Will Richardson (2010), in his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, suggests that teachers who would like to start blogging should become familiar with the process before they start using that aspect of the Read/Write web with them. I guess this is why we are starting our own blog. I feel that I know how they work, but I myself have not had much experience writing one on my own without the guidance of a prompt for a class. Richardson (2010) also suggests that teachers new to the Read/Write web reflect on their learning and web usage. I use the web to access and gain knowledge. As a child I used to teach myself how to do things I was interested in by reading books and watching experts on TV. I taught myself how to ice skate and swim by reading library books and watching the winter and summer Olympics. Today I do the same thing, but instead of visiting the library I search the web, and instead of waiting for TV shows to air I look for video clips on YouTube. Two summers ago I started to teach myself how to skimboard and as a new homeowner I use the web all the time to learn how to become more “handy” and how to become a gardener.
As a graduate student I use the Read/Write web all the time in classes and I would like to use it in the same way with my students and colleagues. I agree with Richardson in the fact that I need to become more comfortable with the process of using wiki’s and blogs before I can adequately teach my students and colleagues. So in a way this class exercise serves an important purpose. I look forward to sharing my learning experiences and ideas with you. I am sure it will serve as a valuable learning experience for us all.
Hi Jen, good start! Teaching yourself to blog is easy. Reading other blogs will give you great ideas because you'll start to see things and be like, "how do I do that!?" You'll find that YouTube and other educational video sites have tons of material covered that you probably already teach. Using them in Web 2.0 to teach will be a fun, "cool," way to reach out to your students.
ReplyDeleteJen, Great blog. I like the combination of the personal and the educational. The links are very interesting...and then I saw other YouTubes from these and watched those...this is how we end up on the computer for hours!
ReplyDeleteI like your comparison of how you taught yourself things as a child using books and TV and now you use the internet. That is so true! I have fixed my sink, diagnosed my dog's ear problem (and bought meds), and installed a pool filter, to name just a few, all by looking up information on the internet.
I will be interested in seeing how it goes in your classroom as you try to implement what we are learning.
Hey Jen, as I was reading your post about how you would teach yourself things you were interested in by reading and experimenting, it brought back memories of my visits to the county library to find every dinosaur book I could get my hands on. I remember being disappointed that I burned through all the books I could read and had to take out more "adult" books which were hard to read and less visual. Can you image being a kid today and having a seemingly endless supply of information on a topic of interest?
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the volume of information, I'm becoming more and more fascinated by web 2.0 tools that allow for children to control and create information. I remember wanting to have a collection of all the dinosaurs I read about, but the technology of the age for me was an 8-track, so I was left with whatever books I had in the library. As I mentioned to Tyler, this is where blogging seems to have so much power. I can see my 10 year old self putting together my dinosaur blog, showing my friends and my family to coolest, scariest dinosaur images, keeping a reservoir of links, and perhaps writing stories or reports on what I've mined from the internet.
You are off to a good start with your blog.
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