The introduction of blogs, wikis, podcasts, videos and technology in general are a must in education today. Students are communicating and collaborating with peers using instant messenger, text messaging, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. everyday out of school. It’s in school where they are asked to stop using these tools and stick to more traditional ways of learning and collaborating. The use of devices in classrooms is the new standard on a global level. Students need to be prepared for a digital, web-centered future, which include developing media literacy and online collaborative skills. However, it is also widely acknowledged that there are serious negative implications to overexposure to screen time for children. So how do we balance these two opposite truths in schools?
One tool that most people are already using and can influence collaboration and literacy are blogs. Blogs have opened up the read/write content creation on the web and over 180 million people are using them, with two new blogs being created daily. They help to promote critical and analytical thinking, promote creative, intuitive thinking and combine the best of solitary reflection and social interaction. If you are looking to add blogs to you classroom remember to start small, blog with your students, teach blog safety, and pick the appropriate blog software. Using blogs in the classroom is a great way to teach students how to write for an online audience. In addition to exposing students to this writing style, blogs offer various other benefits such as organizing content for teachers, encouraging meaningful interactions between students, and engaging a community in dialogue. A concern I have in my own classroom is the way students want to interact with each other in the comments on Google Classroom (or similar) posts. They tend to just say Hi, ask for likes, or write that they think whatever they saw was good. Teaching students that there is more to online writing than mindless one-liners that appear in the comments section of Youtube and TikTok is a necessary for students to become thoughtful online writers and content producers.
Another option are Podcasts. Podcasts have become so popular, that in 2018 both the New York Times and National Public Radio (NPR) held student podcast competitions. The framework for these competitions even contained resources and lesson plans for the process of producing a podcast, for both teachers and students. And, because it was on the web, even though the contests are now over, the information is still easily available: Times Contest and NPR Contest. Audio media, or podcasts, can come in many different varieties. There are podcasts that address current news events, podcasts that deal with specific topics, whether they be educational, hobby related or just pure entertainment. Podcasts can be scripted or follow an interview or question and answer format. The variety of podcasts is limitless. So, how can students benefit from this information? A list from edtechteacher.org gives eleven different possibilities for classroom use. Regardless of what you use a podcast to accomplish, there is a lot of planning that students will need to do to produce it, as detailed in this article from readingrockets.org. Producing a podcast is a type of presentation that does not require the presenter to be in front of their audience. This is a definite plus in some students’ eyes. In addition, the ability to rewind and play content whenever it is convenient is a bonus for all consumers of this media format.
Creating assignments that are inspired by what we’d consider more adult platforms can also give students a purpose for their writing. For example, these teachers used the New York Times Room for Debate forum to guide student writing about controversial topics. Grounding writing assignments in real online interactions will grow students into media-participating young adults. “Given the right project, topic and environment, young people have a remarkable capacity for intensity” said Gary S. Stager, a teacher educator and director of the Constructivist Consortium. However, most online courses are still formatted where students complete worksheets and take tests. If blogs, wikis, podcasts all focus on collaboration and can be more social and relatable students will feel more connected to their assignments. Also, by work being public students are able to receive feedback in real-time making everyone a learner and teacher at the same time. Students can now benefit from extra time and support 24/7. The answer, simply, is for teachers to make responsible, meaningful technology-related decisions in the classroom. We want our students to make the same responsible choices when they engage online at home, so we too should make deliberate our choices for technology use in the classroom. While students may naturally engage in various social medias on their own, there is much we can teach and expose them to through an academic lens that will improve their interaction with web tools in the future.
One tool that most people are already using and can influence collaboration and literacy are blogs. Blogs have opened up the read/write content creation on the web and over 180 million people are using them, with two new blogs being created daily. They help to promote critical and analytical thinking, promote creative, intuitive thinking and combine the best of solitary reflection and social interaction. If you are looking to add blogs to you classroom remember to start small, blog with your students, teach blog safety, and pick the appropriate blog software. Using blogs in the classroom is a great way to teach students how to write for an online audience. In addition to exposing students to this writing style, blogs offer various other benefits such as organizing content for teachers, encouraging meaningful interactions between students, and engaging a community in dialogue. A concern I have in my own classroom is the way students want to interact with each other in the comments on Google Classroom (or similar) posts. They tend to just say Hi, ask for likes, or write that they think whatever they saw was good. Teaching students that there is more to online writing than mindless one-liners that appear in the comments section of Youtube and TikTok is a necessary for students to become thoughtful online writers and content producers.
Another option are Podcasts. Podcasts have become so popular, that in 2018 both the New York Times and National Public Radio (NPR) held student podcast competitions. The framework for these competitions even contained resources and lesson plans for the process of producing a podcast, for both teachers and students. And, because it was on the web, even though the contests are now over, the information is still easily available: Times Contest and NPR Contest. Audio media, or podcasts, can come in many different varieties. There are podcasts that address current news events, podcasts that deal with specific topics, whether they be educational, hobby related or just pure entertainment. Podcasts can be scripted or follow an interview or question and answer format. The variety of podcasts is limitless. So, how can students benefit from this information? A list from edtechteacher.org gives eleven different possibilities for classroom use. Regardless of what you use a podcast to accomplish, there is a lot of planning that students will need to do to produce it, as detailed in this article from readingrockets.org. Producing a podcast is a type of presentation that does not require the presenter to be in front of their audience. This is a definite plus in some students’ eyes. In addition, the ability to rewind and play content whenever it is convenient is a bonus for all consumers of this media format.
Creating assignments that are inspired by what we’d consider more adult platforms can also give students a purpose for their writing. For example, these teachers used the New York Times Room for Debate forum to guide student writing about controversial topics. Grounding writing assignments in real online interactions will grow students into media-participating young adults. “Given the right project, topic and environment, young people have a remarkable capacity for intensity” said Gary S. Stager, a teacher educator and director of the Constructivist Consortium. However, most online courses are still formatted where students complete worksheets and take tests. If blogs, wikis, podcasts all focus on collaboration and can be more social and relatable students will feel more connected to their assignments. Also, by work being public students are able to receive feedback in real-time making everyone a learner and teacher at the same time. Students can now benefit from extra time and support 24/7. The answer, simply, is for teachers to make responsible, meaningful technology-related decisions in the classroom. We want our students to make the same responsible choices when they engage online at home, so we too should make deliberate our choices for technology use in the classroom. While students may naturally engage in various social medias on their own, there is much we can teach and expose them to through an academic lens that will improve their interaction with web tools in the future.
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