While I believe this article is focused on middle school, it is relevant in the elementary setting, particularly in the upper grades.
Asselin & Moayeri make a case for integrating web 2.0 into the classroom, using technology to engage students more actively in learning both during the school day and beyond.
"While social and entertainment- based literacies such as those used for social networking, photo sharing, gaming, and instant messaging are common practices amongst youth, learning-based literacies such as critical analysis and production of self-created content are practised only by a minority (Luckin et al., 2009; Ito et al., 2008; Samuelsson, 2010)."
"Castells (2002) argues that lack of opportunities to contribute to today’s networked society is ‘one of the most damaging forms of exclusion in the economy and culture’ (p. 3). Schools have a responsibility to address the inequities of new literacies competency amongst today’s youth."
"Our examples and ideas provide starting points for using new literacies and new forms of texts that can help teachers shift to ‘mindset two’ uses of Web 2.0 in classrooms. We hope to contribute to the growing awareness of the need to transform our understandings of literacy and literacy education, within the language arts and across the disciplines"
This is like an advertisement for why schools--all of them, not just high schools--need actual teacher librarians. Teachers are overworked as it is, so expecting them to revamp all their curriculum (or a good part of it, even) to incorporate web 2.0 stuff is not realistic, nor is it realistic to think that they would all want to do so (I know plenty of teachers who would not notice if their computers were removed from their classrooms, except for the fact that they use them to take attendance). I do believe that web 2.0 skills (or a lack of them) is creating the next "digital divide," and those students who don't learn to use them will have fewer opportunities. At the same time, teachers are not comfortable with the technology themselves or just can't imagine how to use it in the classroom. That is where a good teacher librarian could step in and help. Even just a small suggestion can make a big difference. This summer I was having dinner for a friend's birthday and one of her other friend's was lamenting the lack of participation and original thought in a summer college course he was teaching. I suggested having students keep online learning journals or using google docs to have whole-class brainstorming or reflection sessions. He knew how to use those tools, it just hadn't occurred to him to use them in that way before.
I am way off topic here (and preaching to the choir). Back to the article.
Sites to check out: diingo.com. My husband uses delicious.com, and pintarest is another site that could also be used to share research finds with a class or small group. Students need to learn how to annotate a web page (or other documents) and how to read web pages with annotations.
"The act of socially bookmarking and tagging sites turns the passive and static act of searching into an active and dynamic one where the user is now participating in website rankings and contributing to the key terms that are being employed to describe websites. What may seem like a simple task of adding explanatory words to describe a web page or thinking up possible search terms to locate desired bookmarked pages is in fact a complex process that is a new social literacy practice in need of deeper understanding and instruction."
This article contains a great example of teaching critical literacy to elementary students (ice cream and National Geographic's kid site).
"attributes of ‘mindset two’ learning and knowledge: participatory, collaborative, multimodal, democratic, and distributive. Examples in this section also shift students’ role from consumer to producer and raise new challenges for teachers regarding students’ meta-awareness of issues related to ethical practices inherent in re-mixing, respectful interactions with collaborators, and consciousness of the virtual presentation of self."
I'm not sure all teachers are aware of the ethical practices (copyright, etc.), so how will they teach students? Another ad for the teacher librarian.
Following a description of using wikis to write collaborative stories or reports: "We encourage teacher facilitation around ethical implications. For example, because such activities involve students deleting and changing their peers’ work, it becomes important to learn respect for other people’s voices." Something many people would not think of, but since collaborative content creation is probably here to stay, something that must be taught.
Following a discussion on the use of wikis in the classroom, where information comes from, and how students might interact with it: "Teachers, therefore, need to play an active role when incorporating wikis in their classroom by discussing critical and ethical issues surrounding them and facilitating their use to encourage individual voices in collaborative ways." A second voice (like a TL) is helpful. Parents or other experts could also be invited to contribute.
Video sharing (youtube) is also mentioned.
Social Network sites:
"With applications like Wackwall and Ning, it is possible to create private social networks that are for a niche group. So classrooms can create their own networks and name them to fit their subject and classroom personality. These networks provide low- barrier opportunities for students to create and/or publish content to the web (it can be kept private within the group). Each member of a class joins the network, posts pictures and videos about the topic at hand and communicates with their classmates. This content can be drawn from existing resources or students can post their own self-created photos and videos about the topic."
How fun would it be to create one of these spaces and have students all take different roles (like different characters from books or different historical figures)?
"Students’ contributions to such sites need careful consideration. An opinion shared orally in class will likely fade quickly even if it is a controversial one. Opinions posted on a SNS take on a far more permanent place and have a larger reach. Just as it is important for students to learn critical literacy skills when it comes to accessing, understanding, and synthesising information, it is equally important to learn how to carefully craft our words to adequately meet our purposes. Nuances such as irony can be easily lost in text and the intention of one person’s comments can be misinterpreted by others. Again, this brings forth new literacies skills that need support in the classroom."
This is the best argument I've seen for using sns in the classroom (although it's not meant as such). I'd much rather kids learn to navigate them successfully in the classroom than in "real life." It's shocking to me how many ADULTS have not learned this lesson, using sites like FB to air out their dirty laundry, job dissatisfaction, etc.
Shelfari
We encourage approaching their use with students with a critical eye and learning about agendas and potential traps of the businesses behind the tools and incorporating such lessons within the same classes where the tools are being used.
Another trap to avoid when incorporating any of these Web 2.0 applications is to take care not to use them in ways that enforce traditional assumptions about learning and knowledge (Bryant, 2007). These applications are not only new technologies, but new genres and new literacies as well and thus require new forms of contribution. Are our students just writing a series of short term papers and posting them under the guise of blogs, wikis, or social networks; or are they using the software in innovative ways that stimulate them to learn, collaborate, share, and create in democratic ways? Encouraging posting in different modes such as image, video and audio files would be one way to embrace the new uses of these new literacies. Another way would be to encourage a variety of forms of writing including txt speak, verse, narrative, and non linear forms of writing. It is difficult to make suggestions of such forms or to conceive what could be, but what could be will never be if the opportunity for exploration and expression in different modes is not offered or is overshadowed by more traditional forms.
Web 2.0 classroom (http:// web20classroom.blogspot.com) is a space for educators who are currently incorporating Web 2.0 practices within their classrooms, and ‘Ning in Education’ (http://education.ning. com/) is a place for educators who are incorporating Ning within their practice.
This represents a real shift in literacy, technology, and education. I agree with the authors that if students are just using technology to reproduce assignments they could have completed with paper and pencil, then there is not much point. The key is to design assignments that teach students about the ethical implications of using the tools, that encourage them to collaborate with each other, create meaning together, and become vendors in a marketplace of learning. Or, as Dr. Loertscher would say, to create a "learning commons."
One downside: just like work now follows people 24/7, school will follow our kids 24/7. But I suppose they must learn to balance as well, and if a kid gets a great idea at 9 p.m. rather than 9 a.m., it's still a great idea.
This article is one I will use for my abstracts.
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