Article Review: “The Educator's Guide to the Read/Write Web” by Will Richardson

Aaron Routon: aaronrouton@hotmail.com: 8/23/08

“The Educator's Guide to the Read/Write Web” by Will Richardson



Article Overview:
This article was written in two parts- part one describes some tools on the internet that schools can use to enhance learning, and part two describes how those tools can be used in today’s changing classroom. Developing technology is changing how students interact with what is written, requiring readers to become judges of information

Part one of the article describes the following: Weblogs or blogs, wiki, furls, and podcasts. All of these are internet tools where people can publish and post information. Blogs are sights anyone can post any information. Wikis are a collaboration of information by many anonyms authors. Furls are programs which collect information customized to a specific user. Podcasts are published sound bites people can record. All of these tools make it easier for anyone to put information on the internet.

The second part of the article describes how classroom teachers’ role needs to shift from content expert to knowledge guide. The author sites that students can now use the internet to interact with people who have more expertise than the classroom teacher. Teachers role now should be two fold: help guide the search for information, and to help students learn what is appropriate.



Reference Points:

• 1. To be literate in the age of the Read/Write Web means to skillfully manage the flood of information now available.

• 2. Now that anyone with an Internet connection can publish and disseminate content with no editorial review process, consumers of Web content need to be editors as well as readers. We need to help students make a judgment about its authenticity and relevance of sources. We must teach students how to actively question and evaluate published information instead of passively accepting it as legitimate.

• 3. Students need to understand the many ways in which they can appropriately share ideas and creations online and teachers need to model how to communicate with experts and how to publish their own work

• 4. Schools have traditionally demanded that students work independently and produce content mainly for their teacher. We should encourage such collaboration and outreach. Current tools have increased our ability to collaborate with others and also expanded audiences. Also school work does no longer needs to be discarded following the school year…. It could be posted for others to see.

• 5. Schools need to think through the potential privacy and safety implications that go along with widespread publishing of student-created content.

• 6. Teachers must also show students how to deal with inappropriate content that they may come across during their Web travels.

Reflection:
This article means that teachers will need to adapt. There are many tools to aid in teaching content and many resources students now have access to. We should utilize these resources and help students learn how to utilize these new tools.

The changing technology is changing how our students view information. Now students question everything. When I was in school something was true because it was written in “The World Book” encyclopedia. Now Wikipedia takes over and students question the authentency of everything written. Now students are skeptics and are not what things are really facts. This can be good, but we will need to help direct students to some things which are concrete. Most students operate well in concrete terms and so much subjectivism could be very confusing and emphasizes our roles as mentors.

I think the two ideas that I will use most from this article are the ideas of blogging and creating our own classroom text book.

Futuring

Grading student video projects posses difficulties because of because of encouraging artistic license but the following areas will be assessed:
• A thorough display of conceptual competence
• Supporting details presented
• Presentation is engaging and enhances viewers understanding

"School Train"
+ meets each 3 requirements but the presentation
- a little distracting (depending upon intended audience).
*** Over all- very good

"Hannah- Fox Becomes a Better Person"
+Person meets all three requirements
+and is easy to follow for the viewers.
+dress, music, artwork, and intro
- First picture of fox.
*** Over all- excellent.

There are many possible impact of technology speculated in the short narrative “epic2015.” The piece suggests that in the future Google and Amazon will combine to become the news mogul which personalizes the news for every subscriber. Following that in the year 2015 people will use their mobile media devices to broadcast themselves across the internet airwaves. Such speculations would have big impact on the classroom.

• Personalized news means that students would not be hearing the same news…. There would be more information, but the information would be based on preference, and there fore all students would not receive the same “news.”
• Personal broadcasts means students would increasingly open their lives on the internet where face to face interaction would decrease and postings would increase.
• Student lives would also be more available to strangers. Either security for these “pod-casts” will increase or students open their lives up to anyone who wants to look.
• Social impact of postings decreases accountability. Students can present themselves however they want
• More convenient. Like the cell phone- these broadcast will make life more convenient and create more free time. Planning may be less tedious too.

“Sabrina’s Journey” can be a model for something that I do with my students because it is a piece of self- disclosure. I work in language arts and these pieces are valuable. Creating a piece like this demonstrates:
• Theme
• Supporting evidence
• Writer’s voice
• Value of person

Article Review: "Listen to the Natives"

Aaron Routon: aaronrouton@hotmail.com: 8/21/08

“Listen to the Natives” by Marc Prensky

Overview of article.

In “Listen to the Natives” Marc Prensky suggests that schools need to adapt current teaching strategies to be more inclusive of technology. He states that students today are different today than in the past largely due to the influence of technology. His belief is that if teachers do not adapt, education will be ineffective.

Prenksy advises that teachers must be engaging in order to be relevant to students. The article focuses on impact of technology on students and on how students will learn best. Prensky suggests strategies that incorporate the internet and cell phones in classroom communication.

The author focuses on teaching becoming more individualized and self-guided by the students. He states “we also need to select our teachers for their empathy and guidance abilities rather than exclusively for their subject-matter knowledge.” Prensky believes teachers roles should shift from being directors of information to being learning partners with students.

Reference Points:

1. Students today are “digital natives” having been raised with modern technology where many adults were not “born into technology” and had to learn it later in life. The idea is that technology for students today is second nature and that parents and teachers find it more difficult
2. Prensky believes that teachers need to engage students with things they relate to in order for learning to be optimal
3. The idea of “gameplay” where learning is fun in hopes to keep students motivated to learn.
4. Teachers should stray from “herding” and attempt more one-on-one personalized instruction OR self selected learning groups where students can connect with any person world wide to be a partner in group learning.
5. The use of cell phone technology in the classroom should bee locked at as an asset rather than a liability.
6. Educators need to teach students to be programmers or their learning and work with available technology to accomplish goals.
7. The goal of education should be to teach students to filter knowledge and maximize the features and connectivity of their tools.
8. Unless schools conform to using technology, they will become archaic, outdated, and irrelevant to students.

Reflection:

I find that student engagement is a fine line for education to walk. I want students to be engaged, but I feel it would be a disservice to students if education fell into the entertainment trap. School should prepare students for life and by feeding into the entertainment model, I fear that students will lose interest and motivation once something becomes hard work or boring. Most people will need money someday and they will do it by working a job that might be hard or boring.

I also feel that the author ignored economic stratification brought on by such attempts to education. What happens if a student doesn’t have a computer at home, or a cell phone, or an MP3 player. It seams that this article ignores those students who do not have the financial resources to keep current.

I do like the possibilities that this article brought up- teaching can be very interactive and self guided on many levels. Students will benefit and be motivated to learn when they have more choices- this mirrors learning later in life. Cell phones and the internet make larger learning communities possible and gives many more opportunities. I do believe that teachers should use these things as tools but also instill in students a good work ethic and should guide students in positive social skills. As educators we want to teach life skills. Technology is a skill that people will need to survive, but education should also be well rounded.

A little about me....

Hello, my name is Aaron Routon. I grew up in Kansas, Oregon, and now live in Sitka. I enjoy people and being outside. This year I am enrolled in masters of arts in teaching program at the University of Alaska Southeast. I will be teaching freshman English and history at Sitka High School. I will also be coaching for the cross country team, the MEHS wrestling team, and the SHS track team. I hope I will be able to play in the snow this year and become more involved with my church. Here is my blog: