Blog Benefits

Based on your projects, I've compiled a list of some of the benefits you all discussed regarding using blogs in the classroom.  

What are the benefits of researching with blogs?

1. Blogs offer a low-risk way of having students learn about source credibility.  Although books, journal articles, and newspapers are credible and are certainly needed in research, blogs remove the "guarantee of credibility" and make students delve more deeply into the sources to look for that credibility.  
2. Using blogs makes students research the research.  In other words, many of you had to conduct research on the people who created the blogs to determine its credibility/worth.  Again, this goes with debunking the "guarantee of credibility."
3. Blogs allow students to conduct research informally.  They can choose topics they want to pursue while learning how to be a researcher (i.e. how to let curiosity drive their searches).  Many times, students only view research as the "scary research project you do at the end of the year," and topics tend to be a bit more academic (i.e. dull).  Having students research through blogs on topics of their choices can help them better understand what it means to conduct research, and that perhaps not all research is boring.
4. Conducting research via blogs reminds us that we are ALWAYS researching.  How many times do you "Google" something in a day?  How many times do you think students Google something in a day?  Why not bridge "Googling" to school research practices?
5. Blogs allow us as teachers to discuss peoples' motivations for writing (via blogs, journals, etc.).  Examining why we write may enable us to look at the how and what as well.
6. Put your name at the bottom as a reply for bonus points;)

Blog Research Assignment

So we are moving onto the next project, the blog research assignment.  First, the easy stuff:  choose a question you would like to explore and investigate possible answers to the question by only using blogs (minimum of five but you may need more).  Refer back to the syllabus for details on that part.

Second, the not-so-easy stuff:  I want you to come to an answer/solution to your question solely based off the information you received from the blogs and explain why that answer is viable,etc.  In this component, you need to compose (via writing, audio, visuals, etc.--your choice--but if you hand in a MS Word doc, then your choice will become my choice, got it?) a reflection of your research process, including how you found the blogs, how you determined their credibility or worth, any hang-ups that occurred along the way, and any interesting things you found.  This is a vital component of this project.

Third, the also not-so-easy stuff:  I want you to think about what blogs/wikis/etc. offer students as they conduct research?  We have all heard teachers say to stay away from sources like Wikipedia, and I have heard you all ask if it's okay to use Wikipedia.  Why is there such a hesitation to use information that does not originate from a library database?  Is this an antiquated notion of research?  Are blogs/wikis credible?  If so, how can we tell?  If not, why are they so popular?  In other words, in this part, I want you to think about students, research, and source credibility in a more broad, critical way.  Make sense?

Some of you overlooked the importance of analysis in your remediation project (some of you did an AMAZING job on this component), which inevitably hurt your performance.  Remember, step one is only a third of the project.  The analyses components are what will separate the stellar projects from the lackluster ones--it's what set the remediation projects apart as well.  One more thing, pinterest can't be used for this one.  We all know how it works and what we can do with it.  Now find something else to expand your tech repertoire:)  Also, no recycling of technologies.  If you used it for a previous project, you gotta try something else.  Here are my exceptions to this rule (although the no Pinterest rule is firm):  if you used a combination of technologies last time, I am okay with some recycling, but there needs to be some new components as well (more new than old--got it?).  Also, if you want to use a combination of technologies this time but have never done so before, you may recycle one tool--but the rest must be new (my incentive to those of you who are interested in mixing and blending technologies).

So, here is an image of a blog project I did a while back--when I was just learning about technology (so, it's rough, and certainly not model work).  It's an interactive show where each image is a suspect in the JFK murder case, and each image is a link to one of the blogs I used.  I repeat:  I am not showing this to you to model yours after.  I am showing this to you so that you can wrap your head around the project a bit more, and make this your own.  Notice that I did not include my analyses component for you to see--that's on you (plus,I don't want my opinions about blogs and technology to taint yours).

Put your questions below, and sign your name so I know you read this.

Week Six Responses

After reading all of your posts, I made a Tagxedo for Week Six.  Take a lookie!  It's so interesting to see your responses in a different medium.  I think it tells me quite a bit about what you all are gathering from this reading and perhaps the course as a whole.  I wonder if we did an overall Tagxedo at the end of the term what we'd find!  (Don't volunteer for this task--you all have too many things to complete at the end!)

What does this perhaps show us about what it means to be literate in the 21st century?  What role as teachers do we have in perpetuating such literacies?  Just a question to get you thinking...no need to post this week (enjoy the breather!).

Remediation Analysis

Now that you have chosen your text and its five remediations, it's time to think about two things:  the analysis component and the medium/s that you will present this project. 

