Web 2.0 Aps and Distractability

While reading about the issues and challenges of using web 2.0 tools in the classroom I came across some pretty interesting things that I'd like to share with you in regards to distractibility and whether or not the new social networking tools have a place in our classrooms.

On the heels of a story about a Ryerson science professor who attempted to have a student expelled for creating a social network where students discussed work done in his class (the teacher wanted students to work completely independently) I learned about a professor who has incorporated Twitter into his class. Twitter, the most distracting social networking application yet!

Distractibility is an important part of our own nature. 2-million-years ago, human-like creatures that were not distracted by something rustling in the bush didn't survive to be our ancestors. Distractibility is an important part of our nature. It has followed that as we read a hypertext-rich text, we tend to go off elsewhere following related stories or background information. We do this because distraction is an integral part of our nature and therefore it has been built into digital media. Researchers may prove that this is actually a good thing.

When we read we build meaning by stopping and considering how new information fits into what we currently know. Our brain links existing knowledge to knew information via synapses or links of understanding. (Such links may also be destroyed if they don't stand up to tests of credibility.) Therefore, reading and then following suggested links provides us with extended means to make sense of information. The distractable nature of online reading actually provideds greater opportunity for deeper understanding.

So now I return to the professor who uses Twitter. Here is a medium that only allows users to publish 140 characters at a time, usually answering the question, "What are you doing?" I had seen how it was used and couldn't get past its banality.

This professor, however, simply rephrased the question. He asked his class, "What are you THINKING now?" and took advantage of those flash thoughts we have during lectures. Traditionally we write them in our own notes, sometimes we share then with a neighbour, but there are no opportunities to broadcast those little revelations. Using Twitter, however, this guy grabs onto the opportunity tobroadcasts these little observations to the entire lecture audience.

Overhead, accompanying his PowerPoint presentation is a parallel screen displaying a view of Twitter responses to what he is talking about.

A lecture on its own is a monologue but here the professor is allowing a multitude of ideas or connections to be broadcast, noted by others, and hopefully provide meaningful connections for some. His screen and and the Twitter screen take advantage of our innate tendency to be distracted during prolonged activities such as lectures, weddings, etc where our minds wonder. Ideas flickering onto a screen naturally attract our attention, making the lecture a less passive activity than a monologue.

This type of note exchange is being called back channelling and it provides the opportunity to think more deeply about concepts before they drift out of our short-term memory.

While I look forward to seeing how the battle will fare between academic spelling and txt speak in a medium challenges users to express themselves within 140 characters, I do look forward to the interactive nature of such lectures and the richer learning experience they promise.

Minutes for October 6, 2009

Agenda:

-Welcome

-Welcome to Katina and Cindy again and thank you for your time

-Success Team Meeting November 25th- idea to share with Kathy at our PLC instead...how do we feel about this?

-email Kathy the dates of our PLC and see if she can join us on a date

-Questioning Circles- what is happening at our schools- Ellie

• Post questions on the blog that each grade team is presenting




• Post resources that teachers are using to gather resources

-Astrid and Anastasia will discuss how to organize this

-History of PLC: Formerly always had a book that we were reading, this year not a book connected to it. We have 3 half days covered for release and Katina and Cindy to support us. Continuing on with the PLC model. A lot of web 2.0 tool training in the last year and the year of the Inquiry for SE6 for this year.

SE6 Year of Inquiry

What inquiry questions are schools working on and how is the library supporting this focus?

How are school teams using questioning? Overarching inquiry, 5 over the year

Action: Guided Inquiry, p. 3-5, 14-16

-Fundamental Concepts in the Social Studies and Science Curriculum are important to help us plan guided inquiry questions

-goal of guided inquiry is that students will develop their own questions by the end

-pick one opportunity where you are doing something with one teacher and focus on this

-one inquiry question with one teacher

-modeling in a read aloud the type of questions that are required in an inquiry

-along with everything we have been doing, let's take a look at what is already going on in our schools, understand it, common understanding

-when we are all working towards a goal, confusion will come around when dealing with change

-share our inquiry questions, contribute towards the blog and the wiki, post the questions online to share...Astrid and Anastasia will organize how this is done

How can we use web 2.0 tools to support collaboration with staff and guide student inquiry in the SE6 Planned Inquiry Units?

-Katina will email the presentation on TEL

Minds On (watching), Action (practice, participation, collective intelligence) , Consolidation (reflecting)

-mobi: like a tablet, comes with a pen, kids in group: one mobi to each and share their ideas

-BLOG: great for discussions, building upon knowledge, can be shared and open, question of the week so that the students can answer, K-3 best

-McMurrich JPS: Grade 6 Flight: grade6flight.blogspot.com

WIKIS: culminating activities: grades 4-12

-kinders on the move: healthy living http://www.kindersonthemove.pbworks.com/

-All blogs and wikis that Katina showed us are on our Blog list on the left hand side of our blog

-edublogs are best

-Agnieszka shared her wiki which is also located on our bloglist

-explore the web 2.0 tools to complement the inquiry units

NEXT MEETING

-November 19: 2:30-4:30: Secord

-December 8: 2:30-4:30: Kew Beach

SUGGESTIONS FOR NEXT MEETING:

-sharing of inquiry questions

-bring texts in that support question

-any other suggestions, please email them to Astrid or Anastasia and we will post them