IT3210 Students Blog Will’s Q&A
enjoying teaching my Teachers & Technology class
but the syllabus is so jammed packed that I can’t really have them blogging as
I would like. I have taken the time to talk about blogs and show a few examples
but our blogs are mainly used for content containers. That’s hard for me, but I
figured I could expose to them and slip in a little here and there so they
might see the value. One of my posts, Your Voice Counts, was one of my
efforts to tell them about blogging. I think they get it but today the
discussion was The Digital Divide. I sent them to the site and told them to
pick one of the articles and blog about it.I could weave that in with my
syllabus content. Now you know I was really tickled when I saw Will’s article
among the list. It was When Kids Make Content: A Q & A With
‘Blogevangelist’ Will Richardson. And no, I did not demand
that they read that article. I did not even suggest it. That was hard though
because I hoped they would pick it. Some did. Here they are blogging away!
Crossing
the “Digital Divide”
When visiting the Digital
Divide Network you are given the choice to read articles, scan
linked resources, and connect with other educators and technology progressors.
I just read an article entitled, “When Kids Make Content: A Q&A with
‘Blogevangelist’ Will Richardson.
Mr. Richardson is very gung-ho about getting children involved in technology,
especially with blogging, to increase their literacy and to “hand over
control of content construction” to them.
I found this aspect of the article the most thought-provoking:
Q: One thing that tools like blogs and WIKIs do is hand over
control of
content production. In the classroom,
where content production is centralized, this is nothing short of
revolutionary, especially when addressing a cross section of society that
rarely participates in media production. What do you see happening as a result
of asking kids from lower-income families to contribute content?
A: It is revolutionary in that provided they have access, even
those kids
have that capability to contribute to
the conversations and to the larger body of knowledge that is out there. It≠s
empowering for people who have been shut out. Many if not most of these
technologies are free, and so there really is no limit to the ways they can be
used as long as someone has access to them.
What I really appreciate
about blogs is related to this part of the article, in that it opens up
communities and identifies peers. It is a form of information sharing. It
provides opportunities for critical thinking as questions are posed about new
information and dialogues are formed. I think allowing students to be directly
involved in this process, individually but supervised, is EXTREMELY empowering
and motivating for students. And, the more motivated, the more the student will
absorb and retain in the learning process.
When Kids Make Content
I
just read When Kids Make Content: A Q & A With ‘Blogevangelist’
Will Richardson, and I agree with Will
Richardson when he says “In my experience, students are
very responsible about the content they create…[t]hey know that what they
write is out there for real people to consume and interact with, and that
motivates them.” My own experience of blogging has shown me how important
it is to take the time to reflect on topics and issues knowing that others can
benefit from our thought process. It gives you a strong sense of
responsibility, but also it empowers you in that you know that what you write
matters. The feed back you get in return also helps you to expand yourself in a
meaningful ways. Other people thoughts and words open your mind through more
knowledge and perspectives. I really hope that teachers will extensively
encourage the students to blog; it has helped me to improve my literacy skills,
and I believe that it will do the same for the students. It is easy to learn
and all you really need as a teacher is to schedule some computer time. It
really promotes writing and reading with the fun in addition.
DNN Article Response
I think this is an excellent article because it
talks about creating real content for real audiences when using blogs. This
type of environment can defintely be more motivating for kids and makes them
more comfortable with reading and writing. I agree that one of the things that
motivates the kids is that their work is out there for real people to consume
and interact with. When they are writing in class on regular paper, they aren’t
as motivated because their work isn’t available for anyone and everyone to read
and have access to. When they are writing on a blog, they know others will
review and critique their work which gives them more motivation to try and do
their best. It also gives them a greater sense of empowerment when using blogs.
This is a great article that opened my eyes to why it using blogs can be so
beneficial for students.
http://www.digitaldivide.net/articles/view.php?ArticleID=361
Digital Divide Network Article
I read the article titled: When
Kids Make Content: A Q & A With ‘Blogevangelist’ Will
Richardson. I really agreed with what Will
Richardson had to say. He believes that blog usage in
classrooms is a great tool for students to increase literary skills. With in
the interview, there were a couple of important questions that were presented
and I believe Mr. Richardson had some great answers. For the question:
“What’s the biggest obstacle you face in organizing teachers and
administrators to incorporate blogging in the classroom?” Mr. Richardson
answered:
I
think by and large, the transparency of blogs is very difficult
foreducators to get used to. This is a disruptive technology in so many
ways, andalong with letting the outside world in, it’s forcing us to
rethink the way wedeliver curriculum and for all intents who owns all
that content in the firstplace. I think instinctively, educators feel
the potential of what blogs can
and will do, but it’s a risk that I think many would rather not take.
I think blogs are great for teachers and students but we must moniter heavily
and model psoitive usage for students.
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