Musings from a Not-So-Master Teacher

Every few years, the educational community chooses a catchy new trend and markets it as the greatest method students will ever experience.  When I was a child, the trend was writing in journals.  As I grew older, it was graphic organizers.  Later, Word Walls (which are making a comeback based upon the assumption that students are not engaged anyway, so we might as well have them read walls).  When I was in college, the newest technique was using rubrics.  Somehow using rubrics would lead to amazing educational breakthroughs.  Special education students would have specialized instruction.  ELL students would speak English.  Every Falls Far Below student would become the next James Joyce.  It was as if a grid of boxes could cure leprosy, remove global poverty and cause guerilla forces to lay down their weapons. 

I am skeptical, therefore, when teachers claim that a new method or technology will drastically revolutionize teaching.  PowerPoint is a great example.  It lost its power, because it was so passive and teacher-centered. It grew into a method of reading long text with a flashy background.  I have spent countless inservice hours secretly cursing the Microsoft Corporation for ever inventing PowerPoint. Will blogs, wikis and discussion boards fall into the same category?  Are they simply the newest buzz in the ever-change edu-fads? Or are they revolutionary methods that can make writing more interactive?

Are Blogs a Good Idea?

The answer depends upon how teachers choose to implement newer online formats.  For example, a blog can be a great tool for writing. Teachers can offer a simple prompt and students can type up their response, knowing that there is an audience.  In this sense, blogs are more authentic, because bloggers have become, in recent years, respected media outlets.  The use of standardized typing and spell check cut down on mistakes and allow students to edit work without spending time in re-writing.  The instant feedback of comments can lead to quicker cognitive development.  Similarly, wikis and and discussion boards lead to collaboration and a deeper synthesis of information. When blogs, wikis and discussion boards are linked, the convergence of formats becomes something dynamic and powerful. The end result is that the internet becomes something genuinely interactive – where students can constantly offer encouragement and suggestions, challenge ideas and ultimately teach one another almost instantaneously.    

At the same time, a teacher can poorly apply educational theory to blogging.  Some teachers allow students to use “text message” language.  They never take the time to teach students the proper typing format, either.  What results is that students become too casual and even sloppy in their approach.  Also, teachers can ask bad questions for writing prompts which lead to stale, cookie-cutter answers.  It depends upon how teachers use the tools of blogs, discussion boards and wikis.  

Not that the use of the term “tool” is a misnomer.  It assumes that teachers can decide, at will, how a medium will affect a student.  The reality is that the unintended consequences are exactly that: unintended and unforeseen.  For example, I miss the individuality of reading hand-written information.  I think something is lost for the student as well.  It’s less earthy and less time-consuming – not unlike the difference between an oven and a microwave.  When students type, they are less careful about choosing their words, because there is always the “edit” button at the bottom of a blog. It can become an instant escape route. Also, there is a danger in conforming to the medium itself.  A computer is not a sheet of paper.  There are unwritten rules that blogs must be short, simple, almost cheap - so that they are read quickly without much contemplation.  (Indeed, this blog and this paragraph are both great examples of breaking the blogging norms by using long sentences, long paragraphs and creating a long blog) That's hardly inspiring for a student who wants to learn the craft of writing. I can't imagine Doestoevsky writing a blog.

Moreover, after they edit their work, I can’t see what mistakes they made and I feel left out of the process. Don’t get me wrong.  Blogs are easier to read and more interactive, but there is a price to anything that is easy and convenient.  If we aren’t careful, students might end up believing words are cheap.