When teachers consider adding a blog in their classroom, they need to consider accessibility by ALL students. If one, or, one-half of the students don't have accessibility to the blog, does this put those students at a disadvantage? Do these missing students miss the intrinsic value of belonging to the class? Do they miss the connectedness that makes the blog whole? Perhaps not, but the class must surely suffer from the missing parts? Voices unheard. Incomplete thought.
In high school biology science classes, blogs can promote thought on many societal and ethical concerns relating to the subject at hand. Genetic engineering or disease control might be major concerns of students who will deal with these issues, or perhaps, currently are dealing with them. Blogs might open the discussion that gives them some answers?
How does this affect the students that do not have accessibility to the discussion ? Will their questions be left unanswered?
Classroom blogging can help students and professinals come to understandings that help define the issues at question and answer some of the basic questions posed. Blogs also have the opportunity to expand and make real the subject in question.
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I can definitely see the pros and cons to the blogging debate. Like you I have many students that do not have access to the Internet. I have often struggled with wondering what to do with students who cannot afford a computer and whose parents won't drive them to the library to use one for free.
ReplyDeleteIt is diffcult to demand that students use technology that cannot be accessed at school. It doesn't seem right that some students can participate and others cannot. Perhaps a solution to this would be to allow students to work in pairs (make sure one has Internet access at home) and then they could work on their response together so that the one who has Internet can post for them both. That way everyone is participating. It's not ideal, but I'm not sure that there is a good solution to the problem.
The benefits of blogging with students has the potential to b a great learning opportunity for students but we need to make sure that the access is open to all.
I accidentally posted this comment under your March 4th post. Sorry for the confusion.
ReplyDeleteWhile there are numerous applications of blogs in the classroom maybe the medium of blogs is the most appropriate. Some programs such as QuickR and Black Board allow the same interaction but provide superior protection for our students. That is the bottom line for me, I want to incorporate these ideas into my courses but I also want to ensure the safety of my students. Websites such as blogs and some social networking sites do not provide this security.
Ensuring the safety of our students as they engage on the internet needs to concern number one. Do the programs you mention have a cost associated with them for the school? This is also a concern that needs to be considered. I have started a moodle site, that is free, for one of my biology classes and this seems fairly safe. Do you know of any safety concerns related to moodle? Thank you for the reminder of student safety and oferring other mediums that allow the same types of interactions. I will need to look into them
ReplyDeleteNathan
I have thought this same thought when it comes to blogging or also simply using the Internet for research with students outside the classroom. Some schools block blog sites; however, a teacher could blog from home and have students blog at their own computers to complete a homework assignment. The problem is exactly what you state not all students have the same accessibility when it comes to technology. Technology is great until it creates barriers for students that cannot afford the same as others.
ReplyDeleteTim
Affordability, accessibility and security are huge barriers right now. I know we are looking to advance past textbooks, but you are right, what do we do with the population who cannot afford sufficient technology at home? We cannot assume everyone is equipped when we move forward with the technology age.
ReplyDeleteOne way I attempt to mitigate the inequity of access by all students to the internet is to give them class time to complete on-line activites. This seems to meet their basic requirements, then I encourage them to use other school computers, like the library, to continue working on the site. While many students do find time to complete their assignments on-line during school, a few can't. Educators need to continue opening opportunities for all students to have access to the internet, so they may more effectively integrate and realize the power it can provide in their unique learning environments.
ReplyDeleteNathan,
ReplyDeleteAs far as moodle is concerned I do not have much experience with it. From what I understand it is as secure as a wiki. Unfortunately costs are a consideration with the QuickR program I referenced. It is part of the Microsoft package. Essentially when a district updates their Windows operating system they decide to include functions such as these. Every application that is thrown into the mix costs money. My district benefits from a regional technical school. We send interested students there for training and they in turn give us access to money and materials (like QuickR) that will enhance our district. We have just begun working with this particular program but I already know that in the coming school year QuickR will be my classroom webpage and projects will be done on a wiki. Interesting side note: If you have students complete typed papers on a wiki it is very easy to check if they have plagarised. Simply copy and paste a suspected sentence into google and see if their wiki and another site has the same wording.
I need to make an editorial correction to my last comment. I mistakenly attributed QuickR to Microsoft when I should have given the credit to Oracle.
ReplyDelete