Success

I had one small success today that I just had to share. I have a few teachers at my school who are very tech shy. Technology is scary to them and even though they try their hardest to integrate, everything is overwhelming. A lot of hand holding has been done and we do a lot of pre-planning together.

As we've been learning about Wiki's in class I realized how appropriate a Wiki site could be for all the history rich lessons one of my tech shy teacher's teach and I decided to bring up the idea of creating a Wikisite for her kids. When I first explained to this teacher that I wanted to introduce a new technology to her kids she looked at me like I was crazy. But as I explained it to her further she began to love the idea. She had heard of the Wikipedia and loved the idea of having a classroom resource for her kids.

The moment of success was when she took ownership of the project by suggesting a Wiki site for all the important documents in American history the kids have to learn about. She wants the students to work in pairs to manage and update a different document page each week for a few weeks. We are still working out the details of the project. This teacher and I are going to meet again to have a tutorial about the Wikisite and her kids are going to start it in the next few weeks. I am looking forward to watching both her and her kids grow through this project.

Have you been in a 'tech scared' position before? If so how did you overcome your fears of technology. I feel the answers to these questions are so important to how I work with my teachers as a TRT to help them feel more comfortable with trying new ides.

Picky about Wikis?

As I began reading Richardson's chapter 4 about the power of the Wiki I was reminded of a sticky situation I had at school this past week. On page 59 Richardson comments: "...whereas most people get the 'pedia' part of the name few really understand the first part, the wiki."

I had a teacher approach me this week about using the Wikipedia with students. She inquired why a shortcut to the Wikipedia was not included on our network for student access. She wanted students to be able to use the Wikipedia for research they are completing in 4th grade. I sat and thought for a moment about her inquiry and proceeded to explain that although the Wikipedia is full of a wealth of knowledge, it cannot be regarded as a 100% valid information source for student use.

I then went on to explain the 'wiki' portion of the name to her. How anyone anywhere in the world can login and edit what is included in the Wikipedia. I assured her that there are editors helping to ensure that the information is correct, but at any given time and for any given topic students could be searching information that is not current or not updated. She had no idea that the Wikipedia was a flexible, changeable document. Our conversation concluded with me encouraging her modeling lessons where she is searching the Wikipedia for information and then verifying the information with another source, while the student research at this time is done through other online databases and encyclopedias. I felt that was the appropriate use for her 4th graders at this time.

This was a tough moment for me. Because I do feel the Wikipedia is a great resource and did not want to discourage its use. When did you learn the true meaning of 'wiki'? I am sure this staff member is one of many who don't realize the easily changeable nature of the Wikipedia. How do you feel about student use of the Wikipedia for research? Do you view it as a valid source of information?

IM speak pervades student writing

My husband sent me an interesting article while I was at work yesterday. The premise of the article is about how IM speak is cropping up in student work at school more and more. As an elementary educator I have not seen too much of this first hand, but this topic does seem to be sparking quite a debate. Are social networking, email, and instant messaging sites causing our students to become lazy with language? What do teachers need to know or do to overcome these issues?

David Warlick was quoted in this article and disusses this issue in his blog. He says this type of language should be aknowledged and celebrated. He points out that we are now in the 21st century where perfect grammar may not be appropriate for all settings. He argues that teachers should be sharing with students how writing will change depending on the audience. A scientist will not write a formal paper the same as an author would write a book. Children need to learn how to direct writing to a specific audience or purpose. He says IM speak may have a time and place in the classroom, do you agree?

On another note, I was lucky enough to see David Warlick lead a workshop for LCPS during Staff Development at the start of this school year. His life's work is currently about promoting 21st century literacy, especially through web 2.0 tools. I reccomend you check out his website. His blogs, wikis, and podcasts are all very informative and give an interesting perspective on classroom uses for Web 2.0 tools.