In order to conduct the analysis, the following questions may help guide you.  Some of these questions may not really pertain to your project or what you are attempting to do, and that's okay--remember these are just questions to help you get started with the analysis.  Also, you may have other questions you'd like to address, and that's fine as well.  These questions are guides--tools to help you further your own analyses. 

1. For each textual remediation, what has changed?  How?  Why?
2. For each textual remediation, what has remained the same?  How?  Why?
3. How does audience interaction vary with each remediation of the text?  Why?
4. If you have a remediation where audience interaction does not change, why do you think that is?
5. Does each textual remediation affect our perception/understanding/interaction with the original text?  If so, how and why?  If not, how and why? 
6. What technologies are incorporated with each remediation?  How/why does that alter the original?
7. Why was each remediation selected for this project?  Why were these five specifically chosen?
8. What is the value of understanding remediation?  (This can be pedagogical value, personal value, etc.)      
   

The remediation analysis can be written as an overall analysis, an introduction to your piece, in blurbs analyzing each remediation as you go through them, etc.  You can audio record the analysis instead of writing it out.  You can write a song for the analysis.  You can do a combination of techniques for analysis.  It's really up to you--and there is no right or wrong here.  (Well, it can be wrong in the sense that you don't analyze the remediations in a thorough, thought-provoking manner, or you just throw something together...yeah, that would hurt you a lot...)

As for format, you don't have to use just one medium.  You don't have to use more than one.  You cannot use the same medium you did for your first project.  You will need to explain why you chose the medium/s you did for your project.  In other words, don't choose a medium that you consider to be easy that doesn't really make sense with your project.  It needs to go with your project, and you need to be able to explain to me how it does (something more than "I really like this site", "I am really familiar with this site", etc. is needed). 

Throw questions re: analysis here on this blog, and I'll respond to them asap. 

KT

Remediation Ramblings

I want to return to Mishra and Koehler once more before discussing remediation, hypermediacy, and immediacy.  In the first part of their article, they contend that

"Over time, these technologies achieve a transparency of perception (Bruce & Hogan, 1998); they become commonplace and, in most cases, are not even considered to be technologies" (p. 61).  

In other words, certain technologies have become so ingrained in our daily practices that we have been trained to overlook their interfaces.  Think about it this way:  in a lot of earlier posts, many of you discussed how technologies should not always be a component of lesson plans--what we fail to realize, however, is that technologies are always used in some fashion--some are just more transparent than others (i.e. the pencil and paper we don't necessarily see as technology because we have used them for ages--thus, they just go with writing and communication).  And, we see past the interface of the paper and pencil--with those technologies, writing feels "natural", "more intimate", and for many "the correct way of writing--the tried and true method".  But why?  Why is the paper and pencil considered a more genuine, or natural, writing technology whereas the monitor and keyboard seem less natural, more foreign?  And--just to play devil's advocate--where do we do most of our writing today?  Wouldn't it seem that digital writing is more "natural" to us given our prolific use of digital technologies?   Something for you all to chew on....

Furthermore, Mishra and Koehler assert that we ask the wrong questions when incorporating technologies into the classroom.  Whereas most of us naturally think of the "how" questions (for evidence of this, look at last week's postings--most of them focus on the how), we need to retrain ourselves to more so think of the "why".  In other words, why did I use edmodo as the platform for this class?  What does it offer that perhaps something like Blackboard or even Ning couldn't provide?  How does such a platform alter the layout and feel of the course (and, thus, our engagements with the course)?  How would it have been different if the course were face-to-face?  Could we still have the same course?  


So, in a way, I constructed this course to be rooted in hypermediacy.  You are constantly reminded of (i.e. hyper aware) the medium (the social networking/communicating site) as you write, upload, and connect.  The medium is in your face--as Marshall McLuhan stated, "The medium is the message."  Sometimes, that can be uncomfortable for teachers--the medium should be stable, not changing (why we see many teachers run from technologies--because they are always changing, always moving).  When we remove the stability of a medium, we have to think differently about how we communicate, the messages we send, and how our audience will receive them.  It makes things harder.  It makes things less stable.  And it can truly be intimidating for teachers and students of all levels (ask me how many emails I received about the first project--some of you were really scared about the openness, and I get it).


Okay, so why did I have you learn about hypermediacy, immediacy, and remediation?  (Nope, not answering that one for you;).)  What can we do with this knowledge as we move into teaching students how to interpret, analyze, and communicate with and through a multitude of "texts"?  What do these things have to do with teaching students in the 21st century?  Chew on this as well.....


