Wikis: student-centered learning. Good for making the students the experts. It would be cool to give each students an objective for research which, on its own, is incomplete. Then each student would contribute his expertise to the wiki. The class’s contributions would come together and give the reader the big picture.
“Wiki etiquette” would need to be taught; removing others’ contributions is not acceptable, formal English, positive and constructive comments only, etc.

I read a blog about the use of cellular phones in a classroom. I’d like to see students use their full capabilities to complete their classwork; it is the classwork that needs to changed based on the tools available to them. Our generation of teachers will be the ones to either pioneer our students’ usage of new tools and information streams, or to stick our heads in the sand. If we choose the latter, public schools run the risk of becoming irrelevant. Their jobs and lives when they finish school will be in a connected world; disconnecting them at school does them a disservice.

At what point do we consider removing filtration and teaching students skills to cope with an internet which is filled with things they ought not see? It opens up a huge can of writhing worms and I don’t know how to handle it, but I think eventually we’ve got to find a way to do it. Any ideas? Any research on this topic? Will it ever be possible or even desirable? It would represent a HUGE shift in thinking for our schools and our nation.

One new skill I think we need to make sure students know is the difference between fiction and factual information. Too often students believe all of the information that they find, and assume that it is factual.  Students need to distinguish between the two.  Students also need to have netiquette reinforcement as to what is acceptable and unacceptable when it comes to blogging. 

answer to question #2   students need to use proper sentence structure when blogging.  it is not instant messaging.

  1.  What are the “affordances” and “constraints” of the technology? In other words, what does the technology allow us to do or prevent us from doing? This fundamental understanding is important to answer the next questions…

Affordances: Expansion of the classroom into the larger world. Input from parents. Input from outside experts. Ability to hop in and guide a student after each comment. Ability to include other websites and media to support your argument. Archived record of classroom discussion.
Constraints: You relinquish total control of the direction the students are going. You can act as a shepherd and guide them, but not as a drill sergeant. It’s possible for a discussion to go completely off topic and enter into a new discussion which does not feed your objective. Students with limited experience with computers will face a steeper learning curve. Students could potentially face ridicule and disrespect from other students as a result of their postings, thus harming the feeling of community/classroom safety.

Students working through interface issues to get a computer to do what they want it to do is a form of problem solving. If a student is confident enough in him or herself, any time spent on a computer is a learning experience. However, students who lack confidence in their ability to work through problems could quickly get frustrated when faced with the additional obstacles using a computer faces, as opposed to pencil and paper.

Blogging allows for flexibility within the curriculum and instruction. Students can express their opinions and personal perspectives. As teachers, this gives us a chance to gain insight into student thoughts that we would not usually have access to. The constraints are time and access. It takes time to teach and guide the students through the expectations. Students need to be aware of the language they use to express their thoughts. Maintaining the blog and guiding the students to proper usage could be time consuming.

Blogging could change the way that I teach my classes in several ways. Instead of being the primary purveyor of information I could instead prompt the students with a general topic or problem and then allow them to explore. In this way, Students would not be limited by a text or set curriculum. They could explore current information, generate their own questions, and analyze each others thoughts. I feel that in this setting I would learn as much if not more than the students.

I would like to foster creativity and “right brain thinking” through use of technology in the classroom.  Blogging is one way to create connections with others inorder to critically assess classroom learning.  Blogging means “conversation” and should stimulate critical thinking.  Creativity often means “thinking-outside-the box” which can be difficult for many students. Seeing another’s perspective may stimulate that spark.  I am excited about the potential for students to make global connections through blogging and to truly see an international perspective on a topic of interest. 

I believe there are many ways I can use technology in the classroom after I become aware and comfortable with many of the tools. Blogging, one of the easiest ways, can enable students to comment and collaborate after reading an article/chapter.  This can provide numerous advantages to both the students and the teacher.  This also would allow all students the chance to voice their opinion and feelings about the content, but they could also question themselves and each other in the process. I also love the opportunity to provide differentiated learning experiences for students.  By posing an essential question as a unit assessment they would be able to respond in a variety of ways, thus selecting the medium that best suits them.

Students are going to have to learn that a pc is a tool and not just a video game/entertainment device. They will have to learn to express what they are trying to say through text. Typing skills will help to get ideas out there faster so that students dont get frustrated. Also etiquette would help so that positive criticism could be left on topics.

I feel that students will need to know computer care, and also computer ethics.  Without these computer skills blogging tools would be extremely difficult to monitor!!!

What discoveries did you make as you were looking through the various examples of educational blogs? Click on the comment link below, and enter the information into the fields. Feel free to copy/paste links to these blogs so that others can see the blog you are referencing in your comments.  Also include any thoughts, ideas or questions that may have crossed your mind during your investigation.