Reflection: Reading #2
Within the paper Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21ST Century social media and other online avenues for personal expression are examined within the context of students and education. Online spaces such as blogs and gaming are so successful because they do not limit students’ ideas. Students are able to receive feedback on their work and think creatively. Within the online world students can interact with peers and professionals both nationally and internationally on topics they address in their work. This environment fosters relationships between students and experts in related fields. Social media forms such as Facebook and Twitter are great starting points to get feedback on idea or future product. Blogs are helpful because they are open to the public and easily accessible through Google or other search engines regarding a specific topic. In another course I am enrolled in we posted information on a blog about different childrens’ authors and one author actually commented on a student’s presentation. The opportunity to connect through blogs and other spaces online provides students with contacts and insight they could never experience without the help of technology or in a traditional classroom. Do you read a blog weekly or daily? Have you ever found anything helpful or interesting on a blog either for school or pleasure?
I found it extremely exciting that some cities such as: Cambridge, Boston, and Philadelphia hope to offer residents high-speed wireless Internet without a fee. Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21ST Century raised my awareness of the severe disadvantage students without Internet at home would face (13). I never considered how access to the Internet at home can shape a students’ behavior in the classroom and attitude towards technology. If your parents were never familiar with using the Internet within the home then students most likely had little to no experience with technology at home as well. Lack of Internet would hinder students throughout their childhood as various information within social and school activities is updated online. If parents ever wanted to sign up their child for a sport or seek out additional help when assisting their child with their homework it would be much more challenging to get in contact with those in charge and to seek out helpful resources. What do you think some of the disadvantages are if students are without Internet access at home?
I definitely agree with your opinion. I think that online spaces are a great way for students to express themselves and share their ideas. Students these days are so accustomed to using new technology that it sometimes seems to come naturally for them. As future educators, I think that it is very important to use students’ strengths to foster new ones. This way, students will be more engaged and learning will be facilitated. For example, students could post their comments to the book they are reading on a blog and engage in a class discussion with both the teacher and their peers. I think that activities like these can make any lesson more exciting for students. To answer your question, I don’t personally read a blog every day or on a regular basis. However, I have encountered some great blogs where teachers talk about important aspects of teaching and give examples of fun activities to integrate in your classroom. For one of my previous courses, I had the opportunity to create a blog providing suggestions on class management in response to specific situations that may arise in the classroom. I think that online sites like these are great tools not only for students but teachers as well.
Some of the set backs are that it will be harder for students to do any research on the computer at home. I think that teachers have to be aware of the background that their kids are coming from. In saying that it is important to get an idea of the amount of access that a child has to technology at home. It is imperative that this be done in a manner that will not make any child feel bad about where they come from. One way to do this is to pass out a survey on one of the first days at school and ask some questions that will allow you to gain information about each student. Once you have gathered some data then it will be easier to accommodate students with out internet access at home. This will make it easier to overcome the draw backs.