Cooperative learning has been around for a long time. This instructional strategy gets a 21st century facelift with the introduction of technological tools for collaboration and presentation. Students today can find information easily. Using the web, they can do searches or ask experts questions directly (Pitler etal, 2007). The hard work they must do is apply that information to problem-solving situations. A wide variety of sites allow students to "meet" no matter where they are or time of day such as wikis, blogs, and "keypal" sites. Students can share documents and see changes made by group members on sites such as Google Docs or by emailing Word docs and utilizing the "track changes" feature in Microsoft. Online calendars can be used to monitor progress of group members.
One tool I was introduced to this week that I really liked was VoiceThread. This is such a simple yet effective way to share ideas with others. In one of the tutorials, a child posted an illustration on VoiceThread with a brief story about his creature. Several people commented on his picture and his creativity. I think this is such an easy way to start sharing content on the web because the privacy settings allow you to limit the people that can view or comment on the artifact. There is also a way to moderate the comments. Another feature I really like about this tool is the variety of options for commenting. People can use a microphone, webcam, type, or call a phone number to add a comment.
Another tool I was introduced to this week that was very foreign to me was "Second Life" and virtual world simulations. I had never heard of these avatar environments for business or education purposes. I have long used Kathy Schrock's website for ideas and I see that she is involved in training teachers to create educational experiences in "Teen Second Life." I will have to check that out more. Because so many of today's video games are simulation type games, I think students would enjoy and respond well to such applications. However, since I am just beginning to use Read/Write Web 2.0 tools, I think virtual worlds are still a long way off for me.
People today are very connected. Younger and younger kids are carrying cell phones with texting capability and are on social network sites. The younger children start off on WebKinz or Club Penguin and quickly graduate up to Facebook. Many of the video game systems such as XBox and Playstation have online versions of their games. Adults are constantly hooked into the internet through smart phones. There must be value in all this connectivity. Are we being more productive? Are we learning from each other? Or is it up to educators to guide this connectivity toward learning purposes?
Resources:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
Laureate, Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Social learning theories. [DVD]. Baltimore, MD.
Dembo, S. (2008, October). Virtual worlds for educators. District Administration, 44(11), 48–52.
Christina, you ask some very good questions at the end of your post and I agree that there must be value in all of this connectivity. This connectivity enables us to be constantly entertained or stimulated in a way that isn't always beneficial to us, checking email, Facebook or Twitter too often. I believe one of the most important things we will have to teach our students is how to be a discerning user of this connectivity and when to turn it off. Things are only going to become more intrusive and vie for our attention and time, especially as the boundaries are being blurred for some applications. Facebook is now becoming a place for business, friends, family, work and entertainment. This mixture is something that I am finding frustrating and I see some others on Facebook having similar issues. I don't want somethings to be able to do everything, I want compartmentalization to help me focus and be more attentive in certain areas. This is something I believe we will need to help our students with, such as having school specific or knowledge specific social sites. Linking in a class to a students Facebook account and all of the constant updates and reminders that a student has seems to me to be a way to encourage lack of focus. Students higher up in secondary school don't just have one or two friends on Facebook, they have hundreds and even thousands, all updating and creating information streams that the student has to sift though. We do need to guide students connectivity and we need to think carefully about the tools which we use and their impact on a students learning.
ReplyDeleteAndy,
ReplyDeleteYou are right when you say all this connectivity isn't always good for us. It is addictive and hard to turn off. It used to drive me crazy when people would text others while I was visiting with them but the lines get blurred when there are family or work emergencies. Then the definition of an emergency gets blurred. Hard to imagine how we managed to stay on top of our work, keep track of family members, and maintain friendships without constant communication.
Much has been written about today's students being "digital natives" and being able to multitask. You are absolutely correct when you say we need to teach our students how to be discerning users. Multitasking is great but maintaining focus and staying in the moment are important as well.
Andy and Christina,
ReplyDeleteI saw book review in my local paper just the other day that you may both be interested in. The book is called "The Shallows: What the internet is doing to our brains" by Nicholas Carr. The reviewer states that Carr discusses the impact the web/internet is having on not only how we read but how we think. I am going to purchase the book and read it. I am interested to see what the author has to say. Is the internet causing people to be shallow?
Anna Redding
Reference
Hinds, Julie. This is your brain. ... This is your brain on the Internet. In the Mail Tribune, edition: Sunday, July 25, 2010.
Christina,
ReplyDeleteI like the idea or thought of using virtual world simulations in the classroom. My only question is how could it be used effectively? It's all very engaging for the learners, but how can it be connected to what we teach in class. I'm sure there is a way simulations can be incorporated in the classroom and it's just a matter of time before an application is created that is easy enough to apply in the classroom.
Christina,
ReplyDeleteYou are correct when you say people are more connected today using social network sites. I think it's great, even with today's technology. Students find technology so fascinating, so how can we as educators bring that to our classroom. I find that technology is so much faster and it education lags behind in applying it to the curriculum.
Mike Benson