Chapter 6 Reflection

I had never before considered using technology to build my classroom community before reading this chapter. We have used wikis and online discussion groups in college classes, but I had never thought about having elementary students take part in these. I think having online discussions and blogs would really help those students who are quiet during class to be more comfortable, because I know that in my classes for example, not everyone enjoys answering aloud. I am also realizing that students will enjoy school more if they can share what they know using technology/the internet, rather than what they don’t (i.e. traditional tests). I also like how the technologies and sites discussed in the chapter are social in nature, which I believe will encourage positive relationships between students. Something that was not new to me was the idea of teachers sharing helpful hints and information over the internet. I have read many teacher forums/blogs before to get information. What was new however, was TappedIn. I began to think how amazing and beneficial it is that the internet has enabled teachers from different countries to collaborate! That was unheard of several years ago. Therefore, I plan on investigating TappedIn and TeacherTalk at some point. Overall, I realized that technology has the potential to play a meaningful role in the classroom, but it all depends on the teacher’s decisions about types and uses and dedication to making sure that it is always meaningful for the students.

As a future teacher, something that caught my attention in this chapter was when it stated that classrooms are not typically communities because students are competing with each other and are disconnected. It said that cliques were also an issue and that students need common interests in order to become a classroom community. I understand what the authors are saying, and hope that my classroom will become a community where everyone feels accepted. I think that several of the ideas suggested in this chapter would support my goal of developing a strong, supportive community. First of all, I love the idea of having students reading expedition blogs as ‘virtual field trips’. This would certainly make for meaningful learning because the students can interact with the writer and learn social studies in an active manner. I also think that if I had older students, I would have them participate in online book discussions with students from around the world. I am also interested in having my students take part in Learning Circles in order to foster community-building beyond the classroom. Additionally, by communicating with students from various countries/cultures, students would be able to gain cross-cultural understanding in an enjoyable way, because they would all be working towards the goal of completing a project together. Similarly, participating in KidLink to talk with students who speak other languages would be great to practice a second language. I doubt that I would be teaching another language, but if I had an ESOL student, it would be great for him to be able to communicate with students from his native country in his native language. He could even share his experiences learning English. As a teacher, I would also love to use a blog of some sort to communicate with parents. The possibilities for using blogs and discussions seem endless, so I will constantly think about how I can use community-building in my classroom!