Chatting It Up Online: Students Talk to a Favorite Author.
-Pamela Livingston
Mary Pope Osborne, author of the Magic Treehouse series was expected to be online and available to answers questions from young fans. At a elementary school in Philadelphia, the all boys 3rd grade class had the opportunity to have an "online chat" with one of their favorite authors, Osborne, and ask questions they wanted more information on. Herb Booth, Jackie Gwen and Barbara Wybar, school faculty members, went through a process to make an online chat accessible for their students; Wybar explains that to "get the children more engaged in reading" she needed to find a unique way to entice the students. Wybar went through the process of signing up for an online account, emailing the network ahead of time with questions the students were interested in, making sure network walls were down, having back up technical plans, and practicing the online chat situation before hand to make sure things went smoothly. The students were sent to the computer lab during the day of the scheduled chat, and had an experience they loved. They were able to ask open-ended questions, since simple questions could be found elsewhere, and the online chat with the author of a series of books they loved, ended with success!
The way these teachers took the initiative to find a new way to entice their students into a different learning environment is something that I would want to do for my own students. Livingston gave great examples of how to successfully complete an online chat, and it makes it seem easy enough to incorporate into my own classroom. Students would not only be learning about their favorite authors, or learning how to successfully write but they would be becoming more skilled and advanced in an era that soon will be based solely on technology. Students could be more successful in education if they were to become more familiar with computers and technology; if they have questions on a certain subject, the answers could be just a few mouse clicks away.
Current ISTE nets for teachers include: Facilitating and Inspiring Student Learning and Creativity, which involves promoting and supporting innovative thinking and to model digital age working and learning to name a few or many. The students ISTE nets are basic operations and concepts, knowing technology productive tools, and knowing how to communicate productively through technology. ISTE nets are important in making sure the teacher and the child are on the same page with the new technological advances.
Standards: NETS4
So I agree with you that giving an opportunity like this online chat will advance our students in era that will be technology-based. Even us both with this class and learning about blogging was a little bit complicated haha, so I think it is important to expose students to the use of computers or other technologies.
ReplyDeleteOne other comment i'd like to post is a request for a helping hand on showing me how we are to use the ISTE website (:
I think the chat was a great idea to encourage the students to be more involved with reading. The chat was a unique way to show the students that there are many possibilities for them if they are willing to use technology. I agree that learning how to use technology will be important for students.
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