Post #4- Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Keeping Up 2.0 Style, Digital Literacies, Radical Change and wikis

Chapter 4

I don’t know where I stand on the whole “wiki” thing honestly. I know that having them in the classroom can be a good way for students to get their feet wet on creating and editing something. However, I have been told time and time again that using a wiki, such as Wikipedia, just isn’t a good source for information.  I understand that with people editing and looking through information others have written that “there are vastly more editors who want to make it right than those who want to make it wrong (pg 56),” but you still can’t guarantee the information is correct.  I do think that using Wikipedia does “help our students become better learners- namely collaboration and negotiation skills (pg 58).”  I think that if a class has their own wiki page, it’s a great way of having their thoughts and opinions, as well as some work they’ve done, on showcase for others to see.  If it’s a private wiki that only the teacher or students can edit, then it’s even better because nobody else can edit the page and add whatever they want.  I also liked the following quote on page 69, which I think sums up what using wikis in a classroom is all about: “The collaborative environment that wikis facilitate can teach students much about how to work with others, how to create community, and how to operate in a world where the creation of knowledge and information is more and more becoming a group effort.”

Chapter 5

The one thing I really liked about reading about RSS is that the pages you are subscribed to have the information coming at you all the time instead of you having to go get it.  I think using this is good and helpful because when a teacher needs to show their students a website or an article, it’s much easier to just pull it up that way instead of going through Google and searching for it.  All the teacher would have to do is pull it up and there it is; I also like that the user can delete information that’s not relevant at all to the topic, so you can easily get rid of unnecessary information.  I also like that the RSS feeds have comments which can establish more of a community and bring educators and community members together; “well-established conversations and communities lend themselves to better reading and potential network building (pg 74).”  I liked how on page 82, Richardson says that once the feed has new information on it, it’s hard to keep track of the information when so many new things are coming in.  “If you do stick with it, you’ll begin to notice some changes in the way you go about getting your information.  First, odds are you’ll find yourself buying fewer newspapers and magazines (pg 83).” 

I liked how Keeping Up, 2.0 Style basically reiterated what chapter 5 stated, that using an RSS feed is helpful in keeping information that would otherwise be missed brought to us on a regular basis.  I think this is important because sometimes people don’t have the time to check the newspaper, so having this kind of feed allows them to be up-to-date on important information as soon as it comes on the feed.  Having wikis in education could be important, as they “have great potential for promoting online and offline collaborating and for disseminating research and practical resources among educators in accessible ways (pg 631).”  Digital Literacies opened my eyes on how to use wikis in the classroom a little more, especially when it was combined with chapter 4.  Both texts brought up great points on using wikis in the classroom, and I particularly liked how websites such as NewLits.org provide tutorials for new users, as shown on page 632.  I think that is very useful and important to have for people who aren’t very technologically advanced yet want to use a wiki in their classrooms.  I had never heard of Radical Change texts before reading Radical Change and wikis, so I found it a little confusing at first.   However, I liked the work that was done with the 6^th grade students to make their own meanings of books that were brought in.  I agree that the students were making their own meanings of these texts: “…the students were noticing and engaging in a different practice of meaning making (pg 218).”  It is important for students to make their own meanings of something especially when they might not understand it at first.  I think that with changing technology and new way of being able to post information, it is important that we’re “aware of how the manifestations of literacy are broadening and changing.  We need to think less about teaching content and more about engaging students in the processes (pg 222-223).”  I think that quote is only partially true; it is important to still teach content, but it is important for teachers to use these new literacies in their classrooms to engage their students.      