So, remediation--the movement of messages between and among different media.  Here's an example of remediation that should help you a bit.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter started as a book, a medium that allows us to get lost in characters, plot lines, excitement, and magic.  When we read Harry Potter, are we aware that we are reading words on the page, or do the words transform into a story?  Based on its immense following, I would argue that the book is indeed more than words, and that we often forget we are reading (in other words, we get lost in the book, we forget the medium and just enjoy the ride).  We, in many ways, can see the reading of a text such as Harry Potter as transparent, immediate.  But then, we change the page, or we lose our place in the book, or we get our book soaked in coffee, forever giving the book pages that slightly crunchy/crackling feeling.  We fluctuate between the immediacy of the story and the hypermediacy of the medium.  And what does this fluctuation do to our engagement/perception/interaction with the text?  Chew on that....

Then Harry Potter became something else.  It shifted from a story typed onto pages to a visually-based text.  When Harry Potter movies came out, Harry Potter became Daniel Radcliffe, and we were provided with a digitally composed compilation of events.  Our interaction as audience members changed:  we no longer had control to flip the pages (or even read the end)--we sat, watched, and passively consumed the cinematographic adaption.  In other words, we could not engage with the medium as we could the books--the film was meant to be immensely transparent, immediate, and we as audience members were to feel as if we were flies on the wall--that what we saw was real.  But then, is this truly the case?  The special effects of each film make us hyper aware that we are indeed watching a film--not just reading the books.  So, in a sense, the film adaptations were simultaneously more immediate and hypermediate than the books.  And, again, the shift in medium calls us to interact, to behave, differently with it.  We are a different type of audience when we watch the film versus when we read the books, but what are those differences?

Then, something else happened.....

And we interacted with the Harry Potter tale in ways unknown before this point.  We were literally thrust into the story--we had become characters in this world.  In a sense, we became part of the medium in that we constructed our stories, our tales.  We had control, we had access, and there was no medium standing between the story and our engagement.  And, it inevitably, made us more fond of, more invested, in this:

*********************************************************************************




Going back to the why versus the how questions (remember all the way at the beginning of this ramble):  remediation is more so an understanding, or exploration, of the reasons why texts like Harry Potter are shaped into myriad mediums than the how.  Although we need to understand how a text is remediated by tracing its shifts in media, we need to focus on why such shifts come about?  Why were they created in the first place?  How do these remediated versions alter the ways by which we understand the Harry Potter story/empire?  (Okay, I know that's a how question, but I think you get my point)? Why was the Harry Potter series remediated into all of these different forms (I know there are a multitude of Harry Potter remediations--I just chose these three to illustrate my point)?  


We need to think about these questions before we ask how we can use such concepts in the classroom.  So, that's what you will be doing for the next assignment.  You will chose a text (can't be Harry Potter) and trace its shifts in media (i.e. it's remediation) and examine what such shifts offer us/our interactions with it/etc..  

Here are the guidelines for this assignment:  You must trace the text through five different remediations.  You must present this assignment in something other than a MS Word traditional essay.  You cannot use the same medium you used for your digital narrative.  You must ask your questions now--I will not answer any questions the day before this assignment is due.  You must focus on the why.


Put your name below to let me know you've read this blog.  Also, place any questions as a comment--you will ALL have questions, so we will use this site as a venue for asking and answering those.


DO NOT WAIT TO DO THIS PROJECT--IT IS DIFFICULT, YOUR BRAINS WILL HURT, AND YOU WILL MORE THAN LIKELY HAVE TO REREAD BOLTER AND GRUSIN FOR HELP.  WAITING IS NOT AN OPTION.

Week Three Responses

So, this week I am changing things up a bit.  Instead of responding individually to you all, I am compiling a post where I take the most interesting, thought-provoking points from each you.  After you guys review it, send me a comment at the bottom of the blog telling me what you think.  What is most interesting/thought-provoking?  What would you add to it?  What do you disagree with?

