Blog 2 - Standards are not so Standard

Though I am familiar with using technology in the classroom, this course is the first time that I have really taken a look at the technology standards. Both the NETS and the NJ Core Curriculum Standards stress the same concepts of what should be learned by students in our schools. It is appropriate and about time that there are such standards, considering how crucial technology skills will be to our students for their future education and careers.

But are we meeting these standards in our schools? Schrum and Levin state that "our current educational system is not adequately preparing our students for the kinds of jobs and lives they are likely to encounter in their lifetime" and I can't argue with them (pg. 7). True, in most schools now there are some teachers like the teachers in this course, who are excited and committed to incorporating technology into the classroom. However, in those same schools there are always teachers who still run a classroom like it is 1969. This is not to say that their teaching is not engaging and effective, but they are not meeting the technology standards in any way. Even if the students in these classes are getting a wonderful math or social studies or language arts education, isn't their education incomplete? Our jobs no longer involve simply teaching our content areas. We are now involved in a more complicated purpose of preparing students for using out content areas on the 21st century.

As the standards imply, studying any subject in high school and college now involves the use of technology. Working in almost any career today involves, at the very least, basic understanding of computers and the internet. Teachers should be considering the technology standards in their regular planning in order to be sure that they are helping their students be ready to take on whatever comes next. What kind of accountability is in place for teachers who do not regularly consider using technology to improve their instruction?

I found this interesting video on Youtube made by a fellow teacher!

Blog Post 1 - To Wiki or to Blog, That is the question!

When I was teaching my professional development course on Wikis, teachers asked me all the time whether blogs or wikis are better. The answer I gave was that they have different purposes. Secretly, though, I have always thought that wikis are "better" and offer more options. However, I was thinking through my experiences with both and I realized that blogs still retain their worth.

When I first started to dabble in using educational technology, I was teaching 3rd grade. I had taken a professional development course on Blogging, but was concerned that my students were too young to participate. I decided to give it try and started using Edublogs.org with my 8 year old students. Their parents were more than willing to help them get started and the kids really took to using the technology. The questions or prompts that I posted were simply, with the goal being just to get the kids involved in an online community from home. They loved it and from then I was hooked.

When I moved to being an 8th grade language arts teacher, the possibilities for blogging were endless. By that point, our school website offered its' own blogging function and I was able to use that with my students. I posted discussion questions for each book we read and the kids were able to hear the thoughts of students who were not just in their own class period. This really allowed conversations to widen and thoughts to expand with more interaction. Blogging was perfect for me to create a question, situation, or prompt and have all my students respond to each other.

However, after a couple of years, I began to look for something different. The wiki offered an opportunity for more collaboration between students instead of just conversation. And when there was conversation, it was individualized. Students could have their own work, on their own page, and a discussion on that page dedicated just to them. It allowed for focused discussion and creation of new work. It truly is an extension of the classroom, instead of being just one way discussion models. As a result, I haven't gone back to doing "just" blogs.

However, our readings in class have reminded me that blogging isn't just about providing a discussion prompt for other people, but it is about ruminating on your own thoughts with an audience. As Richardson states, "Weblogs truly expand the walls of the classroom" and opens up a conversation (pg. 27). This conversation is open to a broad audience and everyone gets to read the ideas shared there, instead of missing posts because they are spread out through the wiki on separate discussion boards. So there are definitely possibilities in blogging that are still exciting and viable for education. Richardson reminded me that "blogs archive the learning that teachers and students do, facilitating all sorts of reflection and metacognitive analysis" (pg. 27).

It really is about what your purpose is. I prefer wikis for collaboration and individualization of discussion. I have rediscovered my love of blogging for ruminating on thoughts and including everyone in one discussion!

Check out this video on blogging! Blogs in Plain English