A couple of days ago the gurus over at SegaTech posted “Change the World…Change the Margins.” They ask their readers to help them figure out why, with access to Web 2.0 tools for blogging, collaborating through wikis, and creating websites without using complicated authoring software, (and I’ll through in networked schools and email), the printer remains to favored tool for communication. Why are schools we still relying on printing? How does using a word processing program, saving it to a server only to print it before it can be read and graded, help students to become better writers? What are they learning; what are they experiencing as writers? Are they able to reach an audience of peers beyond their school or are their voices trapped inside the server.
When students are engaged in blogging, collaborating through wikis, creating their own websites, or communicating through digital video their thoughts are no longer static, existing only on paper. The student is transformed into the published writer, able to watch their progress and growth as they revise and refine their thoughts and style. They can experience the excitement of receiving feedback from their peers. (I remember my excitement the first time I saw one of my blogs listed as a comment by David Warlick. I nearly jumped out of my seat.)
A Language Arts teachers once told me that writers become good writers by writing. I would add that good writers become great writers by publishing. The Internet has made it possible to young writers to publish and to free their voices from the confines of printing. It now our responsibility as teachers to help them find their outlet. Here are a few Web 2.0 tools to try with your students:
PB Wiki, Wetpaint, Wikispaces, Edublogs, VoiceThread, Gcast, Sketchcast. You might even think about setting up your own “educational network” on Ning.
If the whole idea of sending your students onto the Internet to publish their work worries you, think about setting up your own website. There you could post excerpts of student work, embed audio files of readings, or create a blog where comments from their peers could be posted.
The point is not what software or Web2.0 site we use to publish our student’s work, but that we find a way to provide them a voice outside of their classroom walls.
Just my thoughts…
“The point is not what software or Web2.0 site we use to publish our student’s work, but that we find a way to provide them a voice outside of their classroom walls.”
Well said! I hope others adopt your attitude. It is both refreshing and sorely needed. With so many educators bemoaning student apathy, giving pupils a means to express insights, observations, ideas, and opinions, moving to a digital forum makes so much sense.