ICTs in the classroom group discussion....

I enjoyed the "Emerging Technologies for Learning" article. I think it would be valuable for k-12 teachers to read this, especially if they already use a project-based, or inquiry-based approach to curriculum. In these learning environments, where students usually create some sort of final project or presentation - sure, let them use whichever technologies they want, as long as the final product meets the requirements. At the independent school I'm working at this semester, technology is not driven by the students at all. They have to keep their cell phones and iPods in their lockers during the day. Yet, laptops are used effectively (in my opinion) because their use has been well thought out and effectively integrated into the curriculum and culture of the school. The teachers are held to very high expectations by both the administration and the parents, and there is excellent technical support. I wonder though, what kind of message the school is giving the students by banning cell phones and iPods? The question of whether or not students should be allowed to use them during school is complex, and I don't think Prensky's article considers all consequences to sufficiently provide an answer.

In Prensky's article the section on Wikipedia may be especially useful for k-12 teachers. Wikipedia has become a "thorny" topic for teachers because of the information on the site is not written by experts, yet, students should understand how to use this information. Prensky suggests that students use the technology to search, but not research. Additionally, he calls for teachers to make students become contributers to the site, writing articles and evaluating contributions. Prensky presents a clear, convincing argument, however I think he omits a key element of working with technology in schools: professional collaboration between teachers. The case of wikipedia is an information literacy issue, and I think a school librarian can be a valuable resource for a teacher wishing to teach his or her students about research and Intellectual Property. Also, I think teachers within a school should have a consistent message about how these technologies can be used for school work. Imagine if a History teacher told the students never to use wikipedia, while the English teacher created an assignment for the students to contribute information about local activities? These mixed messages might impact how students view technology for learning.

Tu's article discusses the relationship between social presence and social learning theory. Tu argues that social presence is required "to enhance and foster on-line social interaction." I found his discussion of the degree of social presence to be most applicable to my final project for this course. Tu claims that social presence may be cultivated though conference leaders, interactions with instructors, and initial learning sessions. Within communities of practice social presence may be strongly impacted by the technology used to "host" the community, but I think leaders can have a strong impact by facilitating social interactions. There are a few interesting articles written about Tapped-In that cover how researchers and peers can facilitate online interaction and cultivate social presence.

outline for final project

I will be doing a literature review on how inservice teachers form communities of practice in online spaces. The guiding questions for my paper are: What are the technological features of these online spaces that afford the emergence of communities of practice? What are the key levers that impact how shared understandings of the community become stable? The literature review will be based on the theoretical framework of "communities of practice" according to Wenger (1998)*, and the emergence of online communities according to Baym. My analysis will start with arguments for ongoing professional development (Darling-Hammond, Beare articles), and recent federal and state policy calling for enhanced in-service training to supply schools with high-quality teachers . Then, I will synthesize the literature on the emergence of inservice teacher professional development communities, and the benefit these communities have on practice.

Additional thoughts on social networking

It's amazing how fast Friendster and Facebook have changed in the past few years. The 2 articles that we read on these sites for this week were recently published (or are in press), yet the nature of these sites has changed significantly since this research was done. If social networking sites are still new and evolving quickly, how useful are these observations? Will social networking sites continue on this path of constant internal change, or will there be a leveling off at some point when the novelty of the tool is not so intriguing?

Relating social networks to my research question, I wonder if there are teachers out there who are using social networks for professional connections? I will have to explore LinkedIn to see if there are teachers connecting professionally via online networks. Also, would there be a benefit for teachers to use social networking sites to connect with supplemental education providers to discover curriculum opportunities for students?

Potential article for 11/29 group discussion

Bielaczyc, K. (2006) Designing social infrastructure: critical issues in creating learning environments. The Journal of Learning Sciences. 15(3)

It's all about who you know?

I'm interested in the social capital element of social networking. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I attended a presentation this past summer about how we can use networks to connect underprivileged youth with learning opportunities outside of traditional classroom. I think it is a fact of life in our culture that a lawyer's kid has many more positive out-of-school learning opportunities than a kid who's parents can barely put food on the table. With many studies showing that out of school time is incredibly important*, we need to do something to connect students to opportunities. An example of such an opportunity would be the Summer Experiential Learning Programs through Summer Search, a non-profit organization.

Another element of social networking that I find interesting is how schools react to online social networking sites. Most schools (in fact all that I know of) use filters to prevent students from accessing myspace and facebook. The reality is that kids do end up accessing them in cities at least (via neighbor's wireless connections), and schools are sending the message to kids that social networking sites are "bad." Are they bad for kids? No, probably not. The only hesitation that I have about allowing students to access facebook in school is that if teachers start to use facebook for course information or communication with students about academics, then kids might not use it in the same way for socializing with their friends. An ah-ha moment I had earlier this semester at my student teaching placement (an all girls school) occurred when a parent said that the way that the girls talk to boys is through IM and facebook. These forms of communication have become really important for developing their social identity. So, if teachers start to use facebook for academic-related communications, won't that impact how students use it for socializing?


* The After School Corporation presents some evidence on their site for why after school programs are important: http://www.tascorp.org/section/aboutus/important