Post #3- Chapter 6, Chapter 9, Tweacher & Social Networking Goes to School

Chapter 6

I thought Chapter 6 was very insightful into the world of social networking and using it in the classroom.  There was one quote on page 89 I found especially interesting about using Twitter in the classroom: “…more and more I see Twitter as an excellent resource for assessing several of the skills that are fundamental to learning and living such as: the ability to make mistakes and immediately get positive critical feedback [and] the ability to take part in a communal discussion.”  I like that Twitter is like a discussion; everything is put out for your followers to see.  With more and more people getting social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, it would be much easier for teachers to keep parents as well as other teachers and other school officials informed about what is going on in the classroom, school- and community-wide.  The part of the chapter that confused me was about Diigo and Delicious, two sites I’ve never heard of before.  It was tough for me to try to follow how these sites are used, probably because I don’t know what they are and have never visited these sites for myself.  After reading the chapter, though, it made me curious about these two sites and I might check them out in the future.  It may just help me in my classroom someday.

Chapter 9  
One thing that struck me right off the bat was that kids are using social networks to “explore interests and find information that goes beyond what they have access to at school or in their local community (pg 131).”  I think sites like Facebook are very hard to ignore in school nowadays because it seems that literally everyone has a Facebook or a Twitter.  While I don’t think everyone needs to have a Facebook, I think “we have a responsibility to understand what Facebook is all about, even if it’s just to the extent that we participate there for ourselves, on our own time, for our own connections (pg 133).”  One thing I found amusing while reading about Facebook was that it’s not as simple as it is written in the book; Facebook keeps changing its layouts and everything about the site, and it just recently changed again this week.  It’s not as simple anymore; the user actually has to poke around and pay attention to what they’re doing.  While I think using Facebook in the classroom is a very controversial issue, I think that it could at least be tried out for a little while.  Just like Diigo and Delicious, I had absolutely no idea what a Ning was, but I think it could be something to look into if it’s useful in the classroom.  While the book may help get started with a Ning, I always think it’s best to log into the sites for yourself and learn about it that way, especially since sites like Facebook and Twitter are constantly updating the looks of their site and where things are.   

   

Tweacher & Social Networking Goes to School

I use twitter for personal and entertainment purposes, but reading these articles gave me more insight into how teachers and even administration in schools can use social networking in schools for education purposes.  In Tweacher, Adrienne Matteson showed students can use Twitter for photo sharing with their classmates and teacher.  I liked the example used in the article how students can post a photo of a leaf in the news feed and their classmates can respond to the photo.  It allows the students to be more creative than just going out and collecting a leaf to bring in, plus it’s a lot less messy.  Since Twitter is home to many celebrities tweeting about their daily lives as well as events they’ve gone to, it would be beneficial for the students to see if authors they like or are reading about have Twitter.  Sending messages to the author would be a lot quicker than sending a snail mail letter to them.  While celebrities and authors don’t always respond to their followers’ messages, it would be cool for the students if someone they’re following did send a response; it would definitely allow the students to feel more connected with their favorite authors.  I liked how in the article Social Networking Goes to School, I liked how right on the first page it talked about the principal who formed a partnership with a company that ended up donating the technology equipment to his school, all based on his followers on Twitter.  Even though school officials are so against using social networking in the classroom, something like this shows how beneficial using these sites can be.  It shows that school officials are willing to “step out of the box” and go deeper than what is done in the school building.  I can see why using social networking sites can be dangerous for students, but if things like teaming up with other schools from different parts of the country are happening because of these sites, why can’t it at least be tried out in schools?

Post #2- Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Teaching With Authors' Blogs, HOT Blogging

Chapter 2

Right off the bat, I found some astounding facts on page 19: “Remember, two new blogs are being created every second, and that pace shows no sign of slowing down.  Now, that doesn’t mean that everyone who creates a blog becomes a dedicated blogger; two-thirds of all blogs go for more than two months without being updated.”  This surprised me, though I feel like it really shouldn’t considering how many blogs are out there on the web on almost any subject.  One thing I liked about reading about blogs is that they can be very useful in the classroom.  Similar to our blackboard site, blogs can be used to do just about anything for the class.  “From a teaching standpoint, having a place to publish the course curriculum, syllabus, class rules, homework assignments, rubrics, handouts, and presentations makes a Weblog a powerful course management tool (pg 21).”  I liked the fact that weblogs can be used as an “online filing cabinet,” so “students never misplace their work (pg 22).”  During my student teaching experience, I would have students who misplaced their work, forgot it or just didn’t do it.  I think using a blog would be better for students to submit their work because they need to log in to actually submit it, reducing the need for printing papers, “running out of ink or paper,” or any other excuse students might come up with as to why they don’t have their work done.

