Kaycee's+responses

First of all, I thought the chapter on "digital ecology" was a hoot as it described ways to arrange your digital classroom. I always operated under the impression that you get what you get, and are lucky if you get anything at all. I've always considered our school fortunate in that we have a lab with 27 computers that can link to the internet and a printer. If it weren't for the lab tech who rebuilds donated computers, hunts garage sales and thrift stores for ink cartridges, and keeps those dinosaurs running against the odds, we wouldn't have anything. I'll take the less-than-ideal seating arrangement over the alternative any day.

Also, in the same chapter, the authors attempt to describe Acceptable Use Policies. I was hoping for some insight here, but they succeed in only getting across the fact that constructing AUPs is "challenging." In fact they go on to describe the Children's Internet Protection Act which requires schools to have blocked access. Even though this makes sense for the safety of our students, it sure is going to make my job of trying to use wikis, blogs or google docs in my classroom a lot harder. I'm discouraged and would like to learn tips on how to "sell" these applications to my administrator so she sees the benefits rather than the perils.

On the other side of the coin, however, I was completely thrilled to learn of the work that Common Sense Media is doing to help me teach students how to be digital citizens. I know about CSM as a parent, but their resources for educators are outstanding. There are great resources mentioned here, and ideas for support.

The way the authors discuss "Twenty-First-Century Skills" in the chapter on Standards and Assessment is exciting. It is important for students to be able to collaborate, respond, and create with others. This doesn't only happen in the digital world, of course, but in the digital world, it is inherent. Honestly, I think there it is still important to emphasize the traditional reading, writing, listening, speaking in the standards, but it is just as important to broaden those pillars with the traits listed. Reading, writing, speaking and listening cannot transcend without the 21st century traits, however, the traits only imply the knowledge of the more traditional skills, and sometimes you need to focus on the concrete before the abstract. I love the quote on pg.106, "Since audience reception is at the core of writing, an assessment culture that values audience will support the development of vital rhetorical skills." This is why I want to find an online forum for my students writing this year. I think they are tired of writing for me.

This quote on page 119: But sometimes we take such a serious and instrumental approach to professional development that we forget, or even suppress, the need we all have to play and experiment as we're learning something new. It seems counterintuitive, sometimes, for busy people like teachers to slow down, play, and experiment, but the insights we learn when we do are what help us teach for depth understanding." This sounds like such a luxury! However, I think it is right on. I think we don't give our students enough time to play in school. For example, I think many students in 6th grade who don't know their math facts have difficulty because they haven't had enough opportunity to play with concrete number sense before they were taught to memorize the algorithm. We, as teachers, get down to business in our classrooms primarily because we are constantly squeezed for time. If I spend more time on one aspect of my curriculum, then another aspect gets shorted. Naturally, we apply this extreme task-orientation to our own lives and professions (okay, I'll speak for myself here). Attending this ATI is a luxury for me, because I would never be able to give myself the time to play around with something new otherwise.

p. 28 “...simple access to technology tools will not ensure that students will learn to be effective, thoughtful, and ethical digital writers.”

 At our school, students have scheduled access to our computer lab, totaling about 2 hours a week. Most teachers send their classes in shifts of 30 minutes each, twice a week. They see this as an opportunity to teach a smaller group of students in the classroom, while the students in the lab get a break from their regular instruction. As a result, there is a low opinion of the computer lab, since it is perceived that not a lot of teaching goes on in there. Many folks even question if the lab is necessary since most students have better computers at home. In our budget crisis, the computer lab is often the subject of cuts since it is perceived as unnecessary.  If we let the students alone to hammer away at technological tools, we’d have a wide range of abilities and results. Those with the knowledge and the tools would far outshine those with limited access. However, our lab could be a place to instruct and support the skills most used in school and hope that these skills can go beyond the classroom. Even if students have computer access at home, the instruction at school can fill in the gaps of their knowledge, or teach them a different application. It’s likely that even if student have access to digital tools at home, they are not necessary getting adequate instruction there, but are using them more as toys than as tools. Our computer labs are necessary for teaching not only how to use computers, but to be digital citizens. This is the world we live in - our students live in - and all of us would be better, more effective participants if we have knowledge of the tools, meaningful feedback, effective and engaging results from our endeavors. This is to say that it is our responsibility to teach students to be digital citizens. There are far to many applications to manage without critical knowledge.

pg. 31-32 “‘...assemble their writings into forms others want to read, how to speak publicly... [and] how to author and distribute digital works.’ In the face of the glut of information available through the Internet, there is a real need for young people to learn to thoughtfully create, as well as judiciously consume, Web content.” pg. 39 “...instruction must equip students with the tools, skills, and strategies not just to produce traditional texts using computer technology but also to produce documents appropriate to the global and dispersed reach of the web.”

 When students are able to publish their writing on the Internet, it can give them a real purpose for their writing. I always thought it was self-centered and dull to assume that students needed to direct all of their writing to me as their primary audience. It is obvious that this type of writing is meaningless to them because the quality of writing is careless. So what if my teacher reads it? But if they knew that their family members, peers, or even people they don’t know are reading? Well, then, they might care about the final result.  In the last year, I have been using my computer lab time to conduct writers’ workshop in the lab with my whole class. Essentially, the computers have been useful for researching, drafting, revising and editing. Since the last RWP Spring Conference, I have wanted to incorporate Internet publication as the next step in the process. I played around with publishing student writing on my own classroom blog (which I currently use like a newsletter), but found it clunky. After reading about wikis in __Because Digital Writing Matters__ , and then reading about them online, I think they might be a useful tool for students’ portfolios. It would be great for students to have a writing forum online. The questions I have about wikis, though, are about the “everyone can edit” element, and whether or not our server at school allows access to them. I know we do not have access to blogs at school, and I am not willing to post 28 pieces of student writing to my blog from my home computer. I also am intrigued by having a class webpage where I might post student writing, and perhaps transfer the use of my blog over to the webpage. Essentially, in this year’s ATI I wish to investigate student publication options to give more purpose and a wider audience to my students’ writing.