Using the Web to Promote Critical Thinking

I am probably one of the Web’s biggest fans. Without Google Maps I would have trouble finding my own nose. Whenever I’m in a new city I use Yelp to find places to eat, drink and play. Whenever I can’t find my cell phone or lose my keys, my first thought is to Google them and find where they’re hiding. It always frustrates me when I realize search engines can’t find all the answers and I’ve had access to high-speed Internet for less than half my life; imagine how dependant kids growing up today will become on instant information.

This week’s #edchat topic focused on how educators can teach critical thinking skills to their students. Two spirited discussions on the topic covered a huge range of ideas about what exactly critical thinking is and how it can be integrated with technology (see transcripts here). However, as young people get used to depending on Google for answers, many worry that critical thinking skills will suffer.

A recent Wall Street Journal article titled, “Does the Internet Make You Dumber?” by author Nicholas Carr argued that the constant distractions and interruptions of the Net are turning people into “scattered and superficial thinkers.” While there is certainly evidence that individuals do not retain as much information when they attempt to do several things at once, I believe equating a shift in learning priorities with a dumbing down of students is an example of focusing so much on the trees that one misses the forest.

I think it’s plausible that Google will eventually succeed in its bodacious quest to archive and make available all the world’s collected knowledge. Yes, that thought is a bit scary and tends to bring to mind images of an evil super villain, but there is no denying that Google has radically changed how information can be shared. I would much rather leave students with the knowledge of how to find answers to problems that have yet to surface than to train a bunch of parrots who are able to squawk memorized names and dates.

The type of learning that the Internet enables does not always translate well to standardized testing, but I believe encouraging students to use the nearly endless streams of data available online to build, discuss, create and collaborate to find new and creative solutions to issues and problems is far more effective at developing young people’s critical thinking skills.

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