I think we may be the lucky ones who will be able to find just about anything to be able to integrate technology into our classroom. Ongoing professional development is the only way to ensure teachers receive the tools they need to deliver content and implement practices. Teachers must also be willing to make those adjustments to the curriculum as well as more formative assessment to test the strategies they use. Having a lot of technological knowledge is great, but if a teacher cannot make it relevant to the classroom discussion it does not enhance anything. Concurrently, if a teacher does know the subject and the content area but not the technology they cannot enhance the students learning.  I definitely agree that I do become entranced with new technologies as I am playing with them. I am usually much more concerned about finding the cool shortcuts or learning how I can show off my skills with the program instead of seeing the ways that the program or technology can be used to enhance our classroom and our curriculum.  First and foremost, a teacher needs to set content as priority number 1. Many teachers have no idea how to use technology in their curriculum because they have not been taught to use these different techniques, and not just that, but the actual technology like computers, overheads, and smart boards are more of a problem than an actual program.. . . So, I think that technology, if it is going to be used in the classroom, needs to fit the needs of the teachers just as much as the students, because a teacher using technology just to use it, without knowing how to, takes away completely from the content and pedagogy.  When planning a unit if you, as a teacher, don’t know the content how can you even hope to begin a unit on material you aren’t intimately aware of and able to use? For this reason I would pick content to start with, but without the pedagogical knowledge of teaching and learning you wouldn’t have a unit or lesson plan, you would have a mess.  I appreciated that it noted how, at times, the technology aspect is treated as an “add-on.” As if a teacher had something in mind already for their lesson and realized there was no technological element. . . . Not using these great resources to their full potential is like handing Leonardo Da Vinci a flower pot and asking him to paint it red. . . . It really does go back to the harmonies of all of these Knowledges. A weakness in one area disrupts the basis of the principle. Unfortunately, the technology aspect is often what is lacking.  Everyone always has a friend that is “good with computers,” and we come to rely on those people to deal with these opaque technologies. In order for students (and teachers) to achieve the highest possible levels of success, we have to take it upon ourselves to acquaint ourselves with these technologies so that they will cease to seem so complex and incomprehensible.  I believe it is definitely important for teachers to familiarize themselves with technology in order to incorporate it more effectively in the classroom. I don’t think that understanding HTML has much to do with this though. Harris and Hofer mentioned that an issue for teachers was knowing how to use technology in conjunction with their lessons; not just using it for the sake of using it to meet standards. When you talk about this in an education standpoint those are two things that never happen at a rapid rate. For the most part funding is minimal and gets schools by, so buying everything when it comes out is probably not going to happen. Secondly, whenever something new is bought it must first be learned by the technology people at a school who then instruct the teachers on how to use it. And even then we have all had that teacher that still has no idea how to work that piece of technology. So I would say, find a piece of technology that teachers enjoy using and works for students and stay with it until it is absolutely necessary to replace it or something so much better has been released that it can not be done without. I don’t think that teachers should have so much technology in their classroom that it distracts their students and defeats the purpose of purchasing the equipment. I think that teachers need to know their students, know how to keep them focused on the proper usage of the technology, and have great classroom management if the class is going to be decked down in technology. Part of TPACK’s main ideas is using technology properly for your educational needs. So, my suggestion is to put those cell phones and laptops to work. If you can’t get them off facebook have them create a page for a character and make it a requirement that they must write on other character’s walls, post pictures, pick out quotes and those character’s favorite songs. If you can’t get them off their cell phones have them use online polls where they have text in an answer.  Technological knowledge is not a hiring requirement (for most schools), nor is it a classroom requirement - so you cannot be held accountable for it by the school. I believe if we are wanting to be /great/ teachers, the kind that make us stand out, the kind we say we want to be now (but may forget about in 5 years), then we need to go that extra step. Teachers are learners as well so there should not be the issue of how adept they are in the different technologies available – just that they have more practice in some areas.  But if we are not accountable to teach students technology knowledge then who is? The students? Should all and/or more schools have classroom or technology tutoring programs?  Technology is one of the driving forces in the advancement of our world, in order to tap into that force it must begin in a classroom. These students are coming to school from homes where technology has been the forefront for as long as they remember. When they come into the classroom and the teacher isn't teaching up to that speed he/she will lose their student's attention very quickly.  The problem with attempting to introduce digital tech in schools, as with integrating anything new in schools, comes from the idea that whatever the new thing is, it must take over totally, completely, and will require tons of painstaking time to training those unfamiliar in its use.  I understand that some teachers put so much information online that their students could stay home and get just as much out of the course. But the solution to this is still making class time valuable, not eliminating all technology from the classroom.  I’m not saying that teachers should not make resources available to students; I strongly believe they should, but as a teacher you should be using your knowledge of content and pedagogical knowledge to provide something in your class beyond the technological resources, something that students could not get elsewhere.  I feel like our students would be a perfect idea for helping us and updating us about new tools, updates, and technologies that are out there; since they are the ones that will be most exposed to it. I also feel like having a nice community within the school with the teachers would be very beneficial.  As a student, there are many downsides to having such a teacher. They feel much less accessible than your other teachers. First, it’s tough to get into contact with them as they only check their email once every other solstice, and second, you feel a personal disconnect because they cannot relate to your natural inclination to technology.  We need teachers to stick to lectures once and a while so students learn to take proper notes, and we need students to have to go to office hours to ask questions and not always rely on email and expect instant response. I would definitely let my students know that I am human, I am still learning, and I want to work with them, not against them, for each assignment.




So, my questions after reading this are the following.  You don't need to answer them, but I do want you to think about them (because we will return to them a few more times):  What is technology?  If we believe that technology includes items such as pencils (i.e. Pencils to Pixels) or even bound books, can we ever truly teach without technology/tools?  If so, how?  What would that look like?

