The "Revisualizing Composition Mapping the Writing Lives of First-Year College Students" article showed how students are using different platforms to communicate and learn. I have observed at University High School where students are supplied laptop computers which are make them more proficient as students. What I have noticed, however, is that more times than not these computers are more of a distraction than a tool for learning. The research provided in this article shows that college level students perceive their educational writing to be more important than that of SNSs and other composition platforms. The question I am now asking myself is, at what age are students mature enough to see technology as more of a tool to increase their ability to learn and less as something to play games on when they are supposed to be learning? I would like to find a study, similar to this one, that is done with younger students.
I also found "The Anthropology of Online Communities" research by Samuel M. Wilson and Leighton C. Peterson to be very interesting as a future teacher. Students are connected to an increasingly large number of people. They are able to create groups based on similar interests which allows them access to interactions to discuss those interests. I think that these online communities have great potential for educational purposes. I would like to try to facilitate interactions in my history classes between my students and students from another country in order to discuss historical and current events. I would monitor those discussions and grade according to comprehension of subject being discussed, engagement, and their ability to reference material from class or independent research. This would allow students to use technology that they are comfortable with to interact with other students or non students in an independent way. Because they are engaging in a dialogue, I feel, that they would be more likely to utilize the technology available to them in a constructive manner. This type of interaction would also make it seem less like the dreaded homework and more like something fun that they "get" to do. Students would learn how to formulate and argument, support their opinion and facilitate a deeper understanding of the content being discussed in a fun and interactive way.
As of now I think that research about inter-school programs that offer programs like this or students' interest in an activity such as this would be very interesting.
Some good sites regarding inter-school online discussions:
Some good sites regarding inter-school online discussions:
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