Reader Response Meets New Literacies: Empowering Readers in Online Learning Communities
This article was about a researcher collecting data on the use of an asynchronous message board with literature. It also discusses other forms of online communication, such as email, blogs, wikis, and social networking sites. This occurred in a 5th grade classroom. The curriculum for social studies is American history, so the teacher combined historical literature and language arts skills for their postings. The students read the books, The Watsons Go to Birmingham and Bud, Not Buddy. The students responded to the literature on the message board through the use of classroom laptop computers.
The possibilities of online learning through the use of message boards, blogs, and wikis are enormous. The students are engaging in thought provoking responses to the literature. They are getting opinions of others and broadening their own world by hearing others’ opinions. These statements from the article were profound to me.
“While working collaboratively in response to the literature, students established a community of inquiry in which their sundry literature prompts elicited divergent responses inspired by multiple opinions and diverse perspectives.”
“The new literacies are here to stay, and it is the responsibility of all teachers to orchestrate learning opportunities in which students can collaborate and communicate within a technology-rich environment.”
“In this study, the fifth graders clearly relied on each other for guidance, support, and construction of knowledge. So should educators. By helping one another, sharing ideas, and supporting future research, teachers can provide their students with the literacy futures they deserve.”
Larson, L. (2009). Reader Response Meets New Literacies: Empowering Readers in Online Learning Communities. Reading Teacher, 62(8), 638-648. http://search.ebscohost.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I am amazed at how much technology that students so young can use. I guess I am just getting old. I could not imagine being able to do the things that the students did in this article at such a young age.
ReplyDeleteI think our expectation of students in education should meet the available technology and this is a perfect example. Students will only become comfortable by exposure to and practice using the technology. Utilizing technology in the way these classrooms used it will provide a huge advantage to these students as they move into the upper grades where expectations as well as access to technology continue to increase. This story looks more like what we should be seeing in technology-rich environments- not prohibiting the use of web tools because of what "could" happen.
ReplyDelete