Last year we began English I with a look at communication in the 21st Century. We read an article from Wired, "The Blogs of War," and explored the blogs of soldiers stationed in Iraq. We didn't have a way to blog online, so I created a worksheet and we did "Blogging on Paper." My students were as adventuresome and as easygoing as ever. They chose cool blogging names and blogged and posted comments. Some students already had a username, and some students created their own username for the first time. We all hoped that we would soon have a chance to blog for real. Our school considered one blogging program?platform?, but there were some security issues we couldn't adequately address.
I have been looking at many different school and teacher websites this summer, and I still have lots of safety-related questions. I don't know how other teachers and administrators have moved past these issues. I am afraid to email any of the educational technology leaders whose blogs I am reading. What if my concerns are so newbie, and what if a true English Teacher 2.0 wouldn't ask such naive questions?
But, this is my blog, and I will post my questions here. Then I will go in search of the answers and report back to you, dear reader (which is me only at this point, since I am quite sure no one else is reading my blog!).
- Isn't it illegal for me to publish a student's name on the Internet?
- Isn't there a concern that students will be targeted by predators?
- Am I responsible if students are using our classroom blog to write about illegal activities?
- How do I teach about, discourage, and discipline cyber bullying?
Leaving the safety questions for a minute, I would like to dream about how I would use Web 2.0 in my classroom. First, every student would have her own blog and would use it to write reflectively about her experiences in the classroom. Students would also be expected to post comments to one another's blogs. Hey, if each student had his own website, then he could have a different page for each subject and publish his work there and then link to his blog for reflection! Aren't blogs mostly reflective writing, with a more thoughtful, less authoritative tone, while a website is a place to publish major work? That's how I think of it, at least.
Also, I would like to create a wiki for each unit we study. I might make individual or small group assignments for different sections of the wiki. Then, perhaps, each section would have specialists in each of those areas, so that students could experience having the wiki created across space and time. We could share our wikis with other classes, maybe even invite them to edit them, too. I think we may be able to use our school SharePoint to make wikis. I have done some research on wikis, but I am still unclear about how to create a wiki.
Also, I want us to use podcasting in the classroom. First, I want to have podcasts of me reading difficult texts, so that some students can listen as they read or study. Also, I want to use podcasting on my website for mini-lectures that only some students might need. Then, I want students to explore podcasting as a means of sharing what they know with others. Finally, how hard would it be to podcast a lesson, so that students who were absent could hear what they had missed? (Again, security issues. What if someone said someone's whole name by mistake?) Incidently, I wonder if students would be any less spontaneous if they knew that an audio of the class was archived online?
There are a few books about educational technology that I would like to get, and I am quite sure that either they debunk some of my ideas about how to use Web 2.0 in the classroom, or they offer answers, not just suppositions. Still, this is the record of where I am on my journey as English Teacher 2.0.
No comments:
Post a Comment