BWP 1-3 reflection

BWP Chapters 1-3

I found a lot of things very interesting in the first few chapters. Technology and the internet (www) is definitely changing everything about our lives. The www is especially transforming the ways in which we teach and learn. The technology generation is growing up to be the “Society of Authorship”. Virtually anyone can contribute ideas to this larger body of knowledge called the internet. Young children and teens are especially proficient in contributing to this sea of information because it is the only thing they have ever known. I can remember the very first time I ever surfed the web. I was in 6^th grade (1996) and I was trying to find where yahoo mail was so I could set up an email account.

Today’s youth are born into it. Our text states that largest growing demographic of users are the 2-6 year olds! Traditional education taught students to become readers and writers, now students are also becoming editors, collaborators and publishers. Through social websites created for young children, such as Webkinz, they are learning how to navigate the internet and use technology faster than ever. They are learning how to learn in a very different way than adults did. They learn through navigating the internet, jumping from one URL to another. They learn using parallel methods unlike the progressive linear fashion that adults have learned to use.

Using blogs and related tools can help students and teachers with learning. By using tools like e-portfolios we can track our progress and learn about our own metacognative processes. We can evaluate the changes in the way that we think throughout a class, term, year, high school years, and even career.

In my future teaching there are many lessons that I can remember from this book. Students are using, and becoming comfortable with, these technologies at pre-secondary education ages yet they are being denied the opportunity to fully utilize them in schools. Some schools are leaps and bounds ahead of others when it comes to utilizing these natural skills.

I, along with many educators, must accept the fact that my students will often be more knowledgeable about the technology than I will, but I should not rely on them for it. Guiding student to enhance their tech skills will take more than solely showing it to them. I need to find what I am passionate about and begin using the www and technology to learn more about it. I need to understand it pretty well before I can predict how it will affect the pedagogical aspects of my classroom. Even the most reluctant students will become more interested in the technology if they see me knowledgably using it rather than only throwing it at them for one class period. Once I have showed them I care about it, I can begin to really share it with them by combining our skills.

A great concern with social networks such as blogs, Facebook, and wikis is safety and security. Before introducing a lesson which could require student involvement it is a good idea to collaborate with parents and administrators to get permission. Key points to note while doing this will be how it relates to my curriculum goals, the safety precautions taken, and the general operations of that technology.

Blogs are a very good way for students to have build communication skills. Writing papers resembles a monologue, a blog is a conversation. A good blog will offer the chance for students to carry on reflective conversations about their studies. If designed right, blogs offer a way to organize information. Organization and synthesis of ideas is important to help students excel in the growing use of collaborative learning. Sometimes blogs offer a way for shy students to voice their opinions because of the public comfort they feel through the www. I really want to use E-portfolios in my class. It gives students a way to organize their best work which will enhance their comprehension of the topic.

Blogs can be used to infuse writing into any content area. Educators must teach students how to determine credibility and reliability of a blog. Many blogs contain junk opinions and false facts, but many are credible and very useful. It is important that I teach how to find useful information.