Chapter 3

It is important for a teacher to experience things for themselves in order to explain it to their students; blogs is one of these.  “The best way to fully understand the potential of Weblogs as a teaching and learning tool is to become a blogger.  Just as writing teachers should write, and literature teachers should read, teachers who use blogs should use blogs (pg 43).”  I think this is very important to teach their students how to use blogs in the class as well as outside of school.  That way, students and teachers can collaborate using the blogs outside of class, expanding time in the classroom and each other’s knowledge.  “Don’t be afraid to include some posts that are totally personal or just fun; your readers want to see the person behind the blog as well (pg 44).”  I think it’s important for students to see how their teachers are outside of school, and teachers blogging about their lives outside of school will let the students be even more in tune with their teachers.  While a teacher shouldn’t reveal everything about their personal lives in their blogs, it is important to highlight some interesting things; what sports they watch, what they did during their day with their pets or children, etc.  I also liked how this chapter highlighted how to use blogger; I actually wished while I read that I had this book for last semester when I had to do the literature blogs for Sunita’s class.  Even though everything is pretty self explanatory, it takes a little while to get used to everything on the site. 

Teaching With Authors’ Blogs

One thing that struck me right off the bat in this article was on the first page.  In Sunita’s class we had our literature blogs, and one of my classmates was lucky enough to actually get a comment on her page by one of the authors of a book featured on her blog.  We thought it was really interesting how she got a comment from the author, and it showed that the author could take time out of their schedules and reach out to the community.  That said, the quote that reminded me of Sunita’s class was: “Rather than remaining at a distance, many of these authors desire to create a stronger connection with their readers, which blogging allows them to do (pg 172).” I definitely think this is true, and teachers could use author’s blogs to make important points in their classes.  “Another way students develop depth of knowledge about authors is by understanding their perspectives on varying issues.  Authors often post their thoughts about issues of importance to them (pg 174).”  I think this is also important to do, especially when looking at different blogs in the classroom.  If students are passionate about certain issues in our society, they will want to see if their favorite authors are too, or at least their standings on the issues.  This way, the students can look up to their favorite authors even more and appreciate their work. 

HOT Blogging

I liked how the definition of a blog was right on the first page of the article, for those who don’t know what the technical term of a blog is.  I think that’s always important to have, because people know what a blog is usually but can’t explain exactly what it is.  I think that using blogs in the classroom is important as it develops students’ communication skills but can also develop their thinking and analyzing skills: “As online readers gather information to solve a problem, they frequently analyze information, critically evaluate, synthesize across multiple texts and communicate with others using instant messengers, e-mail, blogs, wikis, or other communication vehicles.  These essential new literacies of online reading comprehension emphasize higher order thinking skills like analysis, synthesis and evaluation (pg 652).”  I think these skills are very important, especially with using blogs in the classroom, or even instead of a physical classroom, like I have had in some college courses.  The professor will pose questions to the class, and we as the students need to find the answers as well as analyze the importance or significance of what we’ve found.  It makes you think deeper about what you’re posting, which is what I think students need to do.  They can’t just post what they think is the answer without reading it through and thinking it over first.  An important fact for all students was under the Prime the Pump headline, stating that, “A final aspect of prime the pump is to require students to read what others in the class have posted to prepare for a conversation (pg 657).”  This is important because the students may agree or disagree with something another student has posted, but it’s not just enough to agree or disagree with the posting; the student should back up their opinions with facts from the conversation or from other sources.      

