Communication- Chapter 7

This chapter was very easy to digest. I was especially interested in the section on video conferencing with professionals in different fields. I love how NASA is engaging students and teaching them about the ever-changing world of space exploration.

Asking children to make podcasts seems like a good way to have them demonstrate concept mastery. It would also, as the chapter says, be a good way for children to practice public speaking which is a very valuable skill to posses.

I wonder about how easily these things could be incorporated into the primary-grade classroom. Is it reasonable to assume a kindergartner class could handle videoconferencing as a group? Behavior issues would likely arise, considering how distractible five and six-year olds are.

Communication and the ability to globally interact cannot be underrated. I'm glad, though, that the end of the chapter gave a caveat: Technology does not strive to replace face-to-face interactions; a healthy amount of both would be ideal.

I loved how one of the communication sites even goes as far as to translate text into another language before sending it (if thats what you request of course). How amazing!

I'd be pleased to incorporate podcasting, instant and asynchronous messaging, and conferencing tools like skype into my classroom. I want to be technologically relevant. However, if I teach a younger grade level, I think that it will be a challenge for me to remember to incorporate technology. Sometimes the things that younger students are taught just don't seem as conducive to podcasting or message posting.

Overall, this chapter was a quick and easy read. It brought up a lot of the same points as the chapter before it that introduced Tapped In and The Knowledge Forum. I did appreciate how they posted tips for teachers in regards to facilitating quality forum postings. Those were helpful and thought provoking.

Community (and not the new show in NBC)

Terms I learned from this section:

Dialectic: a philosophical concept that recognizes that there can not be a right answer when two ideas conflict- rather, both should be acknowledged and a new idea should be created that rises above the divergent ideas. *

*I would have liked to have seen an example of this in the text.

The first section about knowledge forums left me wondering one thing: is everything students study in schools conducive to inquiry? So many things that we are told are simply accepted as fact; besides science, I cannot think of another subject where the word "inquiry" is even mentioned. I would say this fact supports the author's claim that traditional schooling requires students to simply demonstrate knowledge, while teachers "hoard all the wisdom and expertise". I felt that it was particularly interesting and apt when the author referred to written assignments as "one way monologues that [do not leave opportunities] for questioning from an audience. Knowledge forums seem very applicable to the classroom when children are actively engaged in an inquiry or working towards an end goal or justification. It is just a shame that more subjects aren't treated as opportunities for inquiry. This is especially true of math. What if a math teacher had students build a knowledge forum discussing a math problem? That would certainly be an interesting thing to see.

They say a writers work is never done, and it appears that through the use of knowledge forums a student's work may never be done either. It can always be improved upon or rejected by a peer, so long as they can justify their reasoning.

I adored the section on wikis- It really extended my thinking on how wikis can be used to demonstrate content learned. I especially liked the teacher who had his student's make a faux-wikipedia to demonstrate what they learned in AP History. How clever! Wikis are an amazing way for humans to use each other as a resource. In the wiki-world, there is no hierarchy of importance. Everyone can contribute equally! A scary thought, but as the author points out that just means that the more authors there are, the more that these authors and their readers can keep each other in check. So long as there are enough intelligent people out there cruising the wikis, we should be okay as far as information validity is concerned.

Learning circles seem like another great way to get students collaborating. To complete a task through use of a learning circle takes extreme teamwork. That is something that kids couldn't even pretend to fake. These kinds of things require students 100 % best.

And, of course, any opportunity for students to communicate with others or learn from others from different geographical locations, whether it be from a blogging expert reporting on climate change or a network of students from Europe, is a wonderful way for students to broaden their horizons in ways that would not be possible without technology (or travel of course).

Kudos to the author for including all of the great resources for novice and experienced teachers. Tapped in seems like an awesome and interactive place for teachers who want to step out of isolation and into a community of people who share their interests and needs. It even has a place for students! Teacher talk seems like a more basic way for teachers to chat about things that are relevant to them. It must be refreshing to talk to someone who has the same purpose that you do, that being to better yourself as an educator (or maybe just to better the education system). I'm sure the spouses of teachers appreciate this too... they surely get sick of hearing about whether or not grading is effective or why standards might just be pointless!