Article of Assessment #2

Shanna Rounds 10/11/07
Shannarounds@yahoo.com

The Educators Guide to the Read/Write Web

By Will Richardson

In his article, Will Richardson gives us a glimpse into the Read/Write Web. He tells us that we are no longer simply gathering information from the Internet, but that we can now actively participate in adding, editing, and deleting information.

Students are now publishing interactive work online. This means they can interact with many different professionals and learn from a wealth of resources. Some tools which make this interaction possible include wikis and RSS aggregators. Wikis are site that anyone can edit. RSS aggregators separate, filter, and store information. Sites like Furl.net can save copies of websites in a searchable folder. Also, podcasts allow teachers and students to listen to content relevant shows at their convenience.

The issue is that now, as teachers, we must decide how this Read/Write Web will affect our curriculum. It seems that literacy has taken-on a whole new meaning! Most importantly, students must be able to evaluate and question everything they read- especially on the Internet.

Main Points

• Some cool tools on the Read/Write Web are web logs, blogs, wikis, feeds(RSS), social book marking, and podcasting
• These new tools demand that we teach students how to actively question and evaluate published information instead of passively accepting it as legitimate.
• Traditional pedagogy is being challenged. The teacher's role shifts from a content expert to a guide who shows students how to find and evaluate resources, communicate, and publish online.
• As more content becomes available online, it becomes less appropriate to rely on outdated textbooks and handouts.
• Teachers must monitor student use and teach students how to use the tools safely to enhance learning.
• The Read/Write Web is a place where every person with Internet access can join and ongoing global conversation.

On a personal note, the Read/Write Web sounds like a lovely idea, especially with the help of RSS to filter out the muck. As a French teacher, I see a vast amount of opportunities as far as linking my curriculum with the francophone world.

As far as student use is concerned, connecting with professionals and monitoring their own Web travels, I am not so confident in these activities for students. My current experience, I have noticed that many high school students are not very motivated. They may use the web to find music or video games but they are no more excited about using the web for research and projects than they are about reading their US history books.

As far as Wikis go, especially Wikipedia, I have been directed not to rely on these sources whatsoever. (Perhaps because of "Big Brother" stunts which organizations such as the CIA like to perform.)

Finally, it always comes back to the "haves and the have nots." How do we so easily forget about all the teachers, and especially the students, who do not have regular access to the Internet? Shall we just leave them out of the global conversation? Shall we continue to ignore the voices of the poor as we have done for all time?

P.S., the blog spell check does not recognize "wikis", "podcasts", "RSS", or "aggregators"...hmm.
Also, why do we capitalize Internet as if it were a real place?