Post #1- Chapter 1, 10 & Article: What is New About the New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension

Chapter 1 
Chapter 1 discussed the Read/Write Web, referring to it as a more collaborative way of using the Internet.  “Blogs are the first widely adopted easy publishing tool of the Read/Write Web, which people use to create personal journals of their lives, build resource sites with colleagues, or filter the news of the day for audiences large and small with no need to know how to code pages or transfer files (Richardson, pg 2).”  I think the use of blogs can be useful but can also be dangerous, so I think it is important to learn about keeping our students safe on the Internet, as shown toward the end of Chapter 1.  It’s extremely important to keep our students safe on the Internet, and the only way as teachers we will know how to keep them safe is to search unsafe websites for ourselves; we will need to find appropriate website for the students to be on to do research as well as what to do when inappropriate sites are found, if they aren’t already blocked by the school system.  I liked the idea of sending a letter home to parents explaining plans for using the Internet in class and asking the parents’ permission for students to participate in certain projects where their works will get published, as shown on pg 13.  On page 14, I liked the quote that says, “With blogs, the ability for people to leave comments can be a very powerful and positive learning tool.”  When I was doing my undergraduate work at Cortland, I took an online politics course and a lot of our work was done on the discussion boards.  It allowed us to post our work and then leave comments, letting us learn from others as well as the professor.  I think that discussion boards can be very useful in classrooms as it allows the students to see other peoples’ opinions and ideas.

Chapter 10 
I think one very important fact in Chapter 10 was brought up on page 148: “But today, anyone with an Internet connection can now publish without any prior review.  Although this is good in terms of creating a wider body of knowledge to draw from, it obviously requires that we teach our students to become more active consumers of that information rather than passively accepting it as legitimate.  Editing, then, means being a critical reader and viewer, not simply accepting what is presented.”  I think this is relevant with such websites as Wikipedia.  Although it gives information about a certain subject, teachers need to reiterate to students that it is edited constantly by people, and that the information presented may not always be accurate.  I definitely think that the Internet is taking on a different way we think about the content taught in classrooms.  During my student teaching experience, I used the smartboard to not only project presentations to show during class, but could also show websites from the Internet (usually CNN or other news websites) to show relevant information pertaining to the information I presented.  I thought Big Shift 5: Know “Where” Learning was an important topic; during the online course I was talking about above, it wasn’t so much the answer to the question presented by where the information was found.  I’ve heard of texting a questions to CHACHA, but not GOOGL; it shows that we’re constantly learning more information about the Internet and ways to use it, even at your fingertips.

Article: What is New About the New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension
On page 40, I agree with the statement “the Internet has rapidly appeared in the workplace; it permits access to the information required to increase productivity.”  My mom works in an accounts payable department at her workplace and is constantly on her computer and the Internet while talking with venders and customers to ensure the job has been done right and to research payment histories with the company.  There is another statement on page 40 I found to be true, that Internet usage is especially frequent among adolescents.  This may be a positive attribute to the classroom, as their knowledge can guide the teacher and others on using the Internet and the computer to do different things in the classroom.  However on page 41, it says that “increasing Internet access does not necessarily mean that students are being taught the skills necessary to locate, read, and think critically about online information.”  I think this goes along with what was said in chapter 1 of the Richardson book; students find information online but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s true.  I think the informational literacies do require new skills, strategies, and dispositions for their effective use, as stated on page 42.  In order to use them in the classroom, we as teachers need to know how to look for information that is true about a certain topic.  I think it’s also important that as teachers, we need to recognize that the Internet isn’t always the most useful way to teach a topic; it can be used as a supplement, as I have done such as in my student teaching experience.  When I was teaching a unit on geology, I wrapped up the unit by doing several things, and one of the activities was having the students do a project on a recent geological disaster (earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption, etc).  After explaining the project to the students and going over the requirements, I used the Internet to show the students an example of a recent geological disaster using cnn.com.  The videos and articles on the website helped me get my point across to the students, and I was glad I was able to utilize the Internet in a way like that.