Consider/Compare/Contrast/Critique/Question

To begin this blog I want to say that I have been looking for the article, The psychology and pedagogy of reading by E.B. Huey (1908). It was published in New York by Macmillan. I REALLY want to read this thing. Carmen Luke cites him as the first guy "to study reading research" and "the psychological effects of different patterns of manuscript layout and typeface". I am facsinated by this stuff. If anyone knows how to track this article down, I would be most grateful.
That's not the point of this blog though... I'm supposed to be looking at this week's readings in regards to Project Tomorrow. This is a bit difficualt since I'm not fully clear on what Project Tomorrow is or if I'm supposed do blog about the readings in relation to our Project Tomorrow assignment, which I haven't really started (at least not outside of my own brain).
I guess I'll go with something off of the Project Tomorrow website which speaks to creating the "ultimate school for the 21st century" and relate that to technological literacy. I see my role as a teacher, especially as a middle school teacher as not just an information dispense, but as a mentor and detective. That being said I think it is crucial to embrace the new technological literacies and listen to what our students are doing with them. I think that we need to be sensitive to any inequalities that may arise from them. I question if any new forms of learning disabilities could potentially arise from using new technology and if all of the children in my future classrooms will have equal access to technology. And I don't just mean economic. What if they're just not interested in creating online and have never done certain things? Will I need to teach how to use certain technologies or should I just assume these kids will know what they're doing? SHould I hold optional workshops for my students, while the others just go for it?
Also, I think that blogs, wikis, and podcasts lend themselves to more outside interaction between student and teacher. I want to be the best teacher I can be, but what is the line I draw? Should I text all my students to remind them of homework? Or could this be a great way to differentiate instruction, by texting certain students with certain things and other students with something else or nothing, depending on what I feel they need? These are just examples of things that have been popping into my mind as I've been reading?
Finally I think it's important that as teachers we keep our ears open and now where our students are blogging and casting and maybe take a look at what they are doing. Again what's the line on this? Would this be considered an invasion of their privacy? How seriously are we, as adults to take what is written in out students' personal blogs? We have an advantage over the parents in this regard, as we hear the kids chatting in the hallway and during class with each other, while the parents may not have this same opportunity to find out which blogs, etc. are hot and being talked about.
I guess in trying to be the ultimate teacher for the 21st century I have to know my students, kind of like being the ultimate teacher for any century.

Views: 66

Comment by Karen Heinsbergen on February 2, 2009 at 2:41pm
Your thoughts did remind me that not all students will want to engage in technology. We do have much responsiblity as teachers with regards to what students do say and we are held by law to act on what we know.

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