In chapter 2, Hicks (2009)
provides an informative overview of blogs, RSS, and social
bookmarking. He suggests ways in which these digital writing tools
can be employed by teachers and students in a digital writing
workshop to foster student selection of writing topics and
interest-based inquiry. I was previously unfamiliar with RSS and social bookmarking, and I had very limited experience with blogging, so I found the information presented in this
chapter to be interesting and applicable for me personally as a consumer/producer of digital
texts, and professionally as a pre-service teacher of literacy. After reading this chapter and then further exploring blogs,
RSS, and social bookmarking through Dr. Jones' Digital Tools Analysis
Workshop, I found myself thinking that these digital reading/writing
tools could definitely have a place in my own reading and writing and that of my future students. As Hicks (2009) puts it, "Today, students' lives consist of a variety of information sources, and teachers need to understand how to teach students to best access, organize, and utilize that information" (p. 16). As a teacher of literacy for today's students, I need to be proficient in the variety of information technologies that I will be asking my students to incorporate into their literate lives.
I really like the idea of having
an RSS linked to my g-mail account so that I can stay updated on
information that I am interested in; in the hustle and bustle of my daily life, I
would appreciated not having to take the time to search the web for updates. With regards to blogging, this online journal is
my first attempt at designing and maintaining a blog. I can certainly see how it could be
enjoyable to use a blog as a forum for publishing my thoughts and ideas on
various subjects; it is empowering to think that my writing is worth
being “published” on the read/write web for others to consider.
It is refreshing to take the time to use writing for reflecting on my learning rather than solely for completing academic assignments. Thinking about social bookmarking and being able to keep tabs on referenced sites from any
online computer, I can't help but think how helpful this tool would have been back in my days of composing research papers. While I definitely can see the benefits of using these tools in a digital writing workshop, there is still much for me
to learn in regards to the use and features of these devices before I
will feel confident asking my students to use these tools.
Not long
after reading this Hicks (2009) chapter, I had an interesting phone
conversation with my boyfriend, who is currently completing his first
student teaching placement in a sixth grade science/social studies class. He is faced with the overwhelming task of
guiding his sixty students through their individual science fair
projects. The other night, he was expressing to me his frustrations about
his students' lack of proficiency with researching; the only resource
in their toolboxes that they seemed to be using was good old Google search.
Hicks (2009) so fittingly states: “Today, what does it mean for
students to do research? Left to their own devices, it could begin
and end with a Google search, yet that is not enough for students who
should be developing information literacy” (p. 17). My boyfriend was torn because he felt as though his students' limited research had produced
insufficient background knowledge for designing and conducting quality experiments, but he also felt pressured to
move the students along the mandated time line for completing their projects.
It was at this moment that I had to stop myself from yelling into the
phone with excitement about the information that I had recently
learned! What better opportunity
to introduce his students to blogs, RSS, and social bookmarking than
with a science fair project, which is driven by student interest and
inquiry? I had lots of ideas for him as to how he could scaffold his
students' research using these digital tools. Unfortunately my boyfriend was
not as excited about my feedback as I was; he responded with, “I
wish we had had this conversation about a week ago.”
It is exciting when I realize ways
that the information and tools that I am learning about in this course can
be practically applied to literacy instruction. Even though I do
not yet have my own classroom, my current learning is
helping me to consider how I would like to eventually organize
reading and writing instruction with my students.
References
Hicks,
T. (2009). The digital writing workshop. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
