Discussion Questions:
1. What are some risks to having students blog publicly?
Making sure not to have students post personal information online is extremely important as internet stalking and identity theft has become more prevalent. Also, students are young and may not realize what they post online will be there forever! What they posted 5-10 years ago might affect them as they go to college and graduate and try to find a job. Also, a student may blog something, for example on religion, and a group of religious people may take offense to that and it could turn violent.
2. I think this statement is saying that students will work harder and try to do better if they know fellow students, family members, or friends are going to read their work then they would if just the teacher is reading it. Most students don't want to look dumb to their fellow classmates and friends. If they know just the teacher is reading their material they won't try as hard because the teacher is the only one that's going to see it. I do somewhat agree with this statement but also think there are many kids out there that want to do their best no matter who is reading the material.
3. The use of student blogs helps create a global classroom by connecting the students in the class to other students around the world. How cool is it that someone here in tiny Fort Dodge can post something and interact daily with someone in Japan. I remember being in 2nd grade and having a pen pal in California where I would write a letter to him and would have to wait 6 weeks to hear something back. Now it's just the click of a button away. Students can learn so much from each other across the world and learn about different cultures. One web 2.0 resource I found that could help create a learning environment is the website epals.com. The ePals approach provides an effective way to instruct and
reach today's technology savvy students and teachers. ePals provides
digital content designed for collaboration and self-paced, self-directed
learning as well as a safe platform to share work globally.
I agree that it can be a dangerous thing for students who are emotional about certain topics to blog on their opinions because they may not like the response they get and that could hurt more then just themselves.
ReplyDeleteGreat connection in your response to question 3! Had totally forgot about doing the pen pal thing as a kid! How far technology has come!
ReplyDeleteI agree that there are some students who want to do their best no matter who is viewing their work. It really is cool that students in Iowa can connect with students from around the world. I also remember having a pen pal in Elementary-it definitely wasn't as easy as using a web 2.0 tool is.
ReplyDeleteI like the correlation you make to the pen pal reference. Very similar now with a larger audience.
ReplyDeleteI also remember having a pen pal. It amazes me how far technology has come. We can now send e-mails to anyone anywhere and it is instant. I also like how you said that many kids want to do their best no matter what. I think sometimes students get in a hurry to finish something and aren't worried about what they wrote because only the teacher is going to read it. So I also agree that some students work harder when their audience is bigger.
ReplyDelete