Sometimes I find a blog entry about a topic that does not seem to relate to video conferencing at first, and a wonderful idea for a collaborative video conference project comes along. I would like you to read Beth Still's recent blog entry about a Social Studies unit she is teaching about topics dealing with racial tension.
Beth had asked her class to make a blog entry about their feelings about racism. One student identified himself as racist and didn't see anything wrong with that because that is how I was raised.
In her blog entry, Beth stated her plan to address this with her class and asked her PLN their thoughts about how to approach this with the students.
One comment stood out to me as an excellent example of the power of collaborative technologies, and how they can be instrumental in helping make connections that wouldn't have happened otherwise:
- "Beth,Would you be open to some of my students writing persuasive letters to your student to try to help him understand the importance of walking AWAY from racism? I have a class that would welcome the opportunity as part of their civil rights unit. This is an opportunity for all of us perhaps to have a teachable moment and face a very real problem in the world today by putting our minds to honest, open, positive communication and education... I would love to hear from you."
How has Web 2.o helped you to become more collaborative?
1 comment:
Web 2.0, as it's commonly called, has completely reinvented the whole idea of collaboration. I've always liked walking around the school during my free periods and seeing what other classes were doing (unfortunately I'm not on a team and, therefore, have no formal knowledge of their curriculum). Twitter, Nings, and Diigo have completely opened up my world. Not only do I understand how our 6th grade team is using Paint.net in their classrooms, but I know how groups of students in California, Nebraska, downstate NY, etc are using it.
I read Beth's blog post and immediately sent a tweet to her about the situation. I didn't help, but I was right there ready to lend an ear or offer suggestions. I've had issues before in my classrooms - silly things, usually - and have asked my PLN for help. I can't remember a time when I didn't get a few responses within minutes.
When I think of video conferencing, I think of the old distance learning labs that I used to unofficially support in the Arkport school and in J-T. It's incredible what can be done with a normal computer, webcam, and cheap software anymore... $800 gets me better access and more freedom than $8000 got us a decade ago.
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