Sunday, July 22, 2012
Web 2.0 how-to for educators
Gwen Solomon and Lynne Schrum wrote this book to explain how to use current educational tools and discuss possible future trends. Chapters 1 (Blogs) and 2 (Microblogs-Twitter) discuss the what, when, where, how, why and who of blogging and microblogging. Summarize the chapters' main points and reflect on how these tools have impacted your classroom in the past, and how they might impact your classroom in the future.
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Chapter One:
ReplyDeleteThis chapter covers the basics of blogging. Blogs serve as a sounding board for students to exchange ideas, provide feedback, and generally interact with one another via a digital medium. Blogs can be used in a variety of ways and practically every discipline, making them a flexible instructional tool for 21st century learning. Advantages? Students correspond to a prompt with a specific audience in mind. Because writing is public and shared with their peers, students are more likely to invest in the messages they are composing. Writing then transcends the academic realm and moves into that all-important social realm. A blog is, in essence, a conversation, with dynamic interplay between its members. Students learn to collaborate and how to manage themselves online, both important life lessons. Furthermore, the expectation is that the blog entries will be short and concise—this makes the task manageable for reluctant writers and asks all students, regardless of their fluency with writing, to express themselves cogently. As we probably have all experienced in our own writerly lives, writing less is, in most cases, much harder than writing more! Blogging is a good exercise in tailoring one’s message to one’s audience. That’s solid writing instruction in a context that appeals to students and gets them writing and thinking! They will hardly realize that they are doing something “academic.” It’s always good when schoolwork mirrors things that people do in the real world. For this reason, I believe that blogs hold great potential for the writing classroom—most specifically, mine!
I have never hosted a blog, but I did participate in one while I completed the Summer Institute here at the IU a few summers ago. I really loved the blogging experience. It was so neat to be able to extend the experience beyond the classroom. Each night the class participants—blog participants—would write about our reading. We’d get into some intense discussion about the content itself, but that was just the beginning. The talk took flight, and eventually we were talking about our lives, our students, our philosophies, our frustrations, our goals, and our dreams. We truly became a community on our blog. We were able to see where we agreed and where our ideas diverged. If a particular author was unpopular with us, the tone of the blog definitely reflected that. In a sense a blog can be a great barometer for the tone of a class—how they are feeling, what their experience of the material has been, and where things should progress from that point on.
I am looking forward to trying some blogging in my 7th grade English class. I see lots of potential for using a blog with reading, as Lauren Kelley did with her Reading Response blog on page 24. When I give students blocks of reading to complete at home, this will be an authentic way to keep them accountable and get the conversation started for the next day’s class. I also liked how Kifi Kanagy used blogging for a project on animal extinction as described on page 27. I like how the prompt invites controversy and different opinions. Such a prompt will make for an exciting blog discussion. I think that I could incorporate such a strategy when doing my unit on persuasive writing. A third and final application, which I mentioned today in class, has to do with using a blog for a pre-writing space. Students will draw motivation and courage from one another. The blog will most especially help those writers who find themselves stumped or blocked. They can look at others’ ideas and perhaps become inspired themselves.
Something I’d like to learn more about blogging is how to work in assessment. (There are some skeletal ideas on page 30). I’d also like to hear from other teachers how they might work in (or perhaps not work in?) the scoring of conventions for blog entries.
I will be back with chapter two later on… I am off to teach class tonight... Just wanted to put this out there…
-Kristin
I found Lauren Kelley's way of blogging book discussions interesting as well. I'd be curious to see how it might look similar and different in an upper elementary vs. middle school setting. In terms of assessment, I was thinking of using the 6 tips for assessing student blogs on page 30 of text to make a simple rubric. That might be something we could work on together if time permits...
DeleteKristen-
DeleteI agree with you that a blog is a multi-faceted conversation tailored to prompt interactive responses in more than one way. It is indeed a great exercise in disciplined writing! I, too, have never hosted a blog or even responded to one on the Internet. Newbie, indeed! I also appreciate that different opinions and disagreements can occur, but then that is the point of an expanded conversation!
