Chapter 8
discusses the use of technology in classrooms for communicating and networking
through emails, IM’s, blogs, social media sites, etc. As I read the chapter the
first fact that caught my attention was the somewhat contradicting point,
“While 96 percent of youngsters age 9 to 17 use social networking technologies
most school districts have rules against social networking during the school
day” (p. 210) however, “more and more teachers are engaging in educational
networking (also called social networking for educators). Educational
networking involves teachers using social networking technologies for
educational rather than social purposes.” (p. 210) This concerned me because
first it claims that social networking sites are being banned in schools, but
then goes into saying that it is okay when educators are using them for
educational purposes. Therefore, why ban them? We have seen cases already where
social sites such as Twitter and Facebook are being used to teach lessons to
children, so if any social networking site can be taught from an educational
viewpoint, is there really a need for schools to ban them? Especially when
almost every student uses these sites and would know how to navigate around the
site if used for a lesson.
While the
next part of the chapter discusses the use of emails and instant messaging in
the classroom I was able to relate due to having used one of the strategies
first hand but in an opposite approach. The use of instant messaging and
texting to teach about spelling was used to help prep the students for note
taking during their state ELA tests. We informed the students that since they
are so used to texting and IM’ing one another using language that is
abbreviated and uses numbers and letters to represent words they can use this
“texting language” to take notes quicker during the read aloud portion. Too
often when practicing note taking, students were writing full sentences and
missing important information. However, once we informed the students that
their notes are not graded or checked and that they could use abbreviations and
shortcuts for words the note taking for them got much better and they were able
to take more notes due to not having to write as much. As shared in this
chapter some of these strategies can be used to teach or reinforce a skill, but
they can also help in creating a new skill by using the technology language and
what the students already know.
Lastly, the use of blogs and wikis was helpful to read about in this
chapter because it provided me with ideas in ways to use a blog or wiki in my
own classroom to teach students. In regards to blogs, personally I would want
to use active learning blogs because these blogs “involve students and teachers
in conversations around parts of the curriculum.” (p. 220) which would make for
a more discussion type setting compared to a one sided where I write and
students read. The reason why a discussion type would be more effective is
because when blogs are one sided where people can state whatever they want but
not allow feedback it is like lecturing to a class and not asking questions or
taking input from students. But, if students are actively involved in the blog
and are able to pose questions and share their ideas it will allow the blog to
feel like a safe open space just like in the classroom. What kind of blog would you want to use if
you were to use a blog in your classroom? And for what purpose would you use a
blog? As for wikis, like the blog approach I would want to provide an
opportunity for students to share, discuss, and express themselves. I would
most likely use a group process where groups of students can work together on
completing a set task, but I would probably have some mini tasks within the
wiki where students are working individually to then come together to complete
a bigger task.
As for chapter 9 this chapter was mainly on
PowerPoint and the use of pictures and movies in the classroom. For the section
on PowerPoint I was able to learn a few new ideas and ways to use PowerPoint,
but as stated by a few of my peers, PowerPoint is a program that many of us
grew up on and is a program I feel comfortable using. Therefore, this part of
the reading was an easy read due to being familiar with the topic. Now when it
comes to using photography and video in the classroom I found myself really
interested due to having a passion for photography. I feel that using video and
photography in a classroom is a fun and simple way of engaging students and
helping them express themselves creatively. As stated in the chapter by
allowing students to become photographers and videographers they are getting
experience, documenting their learning, creating information and are being
active learners through the processes of filming, acting, editing, and viewing.
(p. 255). Looking back I wish I could have had the opportunity to become a
photographer or a videographer while in elementary or middle school, because I
see all the ways that students can use this opportunity for learning, they can
create movies based on the books they read, they can take photos and then write
their own story to go with it, they can remake a scene from a film to be in a
different genre i.e. take a funny scene and make it scary, take a sad moment
and make it happy, etc. I just feel that helping to open up a students’
creativity and imagination through the use of pictures and videos is a great
way to engage students and make them active participants in the classroom. Have
any of you used photography or videos to teach a lesson?
I found the first part of your blog post the most interesting. The book mentions how important social networking is for students and teachers seperately so why don't they simply combine the two? As you point out it doesn't make any sense for schools to ban the uses of these sites in schools. I personally feel that schools are not giving teachers enough credit to monitor their students. For example, youtube is blocked in most schools, however there are excellent educational videos available that teachers now cannot use. It doesn't make any sense. Administrators need to give teachers a little more credit in their ability to monitor their students and, if teachers are finally given this freedom, they need to properly monitor their students so we do not end up back at square one.
ReplyDeleteI struggled with the question of “why ban social networking sites” in school for a long time, too, but the further into the educational progress I’ve gotten, the more that such a decision makes sense to me. The most important reason, to be honest, that such sites are banned is liability reasons. The school doesn’t want to run the risk of having it seem as if some kind of unacceptable relationship is occurring between students and teachers, and so students and teachers aren’t allowed to interact in any capacity outside of official, school-run sites. It’s the same reason every principal I’ve ever worked for has stressed the fact that you can never be alone with a student in your classroom- it’s all about appearances, and avoiding potential issues by preventing them from happening.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, I think, there is this issue of student expectations. Students think of twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr as social sites, not as educational sites. Even if one of these websites had the most thorough and engaging educational application, our students are already set in their understanding of these sites as being breaks from rather than part of the educational process. It makes more sense, then, to develop a new site using a similar framework than to try to fight against our student’s brains.