provide guidance when using the web in the classroom  http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/eval.html

Multicultural Model for Evaluation Websites – A guide to assessing educational websites from a multicultural perspective;  It includes questions and criteria on bias, accuracy and inclusion of multiple perspectives.
http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/multicultural/net/comps/model.html

"New Technologies for Literacy and Adult Education: A Global Perspective," written by Daniel Wagner and Robert Kozma,  "present[s] a set of possible visions on the ways that technology can support the development of youth and adult literacy." It includes a broad social definition of literacy and with that in mind takes two approaches to examining the relationship between literacy and technology. While the focus of the paper is on the global community, particularly developing and poor nations, the implications for the vision of technology integration in to literacy instruction in the U.S. seems great. It points to a need for an increased dedication of resources not only for hardware and access, but also to an enhanced priority on teacher training in the area of technology integration and on the development of learning technologies with "learning and content at their core."  To view the article, go to:  www.literacyonline.org/products/wagner_kozma.pdf

Sources for Political Cartoons 

Daryl Cagle’s Professional Cartoonist Index
http://cagle.slate.msn.com

Classbrain.com’s Political Cartoons
www.classbrain.com/artteensb/publish/cat_index_19.shtml

Ideas for Using Political Cartoons

Newsweek Education Program - 2004 – The Year in Political Cartoons
www.newsweekeducation.com/extras/2004cartoons.php

GED as Project:  Science and Social Studies, Learning Project 3 – Understanding Maps and Pictures

Steck-Vaughn’s GED Social Studies, Ch. 10, “Recognizing Unstated Assumptions in Political Cartoons”.

Daryl Cagle’s Professional Cartoonist Index Teacher Guide
http://cagle.slate.msn.com/teacher/

BoondocksNet.com:  Political Cartoons and Cartoonists
www.boondocksnet.com/gallery/pc_intro.html

Truman Presidential Museum and Library - Political Cartoons:  Introduction to Symbols by Mark Adams
www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/teacher_lessons/cartoon_symbol.htm

Library of Congress - It’s No Laughing Matter:  Analyzing Political Cartoons
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/political_cartoon/index.html

Colonial Williamsburg:  Teacher Gazette - Using Political Cartoons in the Classroom
www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume3/october04/teachstrategy.cfm

VCU Libraries African-American Studies Resources
Contains comprehensive references to library and web resources available at Cabell Library: circulating books, reference books, journals, web sites, databases, and electronic journals.
 www.library.vcu.edu/guides/blackhistory.html

African American History Month (U.S. Department of State International Information Programs) Contains the Presidential Proclamation; questions and answers from the ASALH on this event, and annotated links to black history sites.
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/blackhis/history/homepage.htm

African American History Month: 50 Years of Change (U.S. Census Bureau)
Includes data and statistics, graphs, video and still images, radio broadcasts and reports that provide information about African-American life in the United States.
www.census.gov/pubinfo/www/multimedia/AfricanAm2.html

AFRO-Americ@'s Black History Museum
Includes interactive exhibits on the Tuskegee Airmen, Jackie Robinson, the Black Panther Party, and more.
www.afro.com/history/history.html

Black History (National Archives and Records Administration)
Comprehensive site which contains important links to information on Black Americans in federal records and government agencies; military sites; photo archives. Topical guides include: Slavery, Abolition, Reconstruction, Segregation and Black Migration, Civil Rights.
www.archives.gov/research_room/alic/reference_desk/black_history_links.html

Black History: Exploring African-American Issues on the Web (Pacific Bell Knowledge Network)
Six websites on African-American history created "...to suggest ways to integrate the World Wide Web and videoconferencing into classroom learning." Includes Interactive Treasure Hunt on Black history; Subject Sampler on African America; Black History Hotlist; WebQuests on "Little Rock 9, Integration 0?" and "Tuskegee Tragedy"; Videoconferencing Events on Black History Month.
www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/BHM/AfroAm.html

Black History Month (CNN Interactive and World African Network)
Includes Timeline, Happenings, Site Sampler, Stories, and Quiz.
www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1998/black.history/