Week Two Responses

The Read/Write Web as a full-fledged component of our classroom, we need to teach our students the following: responsibility, appropriateness, and common sense.

@Coral:  I completely agree.  I think there is this fear that technology can replace teachers, but couldn’t technology also increase society’s need for strong, up-to-date teachers?

By restricting the internet, it is one more media outlet that is being censored. For a country that prides itself on the fact that we "don't censor like China" we are in fact just as censored.

@Jessica:  Very interesting points, and I appreciate your perspective as both an educator and a parent.  Is there a difference between protecting/limiting children’s exposure to material on the internet versus censorship, in your opinion?  Or is it just varying degrees of censorship?  I appreciate your “soapbox”, as I have encountered numerous students who are 18 years old (and up) who do not know how to navigate the internet, decipher source credibility online, or even change margins on MS Word.  Would it be fair to consider these students somewhat illiterate for the 21^st century?  What does it mean to be literate today?

There is an ongoing debate about whether students should be informed or sheltered. I personally believe there should be a medium.

@Mary:  And that medium is such a difficult thing to find, especially when there are so many hurdles to jump through (administration, parents, etc.).  I have actually witnessed several parents become upset with students using Edmodo in that it still has the social networking feature.  How do you think we strive to find this happy medium where students are able to access the internet in informative, educational ways that also appease administration and parents?  

I think a better use of my school’s funding would have been for teachers to embrace the use of myspace and use it in an educational way, like make a novel’s character their own myspace.

@Vicki:  I think professional development opportunities are key, for sure! What would this education look like in schools?  How would you imagine it?

There are also certain values I have that I teach my child which would not be in a teacher’s best interest to tell my child otherwise. . . . I do not feel comfortable as a Parent explaining sensitive material to other individual’s children.

@Ang:  I think this is an extremely important point to make.  We are certainly not the parents or guardians of our students,  and our values will not always align with our students' families.  How do we respect the familial values of our students when they may be at odds with our classroom/teaching values?

Having these web tools as an educational supplement is something I think will not only make our classrooms interesting for our students, but that will expand their range of knowledge by helping them develop different types of literacy. 

@Casey:  Very interesting point!  So, what does it mean to be literate in the 21st century?  How do we as teachers ensure that our students are literate individuals?  (This is a question I continually return to, and it changes every time I answer it...) When we teach students literacy skills, what does that mean (or, what doesn't that mean?)

With new inventions, we change as a human race. We evolve and learn to communicate through the new inventions. 

@Shannon:  Or, is it that we as a human race are continually changing and the new inventions reflect that shift?  In other words, what came first?

But, what I can think off the top of my head are simply things such as splitting up group projects and having each person work on their part, which involves having interdependency with one another. This is done is classrooms as well, face-to-face, and it can be done with technology as well. . . .  I completely agree with that statement, I do not feel like it is necessarily talking about us right now since we are still young, but as time goes on and more tools are made available and technology advances, if we do not keep up to date, it will be true.
@Daniela:  Nicely put.  I think that creating assignments that have the flexibility to be conducted in multiple ways is the mark of a good assignment.  Also, I think you brought up an important point regarding staying up to date.  As teachers, we must first and foremost be learners.  If we aren't learning new things, isn't it a bit hypocritical to ask our students to?  (P.S.  Thanks for addressing the second post, but don't feel like you need to address more than one question.  Someone else will pick it up:))

Our education is never over and we need to recognize that in a constantly evolving technological world it is part of our job to stay up to date on technology and their implications for education. I also think it is our responsibility as upcoming teachers who have the advantage of growing up in a technological world to work within our schools and be available as a resource for other teachers.
@Jessie:  Get out of my head, woman!;)  But seriously, I think you nailed it with this point.  In fact, in many ways, your education will begin when you become teachers of your own classes.

Connecting what the teacher is teaching to what the students like or what they are familiar with technologically, may seem like a daunting task, but if content is thought about abstractly, drawing those associations should be easy-peasy.
@Johnathan:  And, isn't that what true teaching is?  Helping students make connections on their own?  Nice example to support your point (but I may challenge you with the "easy-peasy notion" ;)).

By teaching students to site their sources at a younger age they will be more likely to “fact check” and think about the sources they use and the reputation of those sources. By not creating bad habits like using google to find websites they don’t know the legitimacy of they will be more likely to use better and more reliable sources. 
@Brynne:  I am curious as to why you think Googling or using Wikipedia are "bad habits"?  What makes them less useful than an article from JSTOR?  


