As I sit down to type this blog, I am constrained by the nature of the medium to "make it short." Is this just me? I cannot, will not read long pieces of writing on a computer. Therefore I will attempt to make my response short, or would concise be the better word. Does this lead to better writing or to curtailed writing (and thinking?) Maybe it's OK for me to not write a long response, because it is after all just part of the participatory community.
And I told myself that this week I would be more positive.
I can't really get hold of the idea of distributed cognition, intelligence distributed across "brain, body and world." When I read that "intelligence is accomplished rather than possessed", I am taken back to the nature versus nurture debates of educational psychology classes. This is a huge debate and it seems to me that these authors have chosen the nurture side since it fits well with their idea of the community of participation.
I do, I do see the benefits of group activities and participation in endeavor, but I cannot let go of the idea that we humans also need time to "remix", to be within our own minds and use our individual capabilities. Just as the author seems to be (and I may be wrong) arguing for a future of interaction, I would argue for the need for our schools to teach students the joy of silence and peace. In fact, I read an article recently about the positive effects that had been shown in schools in Australia who had taught students meditation techniques. It worries me that students feel the constant need to be "out there" and seem scared of that place called "myself" when it is not mediated by external forces.
However, I wax philosophical.
On a more positive note, I made note as I read of quite a few sites to which I will return for further exploration. I use some of these sites on a regular basis myself (though I have never felt myself particularly as part of a community in doing so, so perhaps my problem is with the term community.) I really do see the value of the technologies we have and I do see that they will change the world for our students.
But is change always an absolute positive? The authors of this paper cite UK Children Go On-Line on page 60: "Opportunities and risks go hand in hand. The more children experience one, the more they also experience the other." They continue that the British report advocated "doing a better job helping youth master the skills they need to exploit opportunites and avoid pitfalls." I thought of the students I teach, a truly vulnerable group - below grade level middle school students. Many of my students are both economically and culturally on the wrong side of the digital divide. The most vulnerable just want to "belong" somewhere. I see the community of the web as being emotionally appealing to these students, far more emotionally appealing than any intellectualizing I might do about the pitfalls. In that sense the participatory community has far more power than I do as a teacher.
Of course, my attitude might be quite different if I were dealing on a daily basis with a different group of students. I was struck as I read by the number of times the authors referred to groups out of MIT (particularly) and Stanford. I would have loved to have read about work being done with middle and lower class students in regular public school.
And, after all my quibbling, I come to the end of the article, where the authors seem to have once more returned to Planet English, and find myself wondering along with them, how do we make sure that "all students benefit from learning in ways that allow them to participate in public, community, and economic life." and knowing that I will be looking more in depth at ways to use computer technology to expand the horizons of my teaching and the horizons of my students.
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3 comments:
You know, we live in such a frantic-paced society and we often get so busy we forget to slow down. I read your comment about teaching students the joy of silence and peace, and I stopped. Yes. We do forget the value of peaceful reflection and meditation. In fact, I have been running around all day, trying to get a million and one things done. Even now, at 11:00 at night, holding my daughter in one arm (she wants to be held, and wakes up every time I try to put her down...), hen-pecking the keyboard with the other hand, answering these blogs, thinking of everything I need to do tomorrow... I feel scattered. I think I'll stop now, and find my peace. Thanks Kathryn, for reminding me how important that is.
Kathryn, you are always so thoughtful about what you read.
I like it when you wax philosophical. It is troubling that kids feel the need to be connected all the time to something or someone else and that the authors present this as positive. Being alone with your thoughts gives clarity to what you believe and also gives time for deeper thinking. I think that our society is often driven by quick, superficial solutions to problems because decisions are made without taking time for thinking through consequences or thinking of better options.
Your comments about the emotional appeal of being part of an online community set me thinking about all the negative results for society and students if students focus on cyber life rather than real life. You remained neutral about the power of the online community, so that made me stop to wonder if there might be some positive outcomes for these students. Has there been research done on whether belonging to groups online has beneficial results for children who can’t seem to fit into society easily? It seems like it would make it harder for them to relate to people in person, but maybe it would give them confidence in themselves that they can’t get anywhere else.
There are so many unanswered questions to think about (collectively and otherwise) as we devise ways to incorporate technology in our lives and our teaching.
Kathryn - I agree with your point about the need for peace and silence in our lives. We're lucky to have here at WOU a practitioner of "mindfulness" who regularly helps us to find some peace within ourselves.
I'd like to extend your point somewhat. I think that one problem is that our students seem to engage with technology in an immediate "point and click" manner. I wonder if there are any web sites that make one actually say hmmm, rather than just serve as amusement or call for an immediate response?
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