Michelle, I can’t post a comment on your blog. I’ve tried it as many ways as I can tinker, and I keep on getting an error message b/c I can’t type my name in the name box. So, let me try to reach you and comment this way. I just want you to know that you’ve been read and heard!
Your writing…
“I think the technology is prohibitive, though, to have my class do a blog. As I mentioned in an earlier entry, I do not feel like I understand the blog process well enough to teach it so how can I require it of my students? And, as a result of a converstaion with Nate I asked my class two questions. Who knows what a blog is? Who has a blog? Out of 20 students, one knew what it was, three had heard of them before, and none had one of their own. I think that is a good illustration of the fact that this technology is still select.”
My comment… I wonder the age of your students? I tried the same experiment with my high school ASL students; ages 14-17. Almost all of them have a blog. I asked them how many use My Space, and again, almost all the hands went up. And then I heard a hushed comment, “how does SHE know about that?”
I’m pedalling as fast as I can to try to keep up with the technology skills of my high school students. They can rip music into their I-pods, they can create Powerpoints with music and animation, and they’re blogging on a daily basis.
On the flip side, I shared news of an AFB (American Foundation for the Blind) newly formed blog with the AERNET listserv this week (Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired) and received an email message from a university professor asking, “what is a blog?” I admire her courage in asking in a public forum. I provided a resonse. Another lister commented on the proliferation of podcasts, and again, email comments indicated that podcast was a term never heard before.
So, what’s the plan? The generation of teachers out here now knows less about technology than the students we teach. How can we lessen this gap? Well… you, and me, and our colleagues, and Nate-the-nudge is making a pretty good start. Part of my plan… I’m going to get a new blog on Edublogs, and add my high school ASL students… (and limit it strictly to ASL and Deaf Culture issues) and hope that it’s really true that it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
