Our new cluster concerns creativity and information literacy. At first glance, I thought the two ideas were rather mismatched. Upon reflection, though, I can see the connection. Without information literacy, it would be impossible for the New Biology folks to share their data and grapple with some of the worlds most challenging issues. The Philadelphia school uses the resources available on the web for creative project work in which I would imagine the students must analyze and utilize data from the internet. So while the two areas are separate, the 2.0 connection can clearly be made.
So the question remains. What are the ways that we can utilize the richness of the internet to foster our students collaborative and creative abilities? Some of our table and hallway conversations have been very rich. We've considered the obstacles, both in terms of resources, but in terms of the expectations on us to "cover" material. While discussing obstacles might seem like coming up excuses for not doing more of what the school in Philadelphia does, it is necessary to identify obstacles before you can remove or modify them. These conversations need to happen.
We also need to continue our discussions about these new technologies and when they are best used. As Diana suggests, books continue to be invaluable resources--and are sometimes the best way to glean specific and trustworthy information. Do students utilize different skills when collaborating face to face vs. over the internet? Should we balance our curriculum so that both are required? Should assignments be planned with student goals in mind first--or with utilizing technology first. When I first began planning my wiki for my sharing project, I began by looking for internet resources before I'd even thought about what I wanted students to learn. Three hours into things, I realized that this was completely backwards. But when educators try something new, they need to experiment--and sometimes learn how to avoid pitfalls like the one I fell into. The use of internet 2.0 tools in schools also brings up issues of etiquette. Should students be tweeting from lectures? Adults do it all the time. Is this O.K.? Is it rude? Some discussion is needed here, and I love to have some of these conversations in class with interested educators from my district.
I would also love to see what those of you who've used wikis and moodle and other resources have already done in your classrooms. I'm sure some of you have encountered problems I'll encounter and could save me some time consuming trial and error. I hope they'll be some forum for this, in a live context, as the class continues.
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Thanks for this thoughtful reflection.
ReplyDeleteIf the course participants are members of a PLN (and they are), I suspect there should, by definition, be time for learning from and with them during the class as well as in this online environment.
Dennis
Ruthie,
ReplyDeleteI am envious of your "table and hallway conversations" on these topics. The Middle School folks are lucky to be taking this course in a large group. There is just one other elementary educator left in the course, as far as I know -- Sue, who's the librarian (so we don't see each other in the halls or at lunch as much as teachers who share a grade level would) and only in my building half of each week. Some of us from several buildings (elem., preschool, MS) have met a few times as a study group, which has been very enjoyable and useful, but that requires a much bigger time commitment in advance than just chatting casually about the course and related topics over lunch! I know that there are online communities available both through the course and otherwise, but to me participating in those is "work", in direct competition with all of the other tasks to do for this course. It's nowhere near as pleasant or satisfying as casual in-person hallway conversations!