Information Literacy While Wingin’ Kansas City BBQ
CIDDL Cizzles with Chef James Basham
Author: Brian Grace; info@ciddl.org
Kicking off Season II of CIDDL Cizzles is our great leader, Dr. James Basham. Dr. Basham is a Professor of special education at the University of Kansas (KU) and Senior Director of Learning and Innovation at CAST (the founding organization of Universal Design for Learning) as well as a founding PI of CIDDL. It took some doing, but he finally has become a CIDDL Cizzles chef. Dr. Basham discusses information literacy and Corgi, a tool under development to support graphic organization. Corgi aims to support information literacy by providing organization to media and digital presentation of information.
Information Literacy as Process
Understanding how to source and search for technology is essential before the technology can leverage greatness. Our technologically advanced world now affects how we find information through social media and alternative media to verify facts and opinions. Communication, media, and digital literacy impact the research and learning process. How do we go through life and identify good information sources? How do we use those sources? How we find, organize, use, communicate and analyze our findings to support the next generation of professionals in the field is a meaningful conversation.
The tools at our disposal are just that, tools. They serve a limited purpose or are ineffective without an understanding of how to best discover, use, or innovate. Teaching our students and pre-service teachers how to use tools correctly and imposing this understanding on their students is just as important as finding the technology. For example, UNESCO’s Think Critically, Click Wisley! provides a curriculum for educators and learners interested in Information Literacy.
So, you want to be a Pit Master?
Dr. Basham explains how the Covid-19 pandemic was an opportunity to apply information literacy to a new set for him, by learning to smoke chicken wings on a limited budget. Researching relevant information, identifying experts, examining similarities, differences, and looking for additional authoritative sources, and testing, are all strategies he used in identifying where to start, who to watch, and what materials he needed to produce poultry perfection. After his investigation he started experimenting and discovered the best methods for smoking chicken wings on a Weber Grill using his favorite ingredients. It is a process, but as he states “they are a winner.”
Watch Dr. Basham’s full CIDDL CIZZLE and learn more about information literacy and its uses. The competition isn’t over yet! After you finish watching, you can be a judge of the Cizzle by rating the chef in each area: connection, preparation, and aesthetics, using the CIDDL Cizzle Rating System at the bottom of the page. Go to the CIDDL Events webpage to learn about other chefs and their technology and pick up a few new recipes. Check out the CIDDL website for more resources related to the innovative uses of technology in special education and related services personnel preparation programs.