Reflections on 331 Second Reading Assignment

Wikipedia

           

            When the Internet first got really popular during the late 1990’s, teachers preached against using it for library research because they did not trust information unless the source was an unchangeable, peer edited and/or professionally refereed primary source journal.  So, I did not trust Wikipedia because it was often altered.  However, the way Richardson explains and defends it, I am now willing to accept its content, generally.  However, I am not always satisfied with Internet sources.  Sometimes there just isn’t much published, or it is too superficial.  I can make that judgment but students might not be able to.  On the other hand, I found great sites to that I used to review chemistry, ionizing radiation and physics when I studied for the praxis II test.  It was faster to go straight to the Internet compared to trying to look something up in my old text books.  It paid off.  I passed with a perfect score on the general science test

(0435). 

Will traditional textbooks fade into the background?

            I hope so.  They are so Archie Bunker, after all.  Don’t you agree?  Production of paper versions of texts is wasteful of natural resources and production causes pollution of air and water.  I don’t want to carry them around.  I had Michael Ritter’s online geology course and we used his online text ( Table of Contents for Ritter's online Physical Geography).  I bookmarked the table of contents and was able to quickly find, read, review, use interactives and watch supporting video presentation by highly respected sources.  It was much better than a traditional text and I still use it.  What could be better?  In David Grabski’s 8^th grade science class (David Grabski's Class Wiki) students also use online texts that seem to be similar in design to Ritter’s but which are supplied by traditional publishers.  So, even they see the light. “Come into the light, Children, come into the light”, (from Poltergeist). 

Wiki Tools for Schools

            My first introduction to the use of a web blog in school was probably Ritter’s online geology text.  I didn’t know what it was when I used it.  My first awareness of a teacher who used a Wiki was when Michelle Johnson at Adams-Friendship middle school showed me hers.  She stressed that parents could view it to see what their kids were doing and whether they had and were doing their homework.  Kids often tell their parents that they don’t have any homework.  Mr. Grabski also has guest and parent access on his site.  I can see what the kids are doing before I attend his class.  So, I can be better prepared to help in class.  Now, I see that the Wiki can be much more than a place for parents to see what their kids are doing.  It is a great place to engage students with content.  I am watching different kids closely in Mr. Grabski’s class to see how much variation there is in different student’s levels of engagement, enjoyment and success with the class wiki.  My question is whether all kids can use it equally and whether it actually enhances their learning.  I already think it does.  It is as hard to be objective about these things as it is difficult to be me.  Ha! Ha!  Yes, but seriously, it is hard to be objective.  I must try to be.  The problem is that I really want to teach this way.  To me it is more fun than traditional pedagogy.  Been there, done that, I want something new.  I want class wikis, blogs, etc.  I can’t say that the reading makes me want to teach differently.  I can say that my experiences with online text and in classes that use high levels of technology that have opened my eyes.

RSS Feeds

            I read the chapter before we started our class and subscribed to 4 feeds.  They are Certification Map (a blog about getting teachers certified and related stuff) which had 3 new feeds posts since I looked at it last, a NY Times blog about teacher pay (it had 5 new posts), Science News (it had 22 new posts) and USGS Earthquake Notification (it had a whopping 268 posts).  Based on my neophytic (another new word I made up) experience, I am certain there are more potential classroom applications for RSS feeds than I have thought of.  This is because the potential application depends on the specific blog and its content.  I can use the USGS feed to impress students regarding the frequency of earthquakes.  I can use certification map for myself and colleagues.  I can use Science News to start each day (or maybe each week) and to generate discussions.  I can use it to show the relevance of science.  I can make the case that it’s not just crap we are trying to teach in science classes.  I think that I would like to use it to get students involved in real world conversations.  They can start to feel a part of the learning community that is world wide.  Maybe, RSS feeds can help me build fires under the butts of teens.  I just need that burning permit.

What?

            What will I do differently?  I think it depends on who hires me if anybody.  I like the students in Wisconsin Dells and the staff because they got it right regarding managing student behavior.  However, they don’t have the best computer system and they block nearly everything I want to use.  I was able to get to vuvox and to delicious.  But, I could not get to blogger, You Tube or Wikipedia.  The faculty even complains about how many pages they block.  My home e-mail service is even blocked.  One faculty could not log on to her online bill paying stuff.  In the building most cell phones and androids won’t make connections.  A lot of the students know how to get around these blocks and they showed me, but I forgot how.  So, if I have a choice between working in Wisconsin Dells versus in a school with bad kids and better computers, I’ll take the bad kids.  Hey, Wisconsin Dells, there is a world out there past Columbia and Sauk County lines.  You’ all don’t have good jobs for all of your kids.  So, you’ all need to get with the program.