Week 10

           Prior Knowledge on the World Wide Web

         Prior knowledge has always been a key educational component to allow our students to strive to their greatest potential; using Web sites in the classroom does not mean that the prior knowledge is not a must anymore; it is in fact just as important. “Within more traditional learning environments, findings have indicated that learners with greater preexisting knowledge about a topic typically understand and remember more than those with more limited prior knowledge.” (Lawless, Schrader, Mayall, 2007, p.292). As Lawless, Schrader, and Mayall recapped that prior knowledge has been supported by many (Chi & Ceci, 1987; Glaser, 1984; Schneider & Pressley, 1997) in a traditional learning environment, they wanted to take this theory one step further.  They did a study in 2007 to determine if the relationship between prior knowledge and WWW browsing was significant.  Lawless, Schrader, and Mayall went into the study with two questions in mind: “Does a prereading activity aimed at increasing prior knowledge significantly influence a user’s navigation on a Web site within the domain?” And, “Does a prereading activity aimed at increasing prior knowledge significantly influence posttest knowledge recall from a Web site within the domain?” 

    The participants were forty-two undergraduate and graduate students from across the country who currently studied in the educational field (80% of the participants being women).  The topic of human genetics was the domain for the study.  Both the control group and the treatment group were administered the pre-knowledge measure and the same posttest measure.  Then, the treatment group got a short prereading text which was 500 words in length where as the control group did not.  After the pretest and prereading activity, both groups were given the same prompt, instructions, and posttest.
            To answer question one; the results indicated that the control group used the menu driven navigational scheme significantly more than the treatment group.  The treatment group however, spent more time on the Web site, viewed more graphical representations, and followed a higher number of text-embedded links.  To answer question two, “the treatment group performed significantly better on the posttest than the control group.” (Lawless et al. 2007, p. 297).
            These findings show that not only is it vital for teachers to make sure that students have accurate prior knowledge in traditional educational settings, but students also need prior knowledge to be successful on the World Wide Web. 

                       Essential Literacies for the Millennial Learner

 

TYPE OF LITERACY	DEFINITION	A LITERATE PERSON
Technology Literacy	“The ability to use computers and other technology to improve learning, productivity, and performance.”	“A technologically literate person is someone who understands what technology is and how it can be used and is comfortable with its use”
Visual Literacy	“The ability to understand and produce visual messages.”	“A visual literate child can examine, extract, meaning and interpret the visual actions, objects, and symbols that he/she encounters in the environment.”
Informational Literacy	“The ability to find, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize information.”	Informational literate children will be able to determine the “reliability or authenticity of a source, its currency or recency…and the ability to identify information as fact or opinion.”
Intertextuality	“Ability to represent the process of comprehending one text by means of previously encountered text.”	“Students will be able to synthesize and integrate information from a variety of resources and media based on important underlying principles of a content area versus  surface details.”

           Smolin & Lawless, 2003, p.570-2