Well. Here’s another thing I can’t believe I didn’t know about. Makes perfect sense the aggregators exist of course. (And one of the extra readings suggested using them to keep track of students’ blog posts, which answers the question of how to keep track of those once I start using them.)
I scanned some of the Students 2.0 pieces and continue to dig the vibe of that blog. I keep reminding myself I’m getting insight into the high school mind and am equally annoyed and inspired by their excited, frustrated and chastising tone. They’re making things happen and they’re waiting for their schools to catch up. It is daunting and while I don’t get the impression these kids think we have nothing to offer them, I do get the impression they’re going to become increasingly suspicious of what we have to offer if it does not come to resemble the other ways they take in and share information. I do think that many of my students are not really aware of many of these possibilities (I could be wrong). But as time passes and more and more teachers are harnessing the power of connectivity and shared learning (assuming that power truly exists and is not a hoax), it will become incumbent upon all of us to get with the program.
As for the particular posts I read, one was about teacher bias towards written language, perhaps at the expense of giving more time to oral communication (and those students who may have particular strengths in that area.) Obviously, it’s debatable exactly how much time one should spend on each and how important each method is, but the key thing for me is hearing that young, frustrated voice editorializing about something on his mind. It got me thinking, for sure.
Not to beat a dead horse, but as I scan the 3 education blogs, I am absolutely dumbfounded at how much I don’t know about. I know this is about baby steps. But holy cow!
