First Technology Lesson Plan

Title: Online Fact Checking

Web Tool: Blogs

SoL: GOVT.5  The student will demonstrate knowledge of the federal system described in the Constitution of the United States by

a)            explaining the relationship of the state governments to the national government;

b)            describing the extent to which power is shared;

c)            identifying the powers denied state and national governments;

d)            examining the ongoing debate that focuses on the balance of power between state and national governments.

Other Skills: Students should understand that just because they read it on the internet, that they should not believe it.  Students will be able to assess statements and be able to check for authenticity, and know how to respond to a blog, and be able to link their sources to do so.  Students will be able to hone their internet conversational skills.

Lesson Objective:  The teacher is going to write a blog filled with a strong anti-federal government bias, and grossly inaccurate information.  It is up to the students to read and write a blog of their own responding back to the teacher’s blog, citing their sources via linking to credible websites.  Students will be doing this on their own blogs, instead of replying as this will prevent students from copying each other’s answers and sources.  Their posts however will be worded in a way as if they were specifically responding to the blog themselves.  Students will then be asked to make another blog post where they talk about their own opinion on the role the federal government should provide, and again cite their sources via links embedded within their text.

Judge Sources For Yourself

Well, one of my assignments is to find a blog to write about on a subject of my choosing.  At first I was nervous and stuck to the topic of education and technology.  I surfed around for a while, and while there were some decent ones, none really stood out as fantastic.  So I decided to not stay one dimensional and branch out and look up topics that are a passion of mine.  With that I looked to my oldest passion (even before my love of history) herpetology (the study of reptiles and amphibians).  One quick google search later and I found the blog of my choice “That ReptileBlog”. 

At first glance I was in love with this blog, because it is dedicated on sharing important care information regarding herps.  There were many articles I could choose from but I’m going to go with an article on a proper aquarium set up for semi-aquatic turtles as an example.  The information given is accurate even if I am not thrilled with several of the products that are listed to use on the post.  These items do have a link to sites where a visitor can see what the author means and even purchase them from a retailer’s website.  This is when I became nervous about this site.  I have around 20 years of semi-aquatic turtle experience, and have seen several of the products that the author listed, and have not been a fan of them.  The reason being is that some of them are not large enough to accommodate many adult turtles, or in the case of one product which I did use, can be easily torn apart by an adult turtle.  It was upon a little more investigating I noticed that all the links led to the same retailer’s website.  Granted it shouldn’t have been that hard to spot, as right under the blog’s title they wrote who sponsored the site.  I viewed this blog as a site with an agenda, to promote the purchasing of pet supplies from thatpetplace.com.  However to instantly distrust it for this reason seemed rather ridiculous when I thought on it, since all blogs have some agenda to push.  Anyone surfing around and reading blogs need to keep this in mind and learn who to take seriously and who needs to be fact checked.  The fact that this site is run by a business makes it a perfect candidate to be scrutinized as such.  On one hand the information needs to be factual, as misinformation would give the company a bad name and alienate itself from its customers.  However some information can be left out (like maybe…better products) in the intrest of directing a customer to purchase their goods.  Also in all fairness the blog does post less expensive alternatives, such as a large plastic tub as opposed to a glass aquarium sold by them.

This site also has other redeeming qualities that tells me it is not only and advertisement platform.  For one it has interesting articles posted for people who are genuinely passionate about the subject such as how people can be involved in changing laws regarding animal exportation, or new facts being discovered about herps.  There is also a page that has links to other herpetology related websites that visitors can go to for further herprelated reading.  It’s these qualities that I later looked for that made me a fan of this blog spot.  The author fits the criteria that I feel Richardson put forth, that writings are based on sources on the internet, which are linked to, and promote the creation of a network of like-minded people. 

On a final note, this blog while its links to products is nothing new, it did spring to mind an added use for blogs in the educational setting.  While I took Richardson’s point of making links as an idea to site your information, it also can be a great way to differentiate a lesson.  Links can also be used to explain much more basic information that perhaps the teacher hopes people in class already know.  This way, students who already know what “parliament” is for example do not have to waste their time reading the definition or history of it.  Students where this word maybe new to them however, could click on a link embedded in the word and be able to update themselves as to avoid confusion.  This to me just reinforced the usefulness of web 2.0 in the educational setting.  Students who may lack basic prior knowledge can be given a chance to keep pace with the more advanced students due to the use of these links. 

