The title of Richardson’s sixth chapter, “The Learning Web: Learning Together” pretty much sums up the point of incorporating internet based tools into the classroom. The point of having a discussion in class is to get different viewpoints and ideas from people, which is powerful because what is said challenges students, and the teacher, to think. What is the outcome when that classroom is extended to anyone in the world with internet access? Not only will there be tons more feedback, but they are also from a wider spectrum of people in the world. The diversity in the responses and the people posting them would be insane. As Richardson says, “Learning is a continuous conversation among many participants,” and the internet allows us to not only have those conversations, but also to refer back to them at any point in time. I do not personally use twitter, but I do see how it can be used in a classroom. The power of being able to make a statement in a limited amount of characters is important and it allows students to articulate ideas in a concise fashion. Word choice and the connotations of the words have to be considered for the most effective update, and is that not something teachers are always talking about?
Delicious is one of the great tools available on the web, and the aspect that is super important is that you can access what has been saved or tagged from any computer in the world. The internet is already amazing in that you can find pretty much anything you need on it, but to be able to get back to that information from any location makes knowledge even more readily available. While playing around with this web site, I came across so many interesting sites about everything from how to teaching effectively in an ELL classroom to how to make glass beads. It is great that when you search for one topic, it lists tons of other ones that may interest you, and that can help you find something you did not even realize you were looking for.
My favorite website I looked at by far is the Mabry Middle School page and their amazing video projects. I was only in middle school a few years ago, and it is astounding to see what has been introduced in schools since then. The documentaries about adoption and genetically altered food not only contained a vast amount of information, but it also created a sense of global awareness. The students clearly learned about video editing and the technological aspect of this assignment, but they also clearly demonstrate the effects certain issues have on the world. It makes the classroom bigger, and allows students to see that there is more than their school, or town and even country. I loved that this webpage is so user friendly and clearly designed for both students and parents. What these middle school students were able to create are fantastic and something that I can see a teacher using in the classroom, not just as a project, but also as a teaching/learning tool.
