Wednesday, September 22, 2010

overarching questions

I'm curious about how to make the best of my time and then how best to support my students in getting the most out of their use of the Web.  If there are thousands of Web tools how do I choose?  I don't do the research myself.  I trust that those that have gone before me know more about it than I do and reason that popular might mean better.  What role does marketing play in which tools win the lion's share of users?  I wonder what percentage of users are like me and go with a first or second recommendation and what impact that has on the market.  Web 2.0 readers and writers need to first choose their tools.

I am also curious about the idea that there have never been more readers and writers on this planet nor has there ever been the volume of text that we produce.  I'm sure that lots of these texts are profound, contribute to bodies of knowledge, and generate new bodies of knowledge, but what about the other stuff.   Web 2.0 readers and writers need to be thinkers. 

I wonder about the way that we need to think as we sort through all the information that we link from site to site, as we skim and scan at flit from one path to the next.  Does this have an impact on thinking?  I personally find it distracting that there are often so many links embedded in texts.  As I pass them by, or follow them, I am torn because following links can be like going down the rabbit hole and I'm not sure I want to go on that adventure, but maybe it would be fun.  I'm quite easily distracted and so are many of the students I work with.  I wonder if this distraction factor is detrimental to thinking.   

So, over the next couple of months I will be considering these questions and participating in the Read/Write Web in an attempt to develop my understanding and ultimately become a better teacher.       

1 comment:

  1. Monica, just lost a BRILLIANT comment...so we have to make do with this one. :)
    I agree, we need to teach students to be thinkers and critical thinkers at that. While online material may be more current, is it valid, or completely correct? Is it biased? Who wrote it?
    These are the questions students need to be asking themselves as they read. Our tendency to accept the written word as true needs to be challenged.
    I also am in sympathy with your comment about making the best use of our time. The web can be seductive. Online you go, down the rabbit hole, and then, like Tam Lyn, you find hours have gone by in an instant. How DO we choose tools when they are multiplying like...dare I say it? Rabbits!
    Lissa

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