Kelly_Jessup_Web20

Assignment: //"Classrooms tend to encourage and reward individual knowledge stored in the head, not distributed knowledge. They don't often allow students to network with each other and with various tools and technologies and be rewarded for doing so . . . . classrooms tend to narrowly constrain where students can gain knowledge, rather than utilize widely dispersed knowledge."//

Our county has a very strong filter that blocks many websites, including almost all sites that are categorized as "blog." I understand that there are so many things on the internet which would not be age-appropriate for our students, especially at the elementary and middle school level, but I strongly believe in teaching our students to make good decisions instead of denying their freedom to explore and analyze all the information that is at their fingertips. Obviously these Web 2.0 tools are essential to truly teach 21st century skills in the classroom. Blogs, wikis, and emails are typically blocked at school. All of which are excellent tools for communication and collaboration. Utilizing these tools can change the constraints on student learning that the author mentions in the article. We should not be blocking email, blogs, and information sites, but teaching our students their value. They are constantly communicating via text, IM, or email outside of school with their friends and I think these same tools should be brought into the classroom.

Yes, I absolutely think these tools can be used in the classroom and have successfully utilized them. Two years ago when I was teaching seventh grade English, I put together a massive Greek mythology unit that was completed in groups. I created an individual wiki (using Writeboard.com) for each group for a project for the students to collaborate and brainstorm ideas both in and out of class. The students were responsible with their posts and used the tool to communicate over time. Were there students who went on there during other classes or study halls to talk to one another? Yes. Were the comments innocent and/or on topic? Yes. But this generation of students are excellent at multi-tasking. What is the big deal if an idea comes to a student during math class and jumps onto the wiki to write down their idea to share with the group for social studies class? No. In the real world we do this all the time.

One reason I feel this component of the assignment was successful was because the class knew that I also had the password to each page and checked them frequently to monitor appropriate use of the tool. It was also great for me to communicate back and forth with them. I could answer questions and help guide their thinking. I trust them to use it correctly, but they are also only 12 years old and still need guidance and someone looking over their shoulder. I believe that if a teacher has good classroom management during the face-to-face sessions then the same behaviors will carry over on the web.


 * On a different note, the teachers computers also work on the same filters as the students. However, we have the ability to unblock different sites by putting in our UN and PW. Why block them if we have the ability to unblock them? I don't get it.**