Ch. 6 Response

Community Building with Technologies

Knowledge Building with Knowledge Forum
Some people believe that schools want students to only be able to demonstrate knowledge and not truly understand it. I had never really thought of this. I think schools should think what students know and understand is important. I definitely agree that when students share knowledge with each other they will learn and understand more. Knowledge Forum is a group workplace that allows students to work together and build their own knowledge. This forum allows students to store and share notes and ideas. All students are expected to be contributors in this forum. I have never heard of Knowledge Forum, but it sounds like a very interesting way for students to share ideas and learn from each other. I also like that it is a combination of writing assignments and live discussions.

Co-constructing Knowledge with Wikis
I have never used wikis. However, I am somewhat familiar with them as I constantly use wikipedia so I do know that they allow allow users to edit and add to information. I had always heard that users need to be somewhat skeptical when using wikis since some information may not be true, but the book makes a good point that any website can have false information and wikis might actually have less since they are constantly reviewed by people. Wikis are a good way for students to get involved in writing and by posting their writings online, students will be more motivated and interested in writing. I checked out wikitravel (which I had never heard of) and found it quite interesting and easy to use. It would be very useful in a Social Studies class that involved world geography as students can "travel" all over the world. I would definitely use wikis in my classroom as a way for students to collaborate on projects.

Finding Colleagues with Interactive Blogs
I had never written or even looked at a blog before this class. I do agree that they are a good way for people, especially educators, to share ideas. I also really like the idea of having students read and respond to blogs written by people traveling and exploring, especially since children cannot really be out exploring at this point in their lives. I tried to look up Arctic Ed, but could not find his blog. However, I did find several other travel blogs including travelblog.org which allows people to write blogs as they travel and readers to find blogs about people traveling in specific areas. I also like the idea of students writing blogs to share what they are learning with each other and expand upon what they are learning. I also like the idea of using blogs for journal time instead of simply writing the journal entry in a notebook for the teacher to collect and check.

Building International Communities with iEARN Learning Circles, Global Schoolhouse, and Kidlink
I am not very familiar with international communities. When I was in school, the only interaction we had with students from other areas was through penpals. I do think it is very important for students to learn about different areas of the world and the cultures that are in those areas. By having these communities, students can not only learn about these other places, but learn about them from students who actually live there and make international friends in the process. I checked out kidlink which is available in at least ten different languages. Currently it is having a hunt for country capitals where a classroom chooses a capital and gives clues about it for other classrooms to try to guess. This sounds like a fun way for students to learn about many different country capitals while interacting with classrooms all over the world.

Building Professional Teacher Communities with Tapped In and Teacher Talk
Teachers should definitely communicate with other teachers to share thoughts and ideas about teaching and working with students. I had never heard of Tapped In and it seems like an extensive community of teachers and people involved in education. It allows users to not only communicate together as a whole, but individually with certain people and with the community by getting calendars and newsletters. Teachers can also connect their own students with other students.

Discussing Interests with Usenet and Netnews Groups
Discussion boards are a great way for people to discuss common interests or topics. I have used them before traveling to discuss places to visit or avoid with others who have recently been in that place. Although I think these sites can be helpful for adults, I am not sure that they are suitable for children. Children could do similar things by using blogs or wikis about their topics of interest.