Wikis are a fabulous tool for teachers. There is an English teacher in our high school that set up a wiki for his classes. He specifically used it when he went to India in a teacher exchange program. While in India, he was able to monitor his classes, write to his students and comment on their work. Wikis allow for collaboration between students as well as between students and the teacher. Hendron states, “In essence, wiki documents are linked pages” (175). The beauty of it is that there is no limit to how many pages can be linked together. And not only can these pages be linked to other pages in the wiki, but also to websites on the net.
The collaboration is truly what makes wikis great. No longer do students have to swap papers during class in order to comment on one another’s. Now, with a wiki, students can read other students writing at home or anywhere there is internet access. Not only can they read other students’ works, but also they can also comment on it and even edit the writing piece. All of these actions are also documented so that the teacher knows who is accessing the site and who is not. Also, since the site is documented, it also saves versions of each the site or document so that students may revert to previous versions. Back to the teacher in my school, the other great think about wikis is that it can document who is very or reading the site. His wiki shows who is reading his students short stories and from what country they are from, a great aspect of the site, particularly when we have been discussing the idea of authentic writing and writing for an audience. Hendron states, “Educators who have already engaged their students with Reade/Write opportunities of expression know how their students are powerfully motivated by being able to publish their work online for others to see, hear, and use” (178). Giving students a voice will truly give the motivation. Just as with blogging, writing with an audience in mind allows for better writing, writing that is cleaner and writing that contains a stronger voice.
Just as with any technology, wikis have a downside to them. What happens to the students who do not have access to a computer or the internet at their home. I realize that many teachers will say that there is plenty of time in school (study halls and lunch) for a student to get access to a computer. But the reality is that there is not enough time in a day. Many students do not have study hall and those that do find the library closed many of the times that they would like to go and use the computers. Although I do agree with Hendron’s statement, “We are part of a new society; one actively collaborating through social technologies, which may be the future of our global economy,” it is difficulty to expect our students to use so much technology when unlimited access is not completely there yet (180). This is not to say that districts will not eventually have enough computers and times that the students can use them, but rather, as of now, using technology at home can not be mandatory.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Blogging on Blogs!
With technology flooding many school districts, teachers are left in a quandary on how and when to incorporate technology. As with anything new, problems arise. Using technology, such as blogs, can change a classroom and a student’s perspective on a particular lesson or unit. As Hendron states, “the number of blogs is now approaching 100 million by some accounts,” which only means that blogging will be with us for quite some time (172). With that said, teachers need to explore and find different avenues that they can incorporate blogging into their classes. Blogging allows people access to an unlimited audience and allows the writers to voice their opinions on whatever subject they deem important. The one idea that I strive for in my classroom is authenticity, and that is precisely what blogs offer. With blogging, students can be “honest-to share personal experiences and to ultimately encourage authenticity in their writing” (153). Giving students an audience allows them to develop their own voices while feeling that there is a purpose to what they are writing. Unfortunately, too many students feel that it is pointless to write because the only person that is going to read their work is the teacher. Blogging takes that out of the equation. Students, particularly middle school students, are narcissistic. They like to know that people are reading what they are writing. So what is blogging and why is it important to the classroom, simply put, “blogs are, together and separately, introspective, public, challenging, engaging, social, and connected entities that students create” (152).
The social sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, were originally designed to make networking easier for people. However, it has evolved over its few years of existence. Many people use these sites as blogging sites. Users are constantly writing thoughts, feelings and ideas on their pages that other people are reading. And not only reading, but people also comment on these thoughts, and that is what makes this writing authentic and an attraction to people and more specifically, students.
As great as blogging can be, there are also some concerns, especially when dealing with the legalities. Teachers must be careful not to subject their students to dangers that may occur on the net. Blogging has the potential to allow a student’s personal information to be publicized on the internet. I find it difficult to believe that many districts will allow students to blog in school. First, too many filters must be turned off to allow that to happen, which will allow other unwanted material in. Secondly, by allowing students to blog in school, the districts are opening themselves up to possible lawsuits if something does happen. I don’t think blogging will become an integral part of schools until we begin teaching students to be responsible internet users instead of simply blocking everything with filters. By using filters, we are not educating the students on what to do if they come across a bad site, or if someone asks for personal information. If students learn to trust filters, they will never learn how to handle different situations that may arise while using the internet.
The social sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, were originally designed to make networking easier for people. However, it has evolved over its few years of existence. Many people use these sites as blogging sites. Users are constantly writing thoughts, feelings and ideas on their pages that other people are reading. And not only reading, but people also comment on these thoughts, and that is what makes this writing authentic and an attraction to people and more specifically, students.
As great as blogging can be, there are also some concerns, especially when dealing with the legalities. Teachers must be careful not to subject their students to dangers that may occur on the net. Blogging has the potential to allow a student’s personal information to be publicized on the internet. I find it difficult to believe that many districts will allow students to blog in school. First, too many filters must be turned off to allow that to happen, which will allow other unwanted material in. Secondly, by allowing students to blog in school, the districts are opening themselves up to possible lawsuits if something does happen. I don’t think blogging will become an integral part of schools until we begin teaching students to be responsible internet users instead of simply blocking everything with filters. By using filters, we are not educating the students on what to do if they come across a bad site, or if someone asks for personal information. If students learn to trust filters, they will never learn how to handle different situations that may arise while using the internet.
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