The main idea of Chapter one (Blogs) and Chapter two (Micro-blogs Twitter) is to inform readers about 1. What these web tools are 2. Why they are useful 3. How they are used 4. Who uses them? These chapters explain how these tools can be integrated into the classroom, and provide stories of teachers who have successfully implemented the use of these tools in their classroom.
ReplyDeleteBlogs are described as tools that can be used as a form of journaling. Students can express their ideas by using fact and opinion, but ultimately, students can share these ideas with their peers. Chapter one states that blogging can be used as an online portfolio, evidence of writing that exists forever. Consequently, students have the power to respond, reflect, and connect.
Micro-blogs are most clearly explained through the trend “Twitter,” a blog site with a limitation on the use of text characters. Twitter has the power to connect individuals instantly, and in a short, precise way. If used in a classroom the limitation on text characters allows students to communicate a thought that requires careful thinking.
On a personal note, I have never used any of these web 2.0 tools in my classroom. I have simulated the use of twitter, allowing students to “tweet” as one of the characters from our novel, providing “status updates” on how that character is feeling. After reading the first two chapters of Web 2.0: How-to for Educators, I think I can more adequately apply these web tool to my classroom.
II would like to implement the use of blogging into my classroom as a way to emphasize “active reading strategies.” Shurm writes, “They are usually relatively short posts of just a few paragraphs that are crafted to communicate an idea clearly and concisely.” An essential active reading strategy is how to summarize or draw conclusions. By asking students to blog, they will essentially be forced to deliver the main idea clearly and concisely. Blogging could also provide an interactive lesson on what’s fact versus what’s opinion. I admire this idea because it can also be branched off into a lesson on point of view, tone, and inferences.
I think I can implement the use of micro-blogging into my classroom by expanding the blogging lesson on summarizing, and challenging students to summarize using 140 characters or less. Shurm writes, “writing fewer words to communicate a thought is harder to do than writing many words and requires thinking carefully about exactly what one wants to say.” The power of word (and of what is put on the internet) is an important lesson every good reader should learn.
It sounds as if microblogging (Twitter) offers benefits similar to those gained through blogging. The main difference, as far as I can tell, has to do with the brevity of the response. According to our course authors, tweets needs to be limited to just 140 characters. I have never tweeted myself, and to be honest, I have never really viewed it as existing outside of a social context. I have seen people tweet comments related to reality tv shows and the like. (Reality tv, a guilty pleasure!!) But, this chapter has got me thinking.
ReplyDeleteI like the passage on pages 40-41 under the heading “Gathering Real-World Data.” The suggestion of posing a question to your network and then gathering responses in real time is intriguing to me. (In fact, I believe that Meg did something similar during our class today!) As I mentioned in my previous post, anything that you can do in the classroom that connects to the real world is a plus. By posing a question and collecting responses, students get the message that yes, this concept is something that people in the world outside of the four walls of my classroom care about. Second, I am interested in the Tweetstory passage included on pages 43-44. I do a pencil and paper version of this activity called “Pass-Back Stories” (some call it a “Write Around)” where students compose a story collaboratively. It involves three students, each of whom writes a beginning of a story based on a common opener. The beginnings are passed around and the next student in the group writes the middle and then the third student reads what his peers have written and composes an appropriate ending. It is a fun activity, and it keeps the kids writing for more than 20 minutes! (Every student writes a beginning, a middle, and an end, but they belong to three entirely different stories.) The Tweetstory idea, though, takes this plan to a whole new level. Students will have so many options to include into their stories. This would be especially helpful to students who struggle with writing fiction. A whole new world of ideas will open up!
