So there are a number of great educational benefits in having students blog and engaging in educational DSN activities. Many of us would agree that there are many ways in which we can engage students by using many of these tools. I have written plenty about this on my blog and am still researching the ways in which it can all be used effectively in the education programs I write and present.
However, as I see more and more negative stories in the media and hear the stories from colleagues I can’t help but wonder – How long will it be before we shut the whole thing down and forget about using it in education? Have a read of Wes Fryer’s latest post, it scares me that we continue to head down the path of destroying something that could be used for so much educational benefit.
Wes mentions that teachers need to start evaluating resources such as think.com and the likes. I couldn’t agree more, but I think we also need to start bringing teachers together to discuss these issues in a forum that is going to look for solutions other than shutting it down!! What is going to happen when we allow destructive students and their actions to dictate what we can and can’t do in education? You can’t stop the occasional destructive application of anything, however, schools can educate (well at least I hope they can).
I can’t help but think that we are going to loose the battle here and the innovative uses of technology in the classroom is going to very quickly diminish. We will continue to spend big $$ on relatively useless pieces of technology (eg interactive white boards) but won’t investigate how inexpensive educationally beneficial tools can become safe and exciting learning experiences. It is about time that we start to stand up for productive pedagogies and focus on what matters in Educational Technology – Not the gadgets but the pedagogical value in digital tools. I know the “smart” furniture looks great to parents but educators should be smarter than that (there is an interesting thought…. The furniture is becoming smarter than us). We should know where educational values lie…. And just like anything of value in life – You have to work hard for it!!!
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Brett: I hear you, but I am a bit more optimistic I think. One of the problems we face is that lots of digital immigrants are hearing about DSN in places like MySpace, but the vast majority of them have no experience themselves in these environments. That seems to be true in the education space where I am working here in the state of Oklahoma, at least. I think part of the solution is getting teachers to work with their students in Moodle. When more teachers have positive experiences with their students and with each other, then I think more perceptions will change about all this. Right now, I think the press is continuing to direct the conversation via fear mongering and sensationalism, and there are few news pieces that offer a balance to this discussion. I think it is incumbent on educators, esp those promoting more digitally blended models of instruction, to reach out beyond the virtual world and tell the success stories of blogging, safe digital social networking, etc in the mainstream press. In local newspapers, and on local public radio. That was one of the loud lessons I heard from “Global Learn Day” last weekend. We have to encourage the conversation to grow, esp with those who are not “online” in these spaces now. And we need to help more teachers EXPERIENCE safe DSN via Moodle. That’s where I am on these issues for now, at least. Thanks for sharing your reflections.
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