The first, and probably the most obvious, is to assign these activities for when they are at home. Then your students will have the option of their home computer or the public library’s, where they will surely have access. This option, however, has some limitations to it. If you wanted to view your students work, you would only be able to do so at home. Also, if your students had trouble with the technology aspect of the assignment you wouldn’t be there to explain or troubleshoot.
@Erika:  I think that's why it is so important to make sure the tasks fits the availability of technologies at the school.  It's working with what you got, and there's nothing wrong with that.  Otherwise, teachers would be setting themselves as well as their students up for potential failure, which would inevitably make both teacher and students cling more to more traditional, tried-and-true, assignments.  Balancing expectations with the availability of resources is key.

Think of the internet as that bad guy from Terminator 2 made of that ultra-futuristic alloy that allowed him to shape-shift to anything and anyone. Staying abreast of the most current incarnation of this shape-shifting beast is how teachers can stay updated with technology and there are many ways we can do this. . . . One day, much to your chagrin, you will be a “digital immigrant” and current technology will seem foreign. Instead of letting this difference create a divide, use it to bridge the gap.
@Maximo:  Thank you for the fabulous analogy and for the tips.  I think Prensky's metaphor of digital natives and immigrants is such a useful way of understanding students today, and I'm glad you pointed that out.  Bridging the gap is the name of the game, and the gap will always be present (it may not always be the same gap--indeed it will morph into some other gap, just like the bad guy:)).  

I think that the best way to create this balance is to start off small and work students up. Just like with most things, you don't just hop right into it and automatically know how. Such as riding a bike, most people start off with training wheels and eventually learn to without them but with help. 
@Kristin:  Absolutely.  It's scaffolded instruction.  If we assume our students know how to "hop right on", we may be in for some difficult teaching (and learning) moments.

Since technology is always changing, not everyone needs to learn every new technological program, but some are not necessary for the main public or the social or educational atmosphere.
@Jessica:  I think this is an interesting point.  Not all technologies are equal, and certainly not all of them have educational value.  But, how do we as teachers assure that the technologies we do bring into the classroom are of value?  It's a simple answer, but it's truly important to remember.


Schools should do their part to filter out bad sites, but I agree with the author of the book that schools should also spend more time teaching students how to deal with bad sites when they come up. Because they will come up. I bet every single one of us right now can think of an occasion where, somehow or another, they ended up on a site they never want to describe in their life. If not multiple sites.

@Liz:  Oh yes, you are right about this.  Things do happen, but they hold educational value (not the sites themselves) in that it helps students understand how to search appropriately on the internet, including search terms, etc.).  I'm glad you pointed this out, and I want you to think about what kind of protocol you would adopt in your classroom for instances where bad things do pop up.

Until everyone is able to have access to a computer and the internet I do not believe schools/teachers can require students to complete assignments with technology, UNLESS they provide means and ample time for students who are less fortunate to do so.

@Vinnie:  The task certainly needs to fit the available resources.  One of the first things new teachers should do is discover what technologies and resources are available at their schools and then plan lessons with those resources in mind.  

Even when we don't necessarily believe that the type of technology we are using is controversial, it is always important to involve the parents in what is happening in our classrooms. I believe that if we explain the significance of using social media and linking it to pieces of literature parents will usually provide permission as long as they are able to remain involved in the process. 
@Erica:  I think that sometimes parents just want their voices to be heard regarding their children's educations, which I completely understand.  Keeping them in the know through letters and emails, and even perhaps having a site where parents can voice concerns, etc. may be a way of establishing an open line of communication.  I'm glad you touched on this:)

It’s important to realize that many districts are forming, or have formed specific protocol for social media within the classroom, so my first step as an educator would be to research these policies, and follow them.
@Danielle:  I think this is a very smart thing to do.  Knowing the guidelines and ramifications for incorporating technologies into the classroom I think will help in the long run.  Know your resources and your limitations--those two rules, I believe, are key (especially for new teachers).


I believe that having students share the information they find with other schools and students is a learning experience that all students would greatly benefit from, but as Liz was saying, students will find ways to abuse these privileges and the means to patrolling this is usually to limit our students. 
@Erin:  I'm glad you brought up the issues with limiting access to students.  When we start punishing students by taking away internet privileges, we're no longer teachers but officers patrolling for student misconduct, which really takes the joy out of teaching (and learning). How can we ensure students use technologies in appropriate ways for school without reprimanding misconduct by removing technology?  What other ways could we handle a situation like that?

