children, for god's sake!
posted by Phasma | 2:28 PM | 1
omments
Phasma shared her thinking about the literature with the class. She mentions previously read material,
integrates a specific quote from the novel, and interprets the meaning for herself.
Students were very used to summarizing what they read, so the transition into a student-directed
discussion focused on interpreting and connecting was sometimes difficult. Although Barbara’s goal was
that the blog would be a place to think and discuss thinking, some students still saw the blog’s purpose as
an evaluative tool. Daniel wrote, “As my audience, I just pictured Ms. James at her computer grading
them.’” (blog post April 28, 2006). Other students saw it as a place for expressive writing: throwing out the
rules and letting kids express themselves (within the confines of decency) which led to more expressive
writing in other contexts. Students shared music, stories, and pictures on the blog. This exploration of
genres continued in their in-class writing. More PowerPoint presentations set to music, original movie
scripts, and long pieces of fiction began to appear in their portfolios.
Findings That Surfaced
Students blogged more than we ever imagined, and the blog created a classroom community. Since
Barbara was not as tech-savvy as her students, they helped her learn and helped each other learn. The blog
offered students an audience for their writing, facilitating connections between classes, and allowing
invisible students to have a voice. These successes would not have occurred with only in-class discussion
and writing.
We found that it is important to allow the social aspect of the blogs to show through. We did not
attempt to reign in “off-task” discussion, unless, of course, it was inappropriate or dangerous in some way.
Censoring the social aspect of the blog would ignore the genre of blogging. Barnes (1992) writes, “To
become meaningful, a curriculum has to be enacted by pupils as well as teachers” (p.14). Blogging is a
genre for a new generation. The blog, in this case, was enacted by students and the teacher. Darrin explains
the “enactment” he experienced:
Really, it’s like connecting. You know it’s not like everyone has a chance to get up there and
give a five minute speech, we don’t have that kind of time, about their book and what’s
going on and how much they like it and if they would suggest it, so it’s kind of like a way to
have 24-7 class discussion without cutting into class time, but when it does cut into class
time it’s good cause you always have good discussion about it and we can talk about what’s
going on in the blog. It’s almost like a second classroom. (March 9, 2006)
For Barbara’s classroom, the blog changed the format of the classroom. Print-based reader response
activities had worked so well in the past, but posting responses to the blog opened doors for media literacy
and critical literacy lessons.
We explored our beliefs and practices, learning how to facilitate online classroom discussions. This
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