Thiw chapter is all about communicating and collaborating with social media. Right on the first page of this section we are told the five ways this can be done. Email, teacher websites, blogs, online discussion, and wikis are the post useful and popular ways to go about this (187). Having done major projects with many students over the years I have learned how social media can be very helpful when passing information around. Just last year to help share photos of a lab experiment, a partner posted them onto Facebook so the whole group could see them, as seen below.
There are two different forms of communication though, synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous is when parties respond to each other in real time like on the phone or webcam. Asynchronous is when there is a delay with someone while talking such as email (188). This is something that should be taught to students for them to use when it comes to their jobs and such.
Following this we also talk about how teachers are starting up networking sites through social media to help each other out. This is something I find helpful when I am not sure where to look for lesson plans or goals/standards. These sites because a God sent. However they also help the students. This extends the teachers' hours in a way, and also let's families communicate with the teacher as well.
Personally I believe that every teacher should have some sort of website to publish directional d power points and reminders because it makes everyone lives more organized. Also, you won't have students saying they never got something if you posted on the website a week prior. You are forcing the students to be more responsible.
Honestly this chapter seemed very redone-dent to me consider I have grown up using these skills when I tutored. Also I attended a high school where these skills were already put into practice. So my summary is very little this week simply because I didn't find that much that caught my eye and I thought needed to be retold. Bottom line is social media can be a great teaching tool if used correctly. A website is better than a blog because websites cause you to post information and have comments; while blogs let you talk and talk and talk with no real end in sight.
Tech Tool 8.2 pg 201
Communicating with Skype.
Skype is a great video calling program. It is something I have used for many years to help tutor those who couldn't stay after for a tutoring session. Having already known this I wasn't surprised by this being in the book. What I was surprised about was being able to look up people or classrooms to talk to about certain subjects. This is something that I will look into and see if I can use it myself in my high school English course.
Focus Question
5. How can wikis foster collaborative learning among teachers and students.
On page 187 in our textbook they described a wiki as a website that teachers and student create and edit together. This is the deffinition of collaborative work! The class is working together to create this page filled with information that will help the class. When they see information that they don't think is right they can change it or comment about it. This then helps both students learn. Possibly the teacher even learns something thT they over-looked on the subject. Wikis foster better communication between all parties involved.
You definitely have experienced most, if not all, of these tools coming from the digital generation - but you are in the minority of those who seek a degree in education these days! :) Also, many young people know how to use various types of social media, but sometimes don't know how to use them for 'learning' reasons nor in an ethical manner. I don't think the majority of current teachers actually 'teach' that either. The website and blog are truly two different entities in terms of purpose - both have their place, but again we sometimes need to thing about the reason for using them. Love that you will explore Skype for your future classroom - great way to connect classrooms! :)
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