Communication and Collaboration

The topic for this session, communication and collaboration,  felt like a home coming. I was coming back to an idea that has been the key concept of my integration and use of technology with my students for the past several years.Although I feel comfortable I know there is still so much to explore and with the rate of innovation and change there will always be something new to try out!

A few years ago, at the beginning of the school year I asked my students to complete a very short survey on how they use technology and how they see their parents using technology at home. Not surprisingly for first and secomd grade students the majority of students responded that they used technology for playing games and watching movies. In response to the second question many students also stated that their parents used technology for gaming and entertainment. A few students mentioned information gathering or communication. I realized that I needed to show and provide opportunities for students to use technology and digital tools to communicate. I wanted my students to see that the whole world was open to them through the use of web 2.0 tools. That year students completed a digital slide show that represented their learning on a science topic and complete a web quest during our life cycles unit. I felt that although all of my goals around communication had not been met good progress had been made by both my students and myself.

This year my goal around digital communication included an idea for a lesson sequence that would include a Skype experience with students in Brazil. Our school was going to be doing a month long cultural study of Brazil and I realized this would be a wonderful opportunity for my students to communicate with students in another country and on another continent. Unfortunately this expereince did not happen. I learned a lot about how much time it actually takes to create this kind of interaction and will try again next year.

I am also thinking more about the collaboration piece of this session. Communication and collaboration are two sides of the same coin. I have learned so much about how to use web 2.0 tools to communicate with my colleagues and I feel I have done a good job so far helping my students see the opportnunities for communication. Collaboration has come slower and I am still not sure exactly what it should look like for my first and second grade students. Perhaps having a specific purpose for communicating with students in another school or country would be a beginning step. I also think about Service Learning as an avenue that might meaningfully support digital collaboration expereinces for
my students. I am looking forward to trying again with these tools and more next year, and the year after that and the year after that..........

Web 2.0 tools for 1-2 students

As I was reading and viewing the information for this week's focus on creativity, collaboration and graphic organizers I found myself reflecting on the excitement and enthusiasm my daughter used to have for websites such as Webkins and Club Penguin. She is thirteen now and she would cringe if I mentioned it in front of her, she does occasionally still visit and play the games on Club Penguin. 
So what is is about these websites and others in this genre that attract kids and keep them coming back?
Is it possible to create a educational experience for my students using constructed comments, structured interactions and of course a childlike and creative environment?
For my 1-2 students,  I believe blogging and collaboration tools that older students use are beyond their capabilities. In first grade many students are just learning to read and write. Using structured comments and of course lots of audio support could make it easier for my young students to communicate electronically. Another tool that would be wonderful would be a speech to text option. I am not a programmer so to try to create this environment myself would be a stretch indeed. Fablevision seems to be a company with a wonderfully creative and childlike vision. I appreciate their focus on literacy and the arts.
So my next question is to what purpose would I want my 1-2 students engaging in experiences like the ones mentioned above?
If the answer is to create more collaboration and creativity than shouldn't I be providing those experiences in the classroom? I am still a little foggy on why these tools are important for K-2 students. I can see how engaging students beyond the school day would be a practical and purposeful application for web 2.0 tools. This is an area that I do want to investigate further. I definitely need to continue to broaden my understanding of what electronic collaboration and creativity will look like and sound like for my students in the future.