Response to Wall Street Journal article

I believe that the internet is indeed cluttered with useless information. In my opinion, however, the content on the internet is generally more beneficial and accessible to the majority of users than it even was. It does require some sifting, but searching the internet can yield a successful result most of the time. Whether one is seeking comedy, medical advice, video entertainment, correspondence, news, or intellectual conversation, any and all of this is available on-line. I’m amazed by the web-based tools, capabilities, and innovations that comprise Web 2.0. This class has introduced me to concepts and tools that I had only heard of, but had never attempted to use. Although I struggle from time-to-time when using computers, I whole-heartedly agree that the internet offers an array of positives to its users. I feel that I am somewhat successful at avoiding the information that is meaningless to me, and applying the useful web-based tools to my life. Tools like RSS make it possible to have the information that interests you come to you, so deflecting unwanted information is not all that difficult.

The concept of “radical trust” is deep one. Web 2.0 presents its users with many opportunities to go astray, or be lead astray. Consequently, internet safety is an urgent topic that should be covered with students and children before they even begin using the internet. Likewise, such ideas as the validity of internet content, and the motives behind some internet users, are topics that relate to the idea of “radical trust.” I think maturity and experience can help internet users make good decisions about what to publish, how much to reveal, and when to avoid a scam. Quite honestly, “radical trust” and internet safety make me nervous when I think ahead to my future classroom full of innocent students. I want to make sure I address these topics in an appropriate and effective manner with my students, so that their experiences on-line will be positive and productive. I plan to employ the help of my future administrators, as well as the school’s IT department, since they might be able to amend my comments, to make sure my students understand the gravity of being safe while using the internet.

Whenever I login to my blog, I notice a little ticker that tells which blogs have been updated within the last minute. Many of these blogs are irrelevant to my interests, but that does not preclude me from recognizing that blogs are a great tool that can easily be used by students. I think the idea of having students set-up and maintain a personal blogs as a response journal is a fabulous way to take advantage of one of Web 2.0’s premier tools. In addition, with RSS, the teacher can easily review recent posts. Of all of the tools we’ve discovered and learned about so far in this course, blogs are the one I think I’ll definitely use.

I have to admit, I never spent much time with YouTube prior to this class because I thought it was junk. I still think some if it’s junk, but I have recently discovered that many of the videos have merit, and can be useful ways to deliver a multi-media message to students. I was engrossed in the eight-minute “Did You Know…” video that was part of this week’s lecture. What a terrific way to get the idea of “paradigm shift” across. I think most students enjoy learning from different media, and tend to remember lesson that were presented in untraditional ways. Provided I have access to the equipment to make it happen, I think using video snippets (not just YouTube) is an avenue I would like to explore with my future students.

In the first week of class we read an article by Marc Prensky that discussed the socialization of kids today. Prensky asserted that our teaching must change, in order to accommodate our students, who are a product of their digital upbringing. I think using some of the web-based tools we’ve learned about in this class is a good way to enhance our teaching, so that our students are learning in ways that appeal to them. However, I believe it is essential to continue to hold students to high standards with regard to: reading and writing skills, proper written and spoken English, math, history, and science. As well, I think manners and etiquette are important and should be considered a vital part of growing and maturing. Luckily, I think Web2.0 offers many options for fusing the old with the new. For example, using a class wiki to collaboratively write a lab report for a science experiment potentially combines traditional as well as contemporary learning tools. Such a lesson is likely to engage more students, since somewhere along the way, something is going to spark the interest of most students. I hope to keep my lessons well-integrated and not too monotonous, so that my students will be interested in the content and willing to participate and learn.

The internet and its tools are a way of life for us in 2007, so I think it’s useless to hope things will settle down and that the craziness of Web 2.0 will subside. The more reasonable approach is to jump in, devise a way to make use of the tools that can add value to your life, and employ those tools in a responsible way. In my opinion, the changes that have taken place regarding the internet and its content have been an improvement. I have developed my own skills for discarding and ignoring information that is irrelevant to me. I hope to instill in my future students a keen sense of internet safety, as well as the ability to navigate the internet well, and use its tools efficiently. I am sure my students are already using many of the tools that I’m just now learning about. My goal as a teacher is to incorporate such things as blogs, video snippets, and wikis into my lessons, to enforce old-fashioned skills and learning in a new, relevant way.


Bibliography:

Prensky, Marc. “Do They Really Think Differently?” On the Horizon (NCB University
Press). Vol. 9 No. 6, Dec. 2001.