At first I thought the Discovery Resources gave interesting information that was a little scary. I am young enough to enjoy using and learning about these things, but I’m old enough to have a healthy respect or fear for what types of scary things this has the potential to introduce to students. I am interested in the wikis, podcasts, and blogs but I am discouraged by how much money a school would need to invest just to support these tools at school. I also am discouraged about my students being limited by their own lack of finances or access to the technology. I hope to learn more about how these tools can be used successfully in a math classroom. So far every video I have seen and article I have read really makes these tools out to be great for English, science, social studies, current event….. I still don’t see anything I can use with math yet.
I would really have to think hard about how to use the Web 2.0 tools in my math or social studies classroom. I can see it better for social studies than math. I think some project can be created to use these tools. It is possible that kids could research an era, or a president or a state and collaborate about it. I am not really sure at this time that our school is ready to accommodate all of this but it would be great if we could.
The resources were eye opening, interesting, and scary all at the same time. I have little girls and I fear for what they can get themselves into with all of this access. For similar reasons I fear what my students will get into with full access to the power of this technology. I might be able to use it as a research tool in social studies and possible as a location to store notes for absent kids and podcasts for people who miss the lesson. It could help parents understand the lessons as well if they are trying to help their kids with homework.
Having only experience in Bastrop and Smithville, I am limited by my experiences. I can’t conceive of allowing kids access to their cell phones for the purposes of texting teachers or other students about an assignment. I can’t envision schools keeping up with the technology as it grows. I have no doubt that Web 2.0 has the potential to be awesome for education if we can get to the point of trusting kids with the technology and all of the power it gives people.
Unfortunately, I see these tools benefitting me more than my students. I am a responsible adult who will use the technology with integrity to gain knowledge and experience on things I need help with. I have fear about using it with my students. I will be more inclined to use the tools for a few years before creating something for kids to use it for. I would like to be fluent with the tools so I can predict pitfalls. I would also like to let our resources catch up a little before trying to rely on technology as the sole source of learning.
Obviously, people learn well from their peers. I think this collaboration can only make a student better. I don’t see it hurting. A fear might be that it will stymie a students’ ability to think for themselves because they will never have the opportunity to have an original thought. However, I don’t necessarily think that is a bad thing. In the real world the original thinkers are always noticed and the followers are always safe. These tools will give students the ability to hear many different views and outlooks and make their own decisions about which ones they agree with the most. I do not think this is good for interaction. If anything all of this technology is very impersonal and anonymous. Even if someone knows who is blogging or IM’ing, students are likely to “feel” more anonymous when doing these things. That could be a really negative thing. I don’t think technology should ever take the place of good interpersonal skills.
The obstacles are very easy for me to see. It is easier for me to see the obstacles than the benefits unfortunately. The child who uses the cell phone to text someone is unable to be done currently as cell phone use is prohibited in schools. Using just the internet and a printer has proven difficult at times in school due to firewalls and slow processing and outdated hardware so using microphones for podcasts seems like it would be found only in an episode of the “Jetsons”. I know all of these capabilities exist and life might be pretty cool if the “Day in the Life” scenario were possible but I think it is really idealistic. Schools have very little money and all of this technology, while free to use, is not free to support. Another obstacle is teacher/parent fears. Teachers fear allowing kids too much access in case they do not use the technology in a responsible way. Parents fear what their kids might be exposed to at school when they are not under their watchful eye.
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You've made some great points about what many teachers find scary or challenging about using Web 2.0 in schools. Our district, especially, is up against financial obstacles; few students actually have access to technology and the Internet in their homes, and we find ourselves fighting for much-needed time with our limited resources at school. Fortunately, all of the tools we'll explore in this course are free, but that doesn't solve the problem of actually providing our students with the computer and the time to use them.
ReplyDeleteIt also doesn't solve the problem of students failing to use the Internet responsibly. As you pointed out, it's easy and exciting for teachers to think of the possibilities for learning that one can find online because we're responsible adults who use them for their educational purposes; however, allowing students the freedom to explore online or to use their cell phones in school makes us hesitate.
The false sense of anonymity that the Internet provides is certainly a problem, and it has led to many cases of cyberbullying. I think that what kids fail to see most is that their words have more staying-power when they're published online. Saying something mean about someone on the playground can be hurtful, but publishing it online where anyone can read it makes it much more public and more permanent. Fortunately, I think our kids will make good decisions online for the most part, especially if we educate them about the effects of their actions.
As far as using blogs and other Web 2.0 tools for various classroom subjects, you're absolutely correct that they seem to lend themselves more easily to disciplines like Language Arts and Social Studies. A good example of a teacher who uses blogs in his math classroom can be found at adifference.blogspot.com. (Look at the right side of the page and scroll down to "My Class Blogs" for examples of all of his math classes.) Although this is a secondary example, it could probably be modified for elementary. Also, many math and science teachers use the Scribe Post method (described at http://adifference.blogspot.com/2005/11/scribe-post.html) as an effective way to engage their students.
I've enjoyed reading your insights and ideas! Keep up the good work! Thing 2 complete!