Digital Walls Chapter 3 Reflection

Many teachers are beginning to engage their classrooms in telecollaborative projects. With technologies such as the Internet, these projects become much easier to plan and implement in the classroom setting. Chapter 3 of Digital Walls highlights many different projects that a teacher in Malaysia planned and tried in her classroom while simultaneously learning how to use communication devices effectively and teaching students what they needed to know for IB exams.
The authors discuss the importance of the Internet and how it has changed conventional classroom discourse. They state, “… it [the Internet] helped students look beyond conventional media to learn about their world, interrogating information, and its sources, while learning how to use a computer as a rhetorical tool instead of a computational device” (p. 33). I definitely agree with this statement and because of the new programs and websites that are constantly coming out, students continue to learn how to become effective Internet users in order to participate in rich discourse and activities. Websites such as E-Pals and other sites sponsored by the United Nations help teachers and students to collaborate with others from different countries and gain authentic experiences about the cultures with which they communicate.
The teacher’s first experience with Project Utopia in 1993 does not seem like it went too well. At this time, all teachers had to be on the same page with regards to which texts to use and when. To me, this raises a huge problem of how to modify and accommodate for students who either need more or less time in order to successfully learn and understand the material at hand. Furthermore, World Literature was based around texts by only American and British authors. This is extremely problematic since there is an abundance of literature written by authors of different countries. In order for a class to be truly worldwide, books used must come from all different countries so that different cultures are highlighted and discussed. In my high school English classes, books we read included mostly American authors and focused on key themes across American history. I do not remember taking any classes, besides Global Civilization, that focused on important aspects of other countries or cultures. Maybe with the rise in Internet use and available collaboration sites for teachers, this can change. I feel that teachers should engage their students in texts and novels that invoke discussions among students about different societies and cultures.
While reading this chapter, I couldn’t help but think how much teaching has changed since the early 90’s. The teacher who experimented with the many projects in which she tried to collaborate with other students in different countries had a very tough time. This was due to the fact that not only was she trying to teach students to open up to different perspectives of the world, but she was also learning how to use discussion boards, e-mail, and other Internet features effectively. Though we have come a long way since the novelty of the Internet, there are still many problems with new technology today. Like the teacher in Malaysia who received no training when a new electronic bulletin board was begun, I find myself in similar situations with different types of technology. In the coming weeks, a SmartBoard will be installed in my classroom. Though I have been told that there will be after school workshops to teach us how to use the interactive whiteboards, I am doubtful that I will be given the chance to learn about available websites and programs that can help me to use the board effectively in the classroom. Thus, while trying to use the SmartBoard, I will also be learning on my own, how to find and utilize resources that can be of great importance to student learning.
Reading about different cultures or events is one way to learn. However, to me, it seems that students learn best when they hear real life accounts of different individuals. Furtehrmore, learning is even more enhanced when they can communicate with someone on their age level about specific things. The author discusses the fact that reciprocity is essential to educational telecollaboration. If students know that they are reading first hand accounts from other students, they realize that the events are true and not just written in textbooks. Though I have never engaged in online discourse with students from another culture or country in my educational career, I can only imagine how much more meaningful my learning could have become if I had done so.
Overall, it seems that there is an overemphasis on testing across all schools. Teachers feel too much pressure to raise standardized testing score and thus do not participate in “fun” activities in which students can engage with others. What is often not realized is the fact that students can both learn and engage in such fun activities with other students. Many teachers, as the authors state, feel torn between opportunities to engage with others and the obligation to prepare students for exams. What teachers need is more training as to how to engage students with others and to meet standards at the same time. However, by finding and sharing websites and programs that promote global collaboration, teachers can be successful in both meeting standards and enhancing the educational experiences of each student simultanesouly.

Annotated Reviews

Global School Net. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.globalschoolnet.org/index.cfm.
This site seems similar to E-Pals, in that teachers can sign up for accounts and collaborate with other teachers from different areas of the world. There is an online registry of collaborative projects that are both current and archived. It is a great site to give teachers ideas of how to collaborate globally.

Go ENC. (2009). Retrieved from ENC Learning Inc. website: http://goenc.com/
The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse (ENC) website, formally run through the government, features a multitude of online math and science activities. There is a searchable catalog of curriculum resources for both Math and Science. In order to use all of the features on the site, one must register and create a membership. The subscription price varies based on the type of school (elementary vs. middle or high) and needs to be subscribed to by an entire school or district.

Journey North. (2009). Retrieved from Annenberg Media website: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/
This website helps students to become involved in a global study of wildlife including Monarch Butterflies, Whooping Cranes, Hummingbirds and other. Students across North America share their experiences with these animals and they are able to track the migration patterns of these animals together. I think this website is excellent in helping students to understand the migration patterns of different animals and to communicate with other students in different areas of the continent about the observations that they have made.