Chapter 6 Response

Chapter 6: Community Building with Technologies

I feel that this chapter is beneficial in ithe classroom. The first part of the chapter focuses on knowledge building with Knowledge Forum. I find it very interesting that the other feels that learners are willing to participate in knowledge construction and are beginning to do so. I feel that this is true in many classrooms. However, the teacher has to reassure students that it is ok to explore subject matter and discover new fingings – that what they find is valuable. When students construct knowledge teachers should allow students to participate in teamwork by facilitating collaboration. The author states: Schools inhibit rather than support knowledge building by focusing on individual student’s abilities and learning; requiring only demostrable knowledge, activities, and skills as evidence of learning; and teacher-hoarding wisdom and expertise. I do not believe that schools inhibit knowledge building. I believe if a crime is comitted the crime is committed with the teacher. Knowledge building requires students to “formulate questions, define their own learning goals, acquire and build a knowledge base, and collaborative with one another.” Many classrooms today are moving towards this type of classroom if they havent already. Some teachers may teach teacher-centered classrooms with lectures as the primary form of teaching. Others may teach student-centered classrooms where every activity has a lesson. The teacher plays the role of a facilitator while students construct their own learning. A student centered classroom requires more planning and can be risky but it does exist. The term ‘inhibit’ is too strong to describe the average classroom. In my opinon, schools may poorly support knowledge building but not inhibit knowledge building. Knowledge Forum reminds me of a wiki in the sense that users contribute ideas in the form of text, graphics, movies, or attachments. However, the ‘rise-above’ notes makes it one of a kind. I think its very exciting that when students view each other’s ideas it is “not to decide on a winner or a compromise positionbut rather to create a new idea that preserves the valie of the competing ideas while ‘rising above’ their incompatibilities”. Technology does help knowledge building through Knowledge Forum because students will be evaluated and challenged on their written discourse. Students must organize and reformulate their ideas.

Earlier I mentioned Wikis. Wikis allow users to add, remove or edit and change available content. The author makes a great point when it states that wikis were’originally envisioned as fluid, open, and simple, they have evolved to include more structured envrionment.’ This chapter mentions many wikis that I didn’t know existed. For example: Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikisource, Wikijunior, Wikitravel, WikiIndex, Mediawiki, Jugglewiki and Bloki. It shows how teachers were able to use Wiki’s for grand projects within their classrooms. Wiki’s appear to be something to use in the classroom all year long. It would be a great way to summarize the year. The year-long project can constantly be built by all the students in the classroom, evaluated by the students, and viewed by other classess.

Interactive Blogs are great for the classroom too. Students can read about topics and comment on the postings they see. Students can ask questions about topics and add links to enhance and support the blog. I aggree with the author that this creates a community of learners. Students will enjoy expert-created blogs for virtual field trips. Teacher-centered blogs are great for students who do not normally participate in class discussions to express their ideas. This is a great way to get to know your students and their thought processes. Students who need more time to process material will really benefit from this form of academic engagement. Student-created blogs should be monitored. Teachers should make sure that students are clear on the purpose of the website and how it will benefit their classroom and beyond. Teachers should provide guidelines and clearly communicate these along with the reasons for security conerns (fake names or first names only, etc). Remember, blogs are not always the best tool to use for learning. Teachers can build international communities through iEARN Learning Circles, Global Schoolhouse,a nd KidLink. The author builds professional teacher communities with Tapped In and Teacher Talk. All of these communities can help elementary school educators share their ideas, values and goals.