In education the CREDE standards suggest the importance of student/teacher dialogue in our classrooms (Laureate,2008). Although outlets such as blogging and email offer a great way to learn and share information, but it may be difficult to deliver particular social interaction of communicating with their peers and teachers when applying these skills.
Is technology such as blogging and email compromising social interactions? In what ways can we provide a balance using technology tools in our classrooms and social interaction?
Although emailing and blogging allow us to easily communicate, at any hour of the day, I think many people forget how very public their responses are. Many students still do not know that their emails are owned by the email server, and can be viewed by them and in some case released by them. Students hide behind their keyboard and forget the confines of their bedrooms are now broadcasting to the world. I wonder if the same words would be conveyed if it was a face to face social interaction.
ReplyDeleteI think we need to be role models and provide students with the ethical and moral guidelines to this new technology.
I agree. However, many sights are available to our students that may become harmful. Sometimes even our warnings do not seem to assist them in making the appropriate decisions when entering many web sites. While our school protects them from entering these sites that might not be the case at home.
ReplyDeleteFace to face social interactions for students today I believe in many cases are more uncomfortable for students to perform. After all they are growing up in an age where IMing, texting, and blogging are the desired format of communication.
I believe that teachers can support and encourage these ethical and moral guidelines when using technology under their supervision but outside of the classroom how can we teach them to support these same practices to ensure their safety?
Hello everyone,
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the conversation about how to maintain a safety zone for our students to use technology. I think it's not just technology that we share this problem with, many other concepts like moral standards, obeying rules and laws, interpersonal skills, manners, etc. Teachers in school can teach and ensure that students perform up to certain standards, likewise we can block sites that we think are harmful to them. However sadly you guys are right that what about outside school. Same for all the above concepts that every human, every individual, every world citizen should embrace and yet who are there to make sure this is happening? Everyone knows we should obey the law and not commit any crimes or doing illegal things and yet there are still crimes, there are still people going to jail.
I think at the end of the day, if we push to the edge, the answer (I think) is that there is only so much we can do or guide, the rest is really up to the individual. We can only stop them so many times, eventually when they graduate, it's another story.
It sounds like a sad thing to say but I am afraid it's reality. At best we can do is to try our very best to mold the correct attitude towards technology in our students before graduation.
What do you guys think?
Sarah
With the mention of social interactions, the uncomfortableness students have with face to face interactions and the increasing use of digital communication, I am haunted by Disney's 2008 release of the movie Wall-e. Have you seen it? There is a part of me that believes the need for personal human interaction will always be stronger than digital communication but sometimes I wonder...is that our future?
ReplyDeleteTechnology has changed the way we interact. I find myself and other teachers constantly having to coach students in social situations regarding simple skills in manners. I honestly question sometimes if they really get know how to communicate confortably win face to face social situations. I believe the technology skills and soial skills are equally important. I also wonder if technnology is affecting these personal social interactions to some degree.
ReplyDelete