If teachers are to use different technologies and social networks for pedagogical applications, they need to plan for occurrences such as cyber bullying. I think that one of the first things to do would be to show students the results of past cyber bullying as well as explain a zero tolerance policy on it. Also, I would make it clear that if it is occurring that it should be reported to you, the parents, etc.; any way to make the offense known in order to prevent future bullying. 
@Michelle:  I'm so glad you answered Danielle's question re: cyber bullying because it really is a huge problem in schools today.   Many schools have a zero tolerance policy in place, so I would make sure you are aware of the school's policies as well.

Obviously, teachers need to go beyond the classroom to grow as people and as professionals. While technology is so imperative in the classroom teachers should never forget that it is imperative to their lives as individuals.
@Alyssa:  I completely agree.  Teachers are learners both inside and outside the classroom--just like students are.  Thank you for bringing that up:)


I can honestly say as a child of technology I have had a Facebook for over 8 years now and numerous other website accounts. My mother on the other hand has a hard time checking her email and the airlines computers (which is mostly codes anyways). So here is my question as teacher what can we do for parents so that they can stay as up to date as their children?
@Emily:  I think that we need to communicate to parents what we are doing and why in our classrooms and be available for them if they have any questions or concerns.  Teaching sometimes does extend to the parents of our students, regardless if we are prepared for it or not.  However, I think it's also important to note that there will be parents who don't want to learn or communicate with you, which can be a challenge for teachers as well.

Week One Responses

Is the access to information a good thing even if some or most of the information is unreliable? @Mary:  Or, does the plethora of unreliable information on the web make us more or better informed in that we have to possess specific abilities to filter through vast amounts of material?  Also, why are we so upset by losing cursive writing instruction in schools?  What does that tell us about writing?

I think that this access to information is still a good thing, despite the fact that the information can be unreliable. This goes back to what all of us have been learning about since middle school or earlier: how to select sources based on their credibility or, as one teacher put it, how to not just “Wikipedia” everything. . . . I agree there is a fear, though, that having so many answers just clicks away can begin to decrease our dependence on our own abilities.  @Casey:  Perhaps this is a different type of literacy?  Or is it an extension of traditional literacy?  Perhaps “our abilities” are changing more so than our dependence?  For instance, I don’t remember my husband’s work number, but I do know how to access the number instantly.  In other words, my memory is the same (maybe?)—I am just remembering different things (i.e. accessing the phone number vs. actually knowing the number by heart).

The process of finding the answers to the world requires less effort. . . . One way is to challenge your students to not use technology. Force them to rely on their brain.

@Shannon:  So maybe, as teachers we should focus more on the process of finding and filtering than the answers?  Also, can we not use technology in ways that do indeed force them to rely on their brains? 

I know we, as teachers, would want to be able to deliver the materials ourselves at least some of the time but I think exploring movies and songs would become a very large part of our curriculum, as they are (in part) now.  @Erika B.:  Interesting…so in a sense technology has brought us to a more oral-based culture (perhaps as it would if pencils were never invented)? 

For starters, each student needs to have access to the same materials/equipment.

@Coral:  I completely agree—access is such a huge part of the puzzle, and I don’t see it becoming any less of an issue given that technology becomes outdated so quickly.  So, how do find ways to incorporate technology into our classrooms in meaningful ways by “working with what we got”?

The strategy asks students to even question the question and test their understanding. The same needs to be done when we consider ever evolving technology.

@Johnathan:  I couldn’t agree more.  Technology, when used in responsible ways in the classroom, should make us cognizant of the how as much as the what and why.  For instance, in this class, you are not only doing assignments (the what), but you also have to think about how to do them, which can be really scary.  In other words, we can’t take anything for granted (metaphorically questioning the question).

The computer is a tool, an assistant for writing and communicating. It is not the actual writer.  @Ms. G:  Very interesting pointJ  However, what is a writer without its tools?  Wouldn’t the writer simply be a speaker?

Once you tell the machine what genre your writing is, it will ask you some important questions to figure what your trying to say, then it will insert all the "ifs", "ands", or "buts" around your ideas and your writing is complete.  @ Maximo:  So, what would the role of the English teacher be then?  Or, would the cyborgs replace us;)?

As the article indicates, one of the problems with technology is the ease in which students could plagiarize information.  @Ang:  I’m glad you brought this up in your post.  I think intellectual property lines are becoming fuzzy with the influx of digital technologies.  We’ll talk about this more when we read about remix, but I think you brought up a great point.

Even though I have all this technology and fun little gadgets to write with I still prefer to write all of my papers out by hand, even if it may take a little longer. I do this for many reasons and one of the biggest is for editing while I read while typing. This is probably one of the biggest reasons I would not let my students not type their first drafts, ever.

@Vinnie:  I certainly agree that the medium by which we produce texts affects content; however, do we always have to go from print to digital to get students to revise?  What if we had students write a piece for two different websites or blogs where they would have to target the piece to each?  Also, what about those students who struggle with handwriting a draft?

