Widgets like this provide an opportunity for simple interactivity with the blog or website. I think kids will like them, but I would want to be very selective about the relevance to the topic I'm addressing. My sample widget, for example, could be used as a way to reinforce creative functions in language arts. It's fun and I think it will help students remember and return to my content.
Review the widget you selected. Are you getting comfortable with embedding code? Do you belong to other online communities? Are relationships formed online as meaningful as face-to-face relationships? Why do you think MySpace and other social networking sites are so popular with kids today?
What do you think? Is this widget a little contrived? Does it seemto be--or could it be made to be--relevant to creative writing activities? I think it's a bit marginal, but it's important to break up the solid wall of text that 'grown-up teachers' like me...especially language arts teachers like me...are comfortable with.
I, for one, have a modest involvement with other online communities and I can't say that I have formed meaningful relationships. I've formed few new relationships, but they are suitable for maintaining or enriching existing relationships. MySpace and FaceBook are popular with kids the same way the telephone has been popular for the last fifty years. Teenagers need to be connected because of their search for individual identity and affirmation. It seems natural, but that doesn't mean it will always be productive.
I'm concerned about the strange split I sometimes see between online personae and face-to-face behavior. I have students who behave painfully shy in class, but I've heard that they are gregarious and 'chatterbox' expressive when it comes to online interaction. Why the difference?
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At first glance (after allowing pop-ups from your blog in order to see the graphics on the widget) I thought that it wouldn't likely be too thought-provoking for high schoolers. But then I played with combining two graphics in ways that led me to think about how I could describe the situation illustrated. In the end I decided that there could be a creative writing connection because simple can be powerful; it reminded me of the popularity of the "Life is Good" merchandise.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the difference in the behavior that emerges when some students go online, the students who I know who fit this description are very confident in their computing skills and often have skills in specific areas, like gaming for example, that they share with others. This gives them the confidence to be a “leader” in the online world, something they might not experience much in everyday interactions at school.