This week my grade 6 students became blogging buddies with Aviva Dunsinger's grade 1 students. There are so many reasons why this is a good activity that I don't even need to explain. I do want my students to encourage the grade 1's to improve their writing and thinking skills. Of course learning will be reciprocal.
I provided my students with an organizer to jot down their observations and give structure to this process. We had a look at her amazing blogs yesterday and then began the more formal process today of giving constructive feedback.
And then ... well, when you let kids loose in an environment where open access to technology is freely available, they are not going to learn what you choose for them to learn.
Very few of my students completed the intended task, but did learning take place? Absolutely. A large number of my students have now adopted animated pets. Another, seeing a comic from bitstrips remembered that he had an account from last year and went to visit it. Several students gathered around one screen and discussed a video. Another began looking up a topic that one of the students had mentioned. The process was fluid, ever-changing and beyond my control. Students chose to pursue elements that they found intriguing. My nice little activity became insignificant; I was unimportant to the event.
This was a powerful moment for me as a colearner. I think I finally got just how free learning can be and is becoming. I've taken another tiny step forward. My world has shifted once again.
I provided my students with an organizer to jot down their observations and give structure to this process. We had a look at her amazing blogs yesterday and then began the more formal process today of giving constructive feedback.
And then ... well, when you let kids loose in an environment where open access to technology is freely available, they are not going to learn what you choose for them to learn.
Very few of my students completed the intended task, but did learning take place? Absolutely. A large number of my students have now adopted animated pets. Another, seeing a comic from bitstrips remembered that he had an account from last year and went to visit it. Several students gathered around one screen and discussed a video. Another began looking up a topic that one of the students had mentioned. The process was fluid, ever-changing and beyond my control. Students chose to pursue elements that they found intriguing. My nice little activity became insignificant; I was unimportant to the event.
This was a powerful moment for me as a colearner. I think I finally got just how free learning can be and is becoming. I've taken another tiny step forward. My world has shifted once again.
Wow! What an amazing experience, Heidi! My students will love to learn that they taught some of your students something new too. This is going to be such a great experience for all of the students. Thanks for creating this incredible opportunity!!
ReplyDeleteAviva
My students are so excited by this activity. Thank you for starting the whole thing!
ReplyDeleteI think one of the reasons teachers fear straying from the intended path is precisely what you articulated. You lose control of where you wanted them to go. Playing devil's advocate... what if you really needed to assess their ability to provide constructive feedback about blogs... what will you do now? Many of your students didn't complete the task you intended them to complete...
ReplyDeleteJust wondered because similar things have happened to me, and I'm always fighting the restrictions of time in one period (my biggest obstacle), the need to have a little bit of focus, and the necessity of eventually providing accurate report card data. I'm looking at using "open questions" in my math class; they're wonderful, but the open nature guarantees that almost always we don't go where I had intended.
My error was in not allowing them enough exploratory time. Playtime is such an important step in learning. The next day we went back at it and students posted more comments and reflected more deeply on the goals and how to provide effective feedback. It was a learning process for all of us.
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