Chapter 7 Reading Response

Chapter 7: Communicating with Technologies

Chapter 7 focused on asynchronous and synchronous communication. Asynchronous communication is communication that is not in real time, i.e. discussion board posts. Computer conferencing is one example of asynchronous communication as messages are stored in a computer and viewed over time. Computer conferencing promotes long distance collaboration among learners, as learners do not have to be in the same place or time to talk about ideas. Another advantage asynchronous communication, such as computer conferencing, has is the ability for students to reflect on their ideas or responses before making them. The chapter also mentions the idea that asynchronous communication allows students an outlet to continue their conversations outside the classroom to ultimately enrich their overall learning. I think the idea of allowing students to post their reactions and follow up questions on a discussion board after class is a good way to gain an understanding of what exactly students understand or are having difficulty with. I also like the idea of continuing conversations outside the classroom as a way to promote the idea that learning can occur anywhere and does not necessarily need to occur inside the 50 minute class time.

Some examples of discussion boards teachers can use in their classroom include:
http://www.kidscom.com/chat/chat.html provides children the opportunity to chat and make friends with other kids.
epals.com
http://community.scholastic.com/scholastic?category.id=kidBoards This site offers children the opportunity to chat about a cause, message about books, authors, and general topics of interest.
http://www.alfy.com/messageboard/ offers children the ability to interact with others about life, American idol, and other entertainment news and events.

I think using messages boards to further classroom discussion is a great resource to use in the classroom. I did not use this feature until I was in college. However, I think this can be used in the elementary school grades by providing general student guidance while introducing the boards and then allowing students to explore the boards on their own. Teacher support at the beginning of the year introducing children to boards is helpful so children get comfortable using the boards. Yet, at some point teachers need to step back and let children discuss the issues at hand. Students often learn more when they have the opportunity to explore on their own and evaluate others ideas, creating a new collaborative understanding of a topic or concept.

The next section of the chapter focused on exchanging ideas synchronously with interactive chats and messaging. This section incorporates real time, instant communication among individuals. Synchronous communication includes Internet relay chat, chat rooms and instant messaging. Other than Skype, AOL, Yahoo! Messenger and MSN Messenger some more synchronous chat forums include:
http://www.kidzworld.com/chat provides children the opportunity to chat with other children in a safe kids chat room.
http://www.kidchatters.com/ offers children the opportunity to interact with other children in a safe kid website.
http://www.kidscom.com/ offers children the ability to play games, chat, make friends, create things and shop.

Making connections through videoconferencing was another major section of the chapter. Videoconferencing allows two or more locations to interact simultaneously by two-way video and audio transmissions. Videoconferencing allows children to experience things that would otherwise be impossible. If videoconferencing were to be implemented into the daily curriculum teachers would have to consider the cost of implementation, required training, and time differences among areas around the world participating in conference before reasoning if it is worth the cost. Although technology is expensive the benefits of using it are worth the price since children’s education is greatly enhanced. The most important thing to remember when installing any technology into the classroom is for the technology to be utilized in a supporting manner. Technology is to help students learn, not confuse students in technology. Technology should not be the focus of the students, rather the intended learning outcomes for your students should be the focus. Students should learn with technology not from technology.

Broadcasting with podcasts and Internet radio was another section of the chapter. Prior to reading this chapter I did not really know what a podcast was. Now I understand that a podcast is much like a radio show, broadcasted online for anytime viewing. Podcasts are useful in the classroom as students have the ability to listen to others’ ideas and talk through their own ideas forming a better understanding of the information or concepts. The idea of using a podcast in the classroom is perfect. Podcasts allow students to collaborate, make decisions and determine the purpose and content for what they want to broadcast. I also like the idea of having students listen to other schools’ podcasts, as they will learn about different topics of importance. Quickcasts and vodcasts are variations of podcasts that teachers can use in the classroom to enhance instruction.

Videoconferencing and podcasting were fairly new concepts to me. Although I had heard of them before I would never have thought to use them in elementary grade classrooms. However after reading this chapter I realized using these in my future classroom would greatly enhance my teaching, as children would be able to communicate and interact with experts, people they would normally have no interaction with. I think allowing children to connect with individuals they normally would not be able to greatly increases the number of possibilities within the classroom.
Some podcasting sites available for use in the classroom include:
http://www.kid-cast.com/ is a website for kids to publish their own Podcasts so that other kids can listen.
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=11531 This link includes a list of 10 podcasts for teachers and kids that can be used to enhance the curriculum. This will be a great resource to use in the classroom as it provides a variety of different types of podcasts teachers and students can use to supplement the curriculum.
http://kids.podcast.com/ offers stories and entertainment for families along with parenting advice.
http://millard.esu3.org/willow/radio/podcasts.html offers podcasts for kids by kids organized by grade level.
http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=14946301 provides a directory of podcasts organized by topic, title, and provider.