Learning About Blogs #4

Emmet Rosenfeld’s writings (not sure I want to call it a site, as he’s writing for “Education Week”) I would not call a blog from what I read.  Instead I would consider them articles, like one would find in magazines or newspapers.  By making this distinction I’m not accusing Rosenfeld of not being insightful or making me think with several of his posts like the previous writers have.  In fact far from it, as I did like his post on digital ethics and did ask myself some of the questions he posed such as when does technology in school cease to be a privilege. 

The posts themselves aren’t what makes me feel this isn’t an example of blogging, as he does have links to his source material throughout his various posts (even though my computer seems to refuse to let them work).  What makes it more like a magazine article for me is instead what is all around the article not what’s in it.  I should say what’s not all around his articles, which is outside links the author chose to place on his site.  The previous bloggers had a place for links that they enjoyed on their sites, be it blogs that they followed (or at least recommended), or links to groups that the author was a member of such as Hambrick’s church.  Its these links that I feel truly fleshes out a blog, since it supports Richardson’s claim that blogs are about creating a network of writers.  Instead all I could find connected to Emmet’s site were links to other authors for “Education Week”.  There is nothing wrong with this, but to me it makes it more of an article, and not a blog.  Of course this means that I better start following some blogs, and various other news sources that I can make links for, or I’ll be a bit of a hypocrite. 

Learning About Blogs #3

Scott Hambrick’s site I felt had a lot of promise, if only he continued along with it for his own personal use.  His biggest strength I felt was that he put a lot of his own voice into the blog.  The way I felt that he did this the best was his posts considering the birth of his son on his home page.  To me such side posts that do not concern themselves with the main topic (in this case yet again technology and education) of the site help invite the reader into the author’s life.  Other than this, it’s hard to describe how his voice comes through in his blogging as opposed to the other bloggers.  Maybe it’s just that I know he’s a former Mason student and a proud father, and I can relate better that way. 

                Another point that I enjoyed about the blog was that he included video unlike the other sites I have looked at so far.   The videos weren’t only a nice change of pace where I could be passive at gaining information from his site, but also is an example of an author utilizing additional tools the internet has to offer.  I see this change up on routine as a great way that a teacher could keep student’s attention.  Scott himself even makes mention to how if a student is not invested in a class, then it doesn’t matter if you include twitter or blogging, they still won’t get that much out of the class.  I really agree with his point there, and think the addition of videos and any other tools for the web can help engage students.  For example if a teacher only assigns readings from blogs and twitter feeds, then expects students to only write in response, there really hasn’t been a big change in engagement.  A teacher at this point may as well assign text book reading and papers to be written.  In the end it’s still a traditional assignment, only using the internet instead of paper.  Sure it makes handing in homework easier on the teacher, and opens up their resources for students to read, but engagement really may not be altered that much. 

Learning About Blogs #2

David Warlick’s blog at first was not for me.  It took me a little while to really appreciate it for what it was.  Unfortunately I was looking at it from the point of view Will Richardson gave in his book Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts: and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms maybe a little too much.  Richardson describes true blogging as an author writing about a topic using information found from various internet sources and leaving links to these sources.  I surfed around several of his posts, and did not find any examples of this.  Instead I found posts on his thoughts in regards to how technology is changing our lives, and its impact on education.  However while it may not often link (or at all from what I looked around) to sources, he did at least think deeper then events of the day.  His topics focused mostly on education and technology, his most recent blogs for example were about America’s confidence in the education system and how the children today are involved in video games with constantly changing rules.  I enjoyed these topics as they were written well and seemed to be more thought provoking for the reader, then just a soapbox for the author. 

The other interesting thing about blogs is what a person can tell about the author by visiting the site.  First is the obvious, which is what topics does the author usually bring up.  But then there are the added things that Warlick has on his site, such as his “blog roll”, the part of his site that links to other blogs that he recommends.  Each of these blogs all revolve around the same topic he writes about, how technology can (or I argue should) affect education.  This shows that this is not just some minor interest of Warlick, but instead a major passion of his.  It also gives him more credibility on the subject in my opinion, because while he may not site often in his posts to other authors, it shows that he has researched and read up on the topic.  By following these other blogs, he is continually updating himself, and if he’s like me reading posts and giving serious thoughts to what other authors have to say.  These other authors in turn may have an influence on his writing. 