When doing research, students who grew up in this technological age go straight for the internet. They do this for many reasons. First it is more familiar to them.

@Vicki:  It certainly is more familiar to students, and really unfamiliar to a lot of teachers.  So it seems like there is a gap here—what should we do about it?

I believe that communication is the key component in creating a classroom dynamic in which students do not plagiarize. Teachers must discuss the meaning and importance of academic integrity, as well as the potential ramifications for those who choose the “quick and easy” route.

@Danielle:  So true.  I don’t know about you, but I really hate feeling like a police officer while teaching.  In fact, after a few years of being a teacher-enforcer I quit that altogether.   There are ways you can get your students away from the plagiarism temptation (it won’t always work, trust me) and communication is certainly one of them.

Authors, editors, publishers, and almost everyone in the book industry fears what will happen when all books will be viewed using technology and book stores and manufacturing will no longer be necessary.

@Emily:  That fear is certainly a real thing.  If publishing houses want to keep up with a booming technology market, what efforts do you think they need to invest in to stay afloat?

With the internet readily available and the rise of eBooks and online media, soon libraries will fall out of our favor.

@Liz:  I can definitely see this in Strozier here at FSU.  It seems like the first floor has become more of a social gathering spot than a library (ahem…Club Stroz).  Do you think this is the right move for libraries to remain relevant?

These are the cases where the pencil or pen are the most convenient and accessible forms of technology!

@Erica A.:  I think access is certainly what keeps technology tools prevalent and mainstream.  When things become difficult to access, or too complicated, that is when technologies begin to fade out.  So, how could digital technologies be more convenient and accessible?  What do you think the next step in accessible technology development is?

Every time a new technology is born, the previous one doesn't die. It's a building block. They are all built upon each other so if a block is removed everything on top of it will fall.

@Kristin:  Nice analogy—I want you to keep this in mind and explore it further when we begin talking about remediationJ

There are pros and cons to every situation and every item that we introduce to our lives. The importance of these tools is defined by what we, as a society, give them.

@Alyssa:  Thanks for picking up Danielle’s question.  I think that we tend to forget that technology is a human-driven and created product.  In other words, it has political and social ideals and motives—it is not necessarily a neutral tool.  Thanks for bringing up the connection to society—it tends to get overlooked when we talk about web 2.0.

In most classes they simply replaced the projector. I think this lack of experience on the teachers’ part also contributed to the limited technology in the curriculum. If teachers were not comfortable with or did not know how to use a technology they were also not comfortable with asking students to use them.

@Jessie D.:  Bingo.  I think that we forget that teachers are professional learners—we are not there to impart all knowledge to students (because we don’t have all the answers—and that’s okay).  We are there to model learning—to show how we as adult learners grow and learn and help students grow and learn.  If teachers don’t value the expertise and knowledge students bring to the classroom, how can a sense of community in the classroom be established?

It is crazy to think that we have are adapting ourselves and relying so much on technology in general.

@Daniela D.:  I agree that we have adapted ourselves to technology, but hasn’t technology been adapted to fit our needs as well?  What do you think?  Also, thanks for posting twiceJ  I agree that there does indeed need to be a balance.

In the classroom I believe technology, if in the hands of a teacher who knows how to use the technology, can result in a generation of technologically literate students who know how to use and not abuse this resource.

@Erin:  What about teachers who aren’t tech-savvy but still want to incorporate technology into their classrooms?  What do you think they should do?  How should they learn?

Overall technology is a wonderful thing, it can and has helped us in countless ways but in the end we should not move to a be completely technology based society, or at least I don't think so.
@Brynne:  Well, we may already be there.  It depends on how you define technology....

I played my first educational games on an Apple computer that could only boot up on 5inch floppy disks, then we got a word processor that had Tetris. After that we had a Commodore 64 and then began creating and putting together our own computers and running a BBS.

@Jessica C.: How do you think your experiences in watching these changes regarding technology has affected you as a tech user and will affect you as a teacher?

Another great thing about YouTube is that it’s extremely accessible. It can be accessed from any computer with Internet access by anyone, without an account or subscription.

@Jenn B.:  Yes, YouTube has a ton of benefits, but it is not always accessible in schools.  Instead, they use a more filtered version of it.  If you were to create a lesson using YouTube to realize it is restricted at your school, what would be your plan B?

I completely agree with Mary on this, in relation to your post, because so many teachers can fall back on showing a YouTube video of a concept that they want teach, a book that needs to be summarized, etc. but without the proper tools in learning from that video students will simply view it as entertainment.

@Michelle S.:  Very true.  So how do we move past the “cool factor” of technology and ensure that it is being used in critically engaging/interesting ways?