The Andragogical Challenge...

The Andragogical Challenge of Using Web2 Tools by 20th Century Educators
By Chris Petrini

As I read “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms” by Will Richardson, I felt myself falling somewhere in between a ‘Digital Native’ and a ‘Digital Immigrant.’ He identifies today’s youth born during the 21st Century’s ‘technological revolution’ as the natives and the generations spanning from the Baby Boomers to the Gen Xers as the immigrants. The term digital divide has evolved to keep pace with the new technologies it refers to whether it’s the simple absence of computers or the inaccessibility of a broadband connection. Richardson (2006) extends this definition to compare how our youth learn, by fearlessly interacting with technology outside of the classroom, with the “more linear progression of learning” and teaching methods they have received from Western schools, which have been largely unchanged since the era when Socrates mentored Plato (7). However, what “Blogs, wikis, podcasts...” offers, is a very readable introductory manual highlighting the best Web2.0 tools and applications that educators can employ in their classrooms today, to not only narrow this gap between students and teachers, but to also engage their students in a type of collaborative learning environment that they must master if they want to remain competitive in today’s ever-changing global world.
After reading the first three chapters of the book, I finally felt like I understood the importance of using Weblogs in a classroom setting. The skills being taught to students who use blogs or wikis goes far beyond the national and even California’s Language Arts Standards. Blogging is not like sending a text message to friends in a specialized vocabulary. It requires reading the links that somebody points you towards in their blog and reflecting on it before responding to it. It is not the forum for quick, knee-jerk reactionary responses, but it is a permanent recording of your thoughts for all to search, read and respond. Because of a blog or website’s permanence, Richardson suggests several ways of ensuring oversight of a class or school blog to control the content before it is posted. The instructor and the school’s image is the most important aspect to keep in mind. In addition, to protect the users/schoolchildren from revealing enough personal information so they could be contacted, general blogging use requires that parents sign consent forms, and that students follow strict guidelines. In this way, the blogging experience remains a safe and enjoyable one for the students.
Where Richardson was able to use blogs most effectively was in creating a collaborative space for his class while they read the novel, The Secret Life of Bees. His school had recently adopted it into its curriculum, and he thought that it would be a great idea to create an online readers guide through the use of a weblog. What eventually ended up happening was the book’s author, Sue Monk Kidd, was invited to participate in the process. It provided her with students’ interpretations of the novel she hadn’t thought of, and conversely, the students were able to ask Kidd questions and receive insights about character and plot development, along with thematic considerations. I can only imagine the excitement that buzzed in his class as his students eagerly looked for new meanings while pushing each other to interpret symbols in the book in the hopes of stumbling upon a new discovery or a great reveal.
This experience certainly epitomizes the strength of what bringing in new technology, particularly Web 2.0 applications, can do to students’ thinking, creating and writing.As teachers begin to think about putting this technology into practice, an additional argument for it is that it also allows students to expand on the knowledge base they have, exceeding the minimum requirements the class/syllabus/content standards require. The practice of moving information from a teacher’s head and lips to a student’s notebook is no longer a meaningful, relevant method of getting students to think. Richardson, in his support for the Read/Write Web, argues that Web2.0 technology, and blogs in particular, are “a constructivist tool for learning” that shouldn’t constrict a student’s ability and creativeness, but instead be a learner-centered and collaborative approach. (27). The final point he makes is that the Web not only breaks down traditional learning barriers literally, but it also breaks down walls figuratively. In his class blog for The Secret Life of Bees, he cited schools from other local districts, states across the country and even from Poland who participated in the learning process by accessing his class Weblog and responding to the content that was created by his class.
Looking at the 18 brand new Dell Optiplex 755 machines loaded with Windows Vista connected to their sleek flatscreen monitors, I can begin to see my technophobic thoughts dissipating. Instead, I wonder what I can inspire my students to become by giving them the tools and the access that the internet can provide. To not make use of them in any capacity would be a crime, but to not know about the potential the Web offers my students would be so last century.

References
Richardson, Will. (2006). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press