Another source of information on Warlick’s interests is his “Posterous Feed”, which has links to various articles on the internet, not blogs.  These articles mostly center around science based topics, such as astronomy to once again education.  Like I mentioned before when it came to Warlick having other blogs promoted on his site, these links reinforce not only his passions, but give you the impression that he is reading them as well, showing how well versed he is on these topics. 

Warlick’s site is a great example of how connected information can become thanks to the internet.  I can start out reading up on Warlick’s opinions on education, then easily link hop to learn about how scientists have found a planet they describe as being composed of diamond.  I found that article as interesting, as it was random for his site.  This interconnection of course continued because not only have I supplied a link to the article above, but when I first read about the expensive planet I was on AoL instant messenger.  The first thing I actually did do was send the article to friends of mine who I knew would enjoy the article as well.  I wasn’t even thinking about how Richardson spoke about how true blogging creates a network of information.  I read the article and just knew my friends would love it and had to share it.  In this case I feel that Warlick’s site is a successful example of a blog.

Learning About Blogs #1

Will Richardson’s blog “Weblog-ed” is focused on explaining the value of using the internet as an educational tool.  The blog has several tabs allowing for visitors to easily browse through the various elements Richardson wants people to see.  Some of this no doubt is for Richardson’s personal gain such as workshops he is able to give, while the bulk of the other tabs are great ways for visitors to learn about the web.  One tab I liked in particular is a large collection of educational blogs.  I was able to surf through it with little problem to expand where I can go to read interesting ideas in regards to education.  Until taking grad classes involving technology in class, I did not put a lot of interest into reading blogs outside of a few comedic ones; even then I did not read them often.  I plan on looking through several of these blogs, to see if I like any of them.  This makes finding blogs ridiculously easy for me.  His resources tab I am not fond of however.  It seems to be a wiki that after clicking on several links seems to be more of a mash of quick facts written down, so I’ll admit right now I cannot seem to enjoy it much. 

His tab “my stuff” is where he has archived all of his past blogs.  I read through several of them and liked them, one that stands out in particular is a blog in the sense that Richardson describes in his book Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts: and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.  In this post he combines ideas from varioussources to discuss how education will move away from standardization and posts links so the visitor can read his sources for themselves.  The blog does not just end there, as it is filled with responses to his proposition of school becoming individualized.  What I like is that the responses themselves are also well documented, where some of the posts respond with links of their own.  This combined with another post, where Richardson asks for advice in regards to a lesson plan, shows that the informational value for blogs goes beyond picking up handy tips from what the author posts.  The easiest reason for this is the fact that sources are posted by people responding back to the author, so one can link hop readily while following interesting trains of thought.  The second reason is that being an author of a blog gives you a wealth of people to go to when you’re in a professionally tight place and need someone else to lean on.  A friend of mine who is a grad school in education told me she believes that no teacher should feel like an island.  She meant that anyone in education should share and look to each other for help.  Having a blog opens you up to more educators then just the ones in your building or friends you may know from college. 

Richardson definitely practices what he preaches in his book that I mentioned.  His blogs are well laied out and many of them do have links to works that he is referencing.  I plan on returning to this blog when I have a lazy day and the luxury to just go where the links take me.  Hopefully they will yield interesting results for my professional development. 

Why Not Pick Back Up?

     Well, for sometime I have been inactive on this site. I guess its time for an update, on how things are going in my life.  My first post on this site gave the basics on what was going on in my life at that point.  Since then very little has changed.  My son is now 2 years old, and yes I'm still dreading the day I have to put him into daycare.  Only one thing has really changed, and that's my point of view on technology.
     Before my last class, I would openly admit I'm a throw back for my generation.  Technology and me really didn't get along.  I used to say "if its more advanced then a sharpened rock I'm lost".  Now of course this is an exaggeration, but still I was not comfortable or too knowledgeable about computers.  However I have become more comfortable with them since last semester, and have began to realize that with the advancement of communication technologies society is changing at an amazing pace.  Currently students are able to swim through a sea of information, able to read about what they want at the click of a button.  Also with creations such as facebook and phones more conducive to text messaging, student's social lives now revolve around these changes. 
     With that said, I may as well embrace these changes, then try to fight a losing war.  As I still do not consider myself a master of the technological domain, and someone who flourished under the old lecture method, I have decided to sign up for additional courses related to technology and education.  I figure if I learn how to teach using these new tools before actually going out onto the field, it'll be easier to adopt them than to do so after years of practice in the older methods.  With that, here's to my continued growth in technology for educational purposes!