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Well, I know how I should start and that is by accepting mass-sharing as the way things are done and learning to be more relaxed about it. Putting things on-line for me is the same is "handing it in" and what I like to hand in is "the final copy". In my mind everything else, that is not the final, proofread and a "ready for printing" version, is not "good enough" to be on line. I know that this is not the way I should be looking at things, but it's hard not to do that when all through my education I was taught that the final copy is the best copy and everything else is "not acceptable". Also, I do have to admit that I've also had a couple of bad experiences with leaving comments on blogs and having people with unfamiliar usernames rip them apart, pointing out the "flaws in my reasoning", correcting grammar, etc. in a very inconsiderate and sometimes simply mean way. I guess this may sound crazy, or at least overly sensitive, to some people, but it is how it is... and if I feel this way, maybe some other people might too.
So, when preparing my students for mass-sharing, I would primarily talk to them about all the wonderful benefits of sharing and contributing to understanding, then try to teach them how to find the most useful source of information and check the accuracy of the information they found, provide appropriate feedback when doing so, and how to carefully choose what PERSONAL information they share. I guess I'd also try to teach them to be more relaxed about sharing their own stuff and not have the same "hang-ups" that I clearly do. A very good first step would be having them share their thoughts and ideas on-line but primarily with their classmates and teachers, and then slowly take it from there.
So, when preparing my students for mass-sharing, I would primarily talk to them about all the wonderful benefits of sharing and contributing to understanding, then try to teach them how to find the most useful source of information and check the accuracy of the information they found, provide appropriate feedback when doing so, and how to carefully choose what PERSONAL information they share. I guess I'd also try to teach them to be more relaxed about sharing their own stuff and not have the same "hang-ups" that I clearly do. A very good first step would be having them share their thoughts and ideas on-line but primarily with their classmates and teachers, and then slowly take it from there.
Great post! Believe me I'm not going to rip any of your ideas apart. But I still think you have too much fun teaching Spanish :)
ReplyDeleteIt's true that this transition from the "final copy" world to one of "flux copies" is quite disconcerting, but there is a lot of freedom of thought and openness to new ideas that goes with the territory. This form of creativity is actually a lot closer to the pre-industrial, apprentice-like forms of education where the art of discussion and the process of learning were given more attention. It's going to take a lot of getting used to (for our students too), but I think once we start in to it, the positives will be blindingly obvious.