I like to think of the Twitter idea as letting the sun shine in to the classroom, so to speak. It is allowing some of the things that go on in other parts of a city, state, country, or even world influence what transpires within a classroom. This encourages a healthy view of collaboration and cooperation among people who seem so different—but only on the outside! They say that our students will one day graduate to a world that is global, rather than local, in nature. What better message to send to kids! They need to know that life exists beyond their own communities—they have much to teach others, yet they have much to learn, too.
Before I use this in the classroom, I think that I would like to join some professional Twitter networks. I am sure I will learn much from the experience, content-wise, and as a side benefit, I will work out for myself how I could see Twitter working for my kids. I would like to experience the advantages and any potential disadvantages myself first. I plan on experimenting and then starting small, probably with the “shout-out” idea mentioned on the bottom of page 40. I am excited for what the future could hold.
Wonderful reflections so far. I am excited to have more in-depth discussions tomorrow on blogging and microblogs. Hopefully, you will see some professional advantages of using these tools as well as the in classroom benefits.
ReplyDeleteWhen integrating technology it is always best to start out small. I always find these types of classes and workshops so exciting, and I leave with a list of things I want to do...tomorrow! Fortunately, I have learned to select one or two items to try at a time. As we discussed today, you are more likely to feel confident and be successful one step at a time. Remember, a step is a step. Your step can be a baby step, or a giant leap. As long as you are moving forward, you are making progress.
In Chapter 1 of the class text, the authors introduce the Web 2.0 tools that are being used in education at all levels. starting with blogging, they introduce the format that will be followed in subsequent chapters: definition of the tool, what the tool is capable of doing, it's purpose in education, examples of use and how to access the resource. This a most helpful introduction for me as a newbie!
DeleteBlogs are examples of instantaneous individual and group publishing in digital form. They can be started by anyone on any topic, and invite (read: welcome) individual and group responses. They are essentially a public forum; text is the preferred form but can include videos, photos, podcasts etc.,and can contain links. Responders write comments, engage in discourses and discussions, and the blog takes on a life of its own!
The benefits to students and teachers are numerous; students learn to write their responses to the prompts in a concise and careful way, enabling them to think carefully and communicate effectively.
DeleteThe audience(s) for the post respond in kind, as appropriate. It is a quick and efficient way to communicate with more than one person at a time
In a way, this is comparable to personal journal writing ( but can include enhancements as noted above) but primarily, the difference is in the opportunity of an expanded audience. While the components of process writing are similar, blogging almost demands that responses be as concise as possible. This is an added level of challenge for both reluctant writers more adept ones.
ReplyDeleteThe authors emphasize that this forum encourages the 5 C's: creativity, collaboration,communication, connections, and critical thinking.
Examples from other educators are provided which helps to bring the resource into more of an application. Assessment points are provided for classroom teachers to consider and adapt.
I found this to be a very useful introduction to blogging and can appreciate that it's use will become more widespread. My limited experience with this resource can be adapted as necessary once I become more experienced.
Chapter 2- Microblogs/Twitter
ReplyDeleteMicro logging is a mixture of blogging and text messaging, of which Twitter is the best known. Within a 140- character limit (including spaces), a message is sent eliciting responses from members on the network. people can follow others by reading the tweet and responding to the prompt; the originator of the tweet has control over who can follow the thread. Information, advice and other data can be shared almost instantaneously.
Students can "reach out" and by the interactivity, generate appropriate information for use in lessons or simply connect with others to request feedback. What intrigued the most were the uses educators found for this resource. I was only aware of Twitter as a social networking tool but on further thought, I realized it could be used in a capacity serving education. I am not a user of Twitter and still have some misgivings about student use (monitoring activity is my primary concern), but after reading about how teachers used it as an enjoyable and effective resource in class, I changed my mind.
The gathering of "real world-real time" information in conjunction with a Science lesson caught me by surprise until I realized that what was really happening was the inception of personal learning networks based on subject content as well as the excitement generated by being in touch with something more engaging than merely "looking things up". I did expect that being a social networking tool, it would be put to use by educators for professional development purposes.