Maybe I'm a little old school, but when I read about the study hall wiki I saw it as an opportunity for students to share information that may be used for inappropriate sharing. The article talked about how fast the information flowed around the school. I saw as a way to "share" things like what is on the test, answers, and a "copy my homework page". I have had to spend lots of my time teaching kids how to use the new technology in a positive way and I see this as another "opportunity" to do more teaching.
In the past several years the amount of cut and pasting my students do has increased 10 x. It is always a shock to them that the are not allowed to simply take what the see from an internet sight and simply paste it over to there worksheet or paper and call it their own work. I hope I can find a way for them to share effectively in a meaningful and sharing way. If I can then this new wikki space will a positive space and help me educate my students.
I teach elementary, and your comment about the misuse of technology really struck a chord. My team teacher and I recently had kids doing research papers on the astronomy. We stressed taking notes in their own words and using those notes when they began to write, but that didn't seem to sink in until I showed one student how I could type her first sentence into Google with quotes and bring up her first paragraph.
ReplyDeleteRebecca,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you are helping them to learn these lessons at an early age. They need to know how bad it realy is to cheat the system and in the way cheat yourself out of the learning that could help you later in life.
thanks