You mention that “what we need, and what we want, are for students to see technology as a means of achieving their own education, working toward specially tailored goals, and resulting from their own efforts”. This is such an important factor to consider when implementing new technologies in the classroom. I loved the example that November gives about using Google Docs to have a few students in the classroom as designated scribes who are taking the notes while other students are following along on their Google Doc. This type of activity is one that I use in my own classroom, as I am able to follow along while individual students are working on a written assignment. I can have all of their Google Docs open at once on my computer and can bounce back and forth to see the progress of each child. I can also send them comments as they are writing so that they have questions to consider. November discusses creating a “culture of learning” (November, 2010). This is a catch phrase in my school, and part of the mission of our charter. In this type of learning environment, students are working to use technology and learning to create their own learning and to share this learning with others. I agree with you when you state that technology alone is not a sufficient teacher, and I agree with November when he states that technology cannot just be “built on top” of the already existing curriculum. Students need to be given newly created technology that includes technology as an integral way for them to access new information, and curriculum that allows them to use technology to enrich their experience with the material. I loved the example November gave up students having a debate with students in the United Kingdom about the reasons for the American Revolution. I think this is actually something I may try in my own classroom. I actually do a similar project where students have a Town Meeting style speech about one of the acts or events leading up to the American Revolution, but loved adding the additional piece of communicating with students globally for this project. My students use Skype to communicate with students in schools around the world when we work on our current events unit and world geography, but I hadn’t thought of also using this technology for the history unit. More and more I am trying to use technology to help students complete their work. I am teaching them to use citation tools starting in fifth grade, so that these skills are firm by the time they reach high school and beyond. I am using social networking sites like Edmodo to help teach them safety and etiquette protocols when it comes to communication via social media sites. I am helping students to use blogging tools like WordPress and Weebly. I have been working with students to teach them how to do online research. I feel like students are gaining more and more ways to access their world and to guide their own learning. For your final point, I am not sure how I feel about teaching children literacy completely online. I do recognize that as you state, students will see more and more information displayed to them digitally. But I think taking away the element of reading is an unfortunate mistake. There is just something special about physically accessing a book. I think this is the case with face to face interactions as well. Despite all our technology, there are certain experiences that I hope are never completely replaced with technology because without these experiences we have less of a sense of humanity. 

-Katy Angelone

 

Reference:

 

November, A. (2010). Technology rich, information poor. In 21st Century Skills: Rethinking How Students Learn. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

 

In your question Kris, you mention teaching literacy on-line and ask us to comment on our thoughts about foundational reading skills for young learners on-line versus printed books where students could have a more participatory role in their learning how to read and hopefully enhancing their writing skills. I think that any time we can involve children in their own learning it is a positive thing and will have a long-lasting effect. However, I tend to agree with Katy’s response as my hope is that we would still expose young children to reading printed books instead of solely digital formats. I also think that perhaps we are the ones that feel the need to still hold a book in our hands in order to read, or learn to read, but that children born into this era of digital literacy may never feel the need as they will have no schema or exposure to such a tool or practice. I found this interesting article about parents’ perspective on this very subject: