Personal Response to These Readings & a Small Rant:
This week’s topic is based around online communication, different communication tools, and implications of using these tools in our future classrooms. We had many articles to read this week, all of which were discussing the evolving world of online communication through instant messages, emails, and social networks. While reading the article called “Social Networking the “third-place,” and the Evolution of Communication” I got the impression that the article seemed slightly biased towards an attitude of ‘impending doom’. This article did give a thorough run-through of new technologies and how that has impacted communication, but it seemed to me that the author was worried about a potential negative effect that technology can have on people’s attention and real-life interactions. I think that this is a common fear with current trends in technology – people are afraid that we as are losing our ability to communicate face-to-face and that we don’t know how to appreciate the moments that we are living in unless we are sharing it with the world. It reminded me of a video that I have seen floating around on Facebook this week that I would like to share here:
This week’s topic is based around online communication, different communication tools, and implications of using these tools in our future classrooms. We had many articles to read this week, all of which were discussing the evolving world of online communication through instant messages, emails, and social networks. While reading the article called “Social Networking the “third-place,” and the Evolution of Communication” I got the impression that the article seemed slightly biased towards an attitude of ‘impending doom’. This article did give a thorough run-through of new technologies and how that has impacted communication, but it seemed to me that the author was worried about a potential negative effect that technology can have on people’s attention and real-life interactions. I think that this is a common fear with current trends in technology – people are afraid that we as are losing our ability to communicate face-to-face and that we don’t know how to appreciate the moments that we are living in unless we are sharing it with the world. It reminded me of a video that I have seen floating around on Facebook this week that I would like to share here:
I agree that it is sometimes scary how much we rely on technology to communicate what we are doing, how we interact with our loved ones, or how we are feeling today - and this video is a good example of the logical ‘fear’ that some have about this topic. But there is a flip side too – I found this video via the social networking site of Facebook. When I watched this video, it resonated with me. The creator of that video found a way to connect with me (the audience) in a creative, clever, and artistic way. Although the video is supposed to make the audience feel guilty (which it did), I also have to be thankful for it because it actually helped me to connect with the piece of literature that I was reading this week. It helped me make a personal connection to my homework and it helped me to read the article with a perspective in mind. THIS is the beauty of the online world – we have the chance to interact with various form of ‘art’ and ‘work’ that broadens our perspectives about the world. That creator had a message to communicate, and they were able to spread their message across the virtual world to touch many people with its warning. It is through sites such as Youtube, Flickr, Instagram, Facebook, etc. that these types of creative ideas can flourish and have the potential to touch millions of people, so I don’t think that it is necessarily a bad thing if our students are engaging in such technology either – it might give them a unique perspective
during a project!
Online Communication for Educational Purposes:
When it comes to using communication in an educational setting, I think that the intended audience plays a large part in the teacher’s decision about which mode of communication to use. When communicating between teachers and students I think that it is best to have a blended approach of both face-to-face instruction and online communication. Obviously in a traditional classroom most of the communication will occur during the face-to-face daily interactions, but I am a strong believer that all teachers should have some form of online database where they update information and assignments so that any absent students or kids who didn’t grasp a concept in class can review the materials and clarify what they were ‘missing’. This is also helpful so that parents can check in on what their kids are learning, or can review the teacher’s notes if they don’t understand how to help their child with their
homework. This form of communication is probably easiest to do through a simple class blog, but many schools also use online course systems such as Moodle and Canvas. While exploring the Canvas website, I found a few tools that would be very beneficial for teachers who use that program. One of the things that I like the most about the Canvas program is the fact that you can use the calendar to organize up to 10 classes at once (which would be helpful for students with learning disabilities who might need help to keep all of their due dates
straight). I think that this is a beneficial communication tool because it helps kids to keep their classes organized and having an easily-accessible timeline of due-dates puts some personal responsibility onto the students to keep up. Also, that feature might result in less teacher nagging, but it is also nice that teachers can privately send individual students a quick reminder to submit an assignment if they haven’t done so yet, which might save the student some embarrassment in class. Another feature of Canvas that I liked was how teachers can give audio or video feedback on an online assignment or test. I think that
this is a good communication tool for both teachers and students because it allows for all the students grades to be in one place where they can be compared to previous grades and feedback. I like the idea of grades being posted onto sites like Canvas and Moodle because it saves kids from having the “what did you get?” question when you hand back an assignment or test, plus students can listen to the comments on their own time instead of risking someone else reading your written comments on their work. For these reasons, I think that the online option is a better way to communicate grades and feedback than the traditional
in-class way because I think that it would be easier for students to take their feedback more seriously instead of it being a competition with their friends. Sites like Canvas and Moodle are also good because grades can typically be handed back fairly quickly and students can see their marks sooner. If students can quickly get their grades and feedback (and they can take their feedback seriously) then the communicated suggestions from the teacher can be applied
more quickly!
When it comes to teachers communicating with other staff and parents, I think that emailing is the best way to accomplish those conversations. Emailing has many obvious advantages, but my main reason why I would suggest email (especially for starting teachers like me), is that the email gives you a chance to have conversations “saved” so that you have proof against any misunderstandings. I think that this is especially important while dealing with angry parents because they can often try to twist what you say in person as a way to try and get you in trouble with your school board. By having your conversations over email where proof can be printed out, I think it is a more liable way to safe-guard yourself as a new and flustered teacher!
And finally, when it comes to teachers wanting to get their students to communicate with other students, I think that there are many awesome technological mediums that should be taken advantage of. I love the idea of getting another class or a professional to Skype your class as a way of instantly learning about something new. I also love the idea of classes becoming ‘blog’ pals as an updated form of pen pals. While browsing the site E-pals, it seemed like a great way to get 2 classes to interact with each other, but I also think that promoting a class blog on Twitter with #comments4kids might be able to generate the same interest. Either way, the kids get super excited to have internet pals that they can share information with, so I think that teachers should try to do class blogs and get them promoted however that may be!
during a project!
Online Communication for Educational Purposes:
When it comes to using communication in an educational setting, I think that the intended audience plays a large part in the teacher’s decision about which mode of communication to use. When communicating between teachers and students I think that it is best to have a blended approach of both face-to-face instruction and online communication. Obviously in a traditional classroom most of the communication will occur during the face-to-face daily interactions, but I am a strong believer that all teachers should have some form of online database where they update information and assignments so that any absent students or kids who didn’t grasp a concept in class can review the materials and clarify what they were ‘missing’. This is also helpful so that parents can check in on what their kids are learning, or can review the teacher’s notes if they don’t understand how to help their child with their
homework. This form of communication is probably easiest to do through a simple class blog, but many schools also use online course systems such as Moodle and Canvas. While exploring the Canvas website, I found a few tools that would be very beneficial for teachers who use that program. One of the things that I like the most about the Canvas program is the fact that you can use the calendar to organize up to 10 classes at once (which would be helpful for students with learning disabilities who might need help to keep all of their due dates
straight). I think that this is a beneficial communication tool because it helps kids to keep their classes organized and having an easily-accessible timeline of due-dates puts some personal responsibility onto the students to keep up. Also, that feature might result in less teacher nagging, but it is also nice that teachers can privately send individual students a quick reminder to submit an assignment if they haven’t done so yet, which might save the student some embarrassment in class. Another feature of Canvas that I liked was how teachers can give audio or video feedback on an online assignment or test. I think that
this is a good communication tool for both teachers and students because it allows for all the students grades to be in one place where they can be compared to previous grades and feedback. I like the idea of grades being posted onto sites like Canvas and Moodle because it saves kids from having the “what did you get?” question when you hand back an assignment or test, plus students can listen to the comments on their own time instead of risking someone else reading your written comments on their work. For these reasons, I think that the online option is a better way to communicate grades and feedback than the traditional
in-class way because I think that it would be easier for students to take their feedback more seriously instead of it being a competition with their friends. Sites like Canvas and Moodle are also good because grades can typically be handed back fairly quickly and students can see their marks sooner. If students can quickly get their grades and feedback (and they can take their feedback seriously) then the communicated suggestions from the teacher can be applied
more quickly!
When it comes to teachers communicating with other staff and parents, I think that emailing is the best way to accomplish those conversations. Emailing has many obvious advantages, but my main reason why I would suggest email (especially for starting teachers like me), is that the email gives you a chance to have conversations “saved” so that you have proof against any misunderstandings. I think that this is especially important while dealing with angry parents because they can often try to twist what you say in person as a way to try and get you in trouble with your school board. By having your conversations over email where proof can be printed out, I think it is a more liable way to safe-guard yourself as a new and flustered teacher!
And finally, when it comes to teachers wanting to get their students to communicate with other students, I think that there are many awesome technological mediums that should be taken advantage of. I love the idea of getting another class or a professional to Skype your class as a way of instantly learning about something new. I also love the idea of classes becoming ‘blog’ pals as an updated form of pen pals. While browsing the site E-pals, it seemed like a great way to get 2 classes to interact with each other, but I also think that promoting a class blog on Twitter with #comments4kids might be able to generate the same interest. Either way, the kids get super excited to have internet pals that they can share information with, so I think that teachers should try to do class blogs and get them promoted however that may be!