I think having an
authentic audience means a lot to student. Not only does it get them more
excited about the work they are doing, but it makes it more meaningful too. It
is no longer just an assignment for a grade. They can be encouraged knowing
that others will see it and appreciate all the hard work they put into it.
Using technology to share their work also opens a lot of doors. Parents are
always going to love their child’s work, but using technology opens the door to
all sorts of different audiences.
This same
technology also allows students to learn from others. Teachers will not always
know everything and with technology students can find an expert in their area
and reach out for more in depth information. Having a plan for connecting with
experts is important. While students’ work may take a different course than
originally planned, the teacher can do what they can to think ahead and think
on their feet when necessary. When possible it is important to do research on
who would make a good expert, if they’re willing to help, and how best to
utilize their help. I also like the idea of creating a list of experts. This
could come in handy if students develop a line of questions that was not
expected, you can still find an expert willing to help. Using parent is another
good idea, they are easily accessible and a lot of parents can bring a lot to
the classroom.
Preparing students
is important as well. Having the best expert in the world is not going to be
helpful for students if they do not have specific goals in mind, or how best to
communicate with the expert. Of course there is the technical aspect as well,
learning to use the technology necessary to actually communicate. As a student
teacher, I also like the point that it can be mutually beneficial. College
students can offer a lot in an elementary school while getting experience
working with students. Connecting with others through technology does not
always have to mean connecting with an expert either.
Technology breaks
down barriers that prevent students from connecting with each other. When I was
in school you would hear about pen pals every now and then, but students today
are not as limited. With use of the Internet students can connect with students
across the country, or across the globe. I really liked reading about how
teachers are using this to give their students the chance to experience new
things and different places.
Using these
connections to form a project around something that is actually meaningful to
students adds a lot as well. Students can step outside of the classroom and get
into actual real world problems, and find something they can do to make a
difference. When this is combined with global connections, it can really grow
into something significant. This kind of grows into letting students lead a
project as well. If they find something they really care about they could be
given the chance to create a project around it.
I agree that technology allows students to learn from others. It is important to do research on an expert and find out if they can help and how to utilize that help. I agree that having a list of experts is helpful because if one expert is unavailable you can go on to the next expert. It is very helpful that technology can break down the barriers that prevent students from connecting with each other. Nowadays, you can work on a project/homework with another person and not even be in the same room. I know with personal experience, THIS IS SO HELPFUL!
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is important for teachers to have a list of experts for the students to see. I also think that it is important to have a large amount of experts for the students to see and listen to because the students need to be introduced to a wide variety of real world applications. You never know what each student is going to attach to and the things they are going to want to explore further. If you show students a large variety of experts then they can see how many different ways the learning done in the classroom can be used in the real world and how valuable the knowledge is.
DeleteI totally agree with you when the students have an audience (other than their teacher and possibly a caring parent) that will see their hard work , they will put more effort into the project. It will definitely get them more excited and intern be a more meaningful assignment. I also love the idea of calling on experts. I think the students will get so much more out of the experience when they research then collaborate to produce high quality questions. This makes them think more deeply about the content...obviously if 1,000 other students are listening in on the meeting they want to know what they are talking about and ask good questions ;-) Great work Emily!
ReplyDeleteEmily, I enjoyed reading your discussion on chapter eight. I agree with you on the fact that having an authentic audience means a lot to the student, because it gets the student more excited about the topic they are learning about but it makes it more meaningful and when you combine the both of those it will get the student to a higher level of learning. I also agree with you when you said “Parents are always going to love their child’s work, but using technology opens the door to all sorts of different audiences. This same technology also allows students to learn from others. Teachers will not always know everything and with technology students can find an expert in their area and reach out for more in depth information”. I agree with what you said and can extend it out by the fact that by using technology students are also able to easily share what they are doing with their parents and it’s a great thing to utilize. Teachers do not know everything if we did we would be in school forever, so by utilizing technology and experts that students can connect with it gives them others to learn from but more knowledge in what they are learning. I enjoyed this chapter and reading your post.
ReplyDelete