Joining students to Classroom 2.0 or better not?

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Slutsky on May 2, 2007 at 9:10am

hmm... This could be a very hot topic. This is the way I look at it. You can be anybody on the internet, I always take this into account when reading forums or blogs. We may already have students here. I don't think "students" are the real problem. I think it is maturity and maturity knows no age.

At some point we all ask a question or make a comment that someone will think is stupid. Someone with a big internet ego will come along and make a hurtful comment to build themselves up. This could come from a student or an adult. The best response is just to ignore them.

Now to actually answer the question. I don't like the idea of actively recruiting students to join this group. If a student finds this group and wants to contribute, I can't see denying them. If a student is really not interested in Classroom 2.0, they won't stay around very long.

Now, I made some assumptions and would like to hear more concerns.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hargadon on May 2, 2007 at 9:34am

I wouldn't mind having some students here--I think they could give some good perspective. I'm curious as to how their participation might be a negative. My guess is that they would end up being pretty thoughtful students if they chose to sign up here.

My bigger concern would be if we were to start having the problems that you get on MySpace--where someone masquerades as being a young person.

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Permalink Reply by techmentor on May 2, 2007 at 10:54am

My belief is simple and to the point. I thought Classroom 2.0 was a place to collaborate with teachers.Professionals talking to professionals. If this is not the case then we need another social networking site that will make every attempt to only allow teachers as members.

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Permalink Reply by Sylvia Martinez on May 2, 2007 at 11:36am

Like Steve, I'm interested in your perception of student participation as negative. If someone (of any age) was participating in a 'bad" way, you can block that person. Aaron is right about maturity knowing no age.

Plus, what we do and say here is public, so both the perception that we are having a private conversation and that we "know" who is here is false.

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Permalink Reply by Connie Weber on May 2, 2007 at 5:21pm

I, too, am willing to have my students see me as co-learner.

The students often see me with the Classroom 2.0 up on the SmartBoard. I talk to them about my "teacher network" and show them what we're thinking about. I show the kids how ideas are posted about technologies to try, and occasionally show them videos that colleagues post. Sylvia Martinez's post, "The Future, by Bill Gates" provoked a great class discussion (with fourth and fifth graders)!

This IS all about "modeling effective learning behaviors." And we must work together.
Thanks, Diane.

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Permalink Reply by Will Richardson on May 2, 2007 at 4:52pm

This is all about learning and finding and connecting with the best teachers we can. Are we saying we can't learn from 17 year-olds? I know I sure have.

And none of this is private...I would guess there are some adolescents who are stopping by here from time to time but they just haven't "joined." Regardless, I'm sure not just educators are landing in these discussions.

And I also find the "professionals" tag kind of interesting. There is an amazing sense of openness that is pervading the Web. It's much different from what most of our experiences have been in our own educations, but it's something we have to accept and learn to deal with and flourish within. It's not all as neat as it used to be. We are all teachers and learners, professionals and amateurs in this environment. If the ideas are compelling, does it matter the source?

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Braun on May 2, 2007 at 5:19pm

My initial response was....What? A 17 year old on a teacher's page? I looked at her profile and didn't see anything education related on it...she didn't state that she wanted to be a teacher...or was going to college for an educational career...or working in a school... It looked like a social post. If that is the case...it's probably not appropriate for this site.

As other have stated, if that is the case, she won't be around long. Also, as I've read other postings, I would agree that if she wishes to contribute to the discussions of education and give us a younger perspective, I'm all for it. The answer does indeed lie in maturity and not chronological age. I don't see a need for hard fast rules about. This issue is something to be watched though.

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