A Teacher’s Thoughts

It has taken a while but I am starting to cross things off my to-do list. Going back and reading things I didn’t have time for earlier is an ever present item on this list. I don’t remember how I found my way to this article or how it found its way to me, but I wish I had read it earlier this year.

Paper blogging on Mobile Learning got me thinking about the idea that students already know how to use many web 2.0 tools. A recent survey of my 8th grade students revealed that 70% had Myspace accounts, 84% had email, and 80% used IM on a regular basis. Most said that Myspace and IM were the main forms of communication over email, although I didn’t ask about texting and cellphones. Regardless, the way in which teens communicate with these tools are similar. And each method develops technical skills.

Students may be rather adept at getting to some type of social/interactive/collaborative site and adding content, but are they adding content in ways that contribute to the community? My experience is that students have enough knowledge to execute the mechanics of collaboration when you give them a tool, but that they have little experience adding value to an online conversation. Paper blogging sounds like a good first step in that process. Removing the technology from the picture may put them off-balance just enough to prevent the IM language and the IM short burst writing. This leaves room for me to come in a set a different standard. When the time comes for students to begin real blogging I will need to bring both types of conversation to light and have the discussion, perhaps on a blog, about when each type of writing is appropriate and which type contributes more widely toward community learning.