Sorry for the novel. I got inspired...pick one of the topics I discussed to continue a conversation that may build on my comments or take you in your own direction. I've posted some questions in blue...if those interest you to extend a conversation, go for it, or add your own thinking. Have a great week everyone!
This week we read
about using digital tools to provide formative responses to student writing and
summative assessments of learning reflected by digital reading and
writing. We need to implement what we
have come to know as best practices to move our students forward in their
abilities to write. You have heard it
over and over…to become a better writer, one must write. Writing takes practice. There isn’t a short cut regarding this
process.
A take-away from our reading this week was
the importance of feedback. Feedback
from those more experienced to help us articulate our thinking in words that
are representative of our thought processes, content, and audience. I’ve heard many times over that students hate
writing due to the strict parameters that we place in what should be ones
interpretation, response, and personal insights to the topic. Thousands of articles, books, and video clips
have centered on the dispositions that are being asserted for our 21st
century students. The traits and
abilities that are forecasted for our students now and in the future are
creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and the ability to use these
traits to communicate effectively with people situated globally, that view the
world with various perspectives based on cultures different from our own.
To enable students to participate and practice
in the skills and dispositions we know that are vital to the world of work (and
outside of work), we must support and foster activities and processes that open
the world to our students with the tools and guidance that reflect their future
realities. Since my “rebirth” as I call it…my awakening of the fact that the
role of teaching and teacher that I understood, is far from what I consider
today to be one of best practices for our students. Have you experienced an awakening in your
teaching career? When did your
“awakening” happen, and what were the circumstances that led to your shift in
mindset?”
The Internet has become this generation’s
defining technology for literacy and communication. There is no doubt that new literacies
redefine what it means to be literate in the 21st century. My awareness and knowledge of all the apps
and digital tools leaves me feeling almost paralyzed due to being overwhelmed
and excited at the same time, but it also made me realize how behind some of us
are in our implementation of these tools.
Using many of these digital tools as they are intended, means our role
as we once saw it, needs to change.
Meta-cognitive reflection is essential in
fostering critical thinking, mindfulness, and awareness of our audience and use
of social practices in context. In order
for this to occur, self-assessment must be in place. Classrooms need to shift from teacher
centered to student centered. What are your beliefs in the changing role of the
teacher? Do you believe there should be
a drastic shift in pedagogy to address new literacies and the role of teacher
in the classroom? If so, how do you
envision the classroom and the purpose of the classroom teacher?
Ideas as described in our reading support
student centered classrooms by having students create their own rubrics
(holistic or analytic) to foster accountability, ownership and motivation. Static electronic feedback is a great source
of collaboration and exchange in that the respondent is learning how to use
language in a constructive way, while showing what they know through their
content knowledge or perspective. The
writer learns that words carry meaning beyond ones intentions, and learning the
power of language and voice based on different perspectives are valuable
learning lessons for the future.
Classroom lessons using the applications of marginal commentary vs.
intertextual commentary can only open windows to “the art of
communication”. I’m
quite sure you have all experienced both marginal and intertextual commentary
in regard to your work. Was the type of
commentary to be used discussed prior?
Did your receive intertextual commentary having wished it was
marginal? If you prefer one or both
types of commentary, what are the factors that pertain to your preferences?
Blogs
and e-portfolios were two areas of focus for this week. Blogging has taken me
on a journey of learning how to collaborate and exchange ideas. I realized
that blogging was reflective of my abilities to synthesize and evaluate
information whether the purpose was to be insightful, or as an exchange with
another perspective. I had to learn how
to look within the text of those I was responding to. I realized through my struggles to blog
effectively, I was beginning my journey as a critical thinker, writer, and
responder of text that would ultimately lay my foundation and awareness of
content, perspective, and the skills to articulate what I knew or didn’t know. I also realized (due to my conversations with
Dr. Beach) that there may be content that has not reached a point of
understanding, and the purpose of the exchange is to wrestle with the questions,
articulate as best you can what you think you know, and work towards
understanding with your peers, while being cognizant that each one of us is
instilling our own background knowledge, experiences, and personal pedagogies
in our posts. I realized blogging for academic purposes is a process to gain
meaning through exchanges and perspectives. I began to look forward to the
challenge. Isn’t this what we are saying
that our students must learn to do effectively and efficiently? Writing in itself is an arduous task on its
own, but constructing meaning through one another’s words and varied
perspectives is hard. Now imagine
collaborating, problem solving, reasoning, and generating a synthesis based on
mutual respect for varied opinions on a global level of communication? That is what many, if not most of our
students will be required to do on a daily basis. Knowing the struggles we have as adults with
this process of communication can only shed light on our instructional
practices as we try and instill the skills and dispositions for new literacies in
our students. What
has been your journey with blogging or other digital environments within your
writing group or through another class? Have you encountered struggles and
frustrations when collaborating with other students to generalize ideas or
synthesize information? Perhaps this is a
mode of communication that works for you?
What are the reasons you feel the way you do, and how would this impact
your instructional practices? Would you implement
blogging within your curriculum frameworks?
Why or why not?
