.jpg)
Richardson mentions ‘overwhelming’ at the end of his chapter on the social web. Couldn’t agree more, especially after reading about Diigo and del.icio.us social bookmarking tools! Maybe if I saw demos’ on them I could understand their use and value more. Twittering I get, although I don’t do it. A possible idea would be to use it as a way to chime in on a common daily event or news item. Using the L2 to comment via tweets could promote/improve informal communication skills, namely brevity and conciseness. Other than the examples cited throughout the chapter, I can’t think of any additional ways I could use any of the other tools. He mentions the collaborative uses of each, which is always welcomed and encouraged in the L2 learning classroom. I somewhat understood the tagging folksonomy mentioned, but again a demo’ would make is more understandable for me.
The digital divide involves the issue of technology and equity in our public education system. Warschauer et al. pose that instead of a digital divide today, there is a range of factors shaping technology use that in turn, reinforces education inequalities. Three issues discussed affecting the low-SES schools include performativity—the teaching of basic computer tasks versus purposeful learning w/technology. Workability, another issue, involved aspects of computer management described as being deficient at times. With that, support systems/pedagogical support were also problematic. The third issue was complexity, as viewed by many of the teachers. Due to high-stakes testing pressures, lack of home computers for all the students, and the fact that many are ELLs, integration of computers into curriculum was a complex undertaking. Along with these three issues, the lack of qualified teachers and financial support at the low-SES schools were also factors. I would suggest, as the authors do, technical training for educators, including emphasizing academic gains that can be realized. If computer labs are in place, in addition to lab time, creating computer clubs to promote usage. Monitored, w/guidelines, activities related to context area could be offered, possibly with an extra credit incentive. Motivation toward academic progression/success could be the goal. Given financial constraints w/the education system, inline with sports and special trips fundraisers, perhaps fundraisers for computers and academic training with them. To provide optimum CALL academic environments these days, innovation/thinking outside the box is warranted!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I can see what you mean about wanting to see some of this new technology demoed before actually trying to use it ourselves, let alone in our classrooms. A lot of times there is a new way to search, catalog, or share information that, although it seems very useful, it’s often difficult to know how to start using it. I haven’t used these social bookmarking sites either and would probably find them useful, it’s just difficult jumping into using them without talking to someone that already does so. We should probably keep in mind that a lot of our ELLs are going to be in the same boat. A lot of them, especially if they’re from academic or economic backgrounds that didn’t allow for computer use, will be new to a lot of this technology. Therefore it’s probably a good idea to demo all of these tools with our students, both for the benefit of those who have never tried it and to reinforce correct use to those ELLs that might have some experience.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a Demonstration of del.icio.us and Diigo would be beneficial. I do not participate in any of the social websites, including Twittering. However, I liked your idea about Tweeting to promote communication on daily events or news items. I believe that a Tweet is limited to 140 characters and this limitation can be a positive for an ELL.
ReplyDelete