So I spent a really remarkable day at Seton Hall on Saturday as the members of the Executive Ed. D. program presented the projects we’d asked them to do in terms of creating a learning community with technology. Some were better than others, of course, but what struck me most was how they were talking about Weblogs and technology. Seriously, six months ago only a few of them had every heard of a a blog, and this weekend they were talking about them in ways that showed they got it. They had connected authors and students, students from New Jersey and France, teachers from China and the US. Thier projects had all sorts of conversations going on, students, teachers, mentors, administrators, even parents.

It’s been interesting to watch their initial steps, toe-in-the water type process with some of them coming out the other side really understanding what Web publishing means. We talked about online audio archives of students and teachers. (I even had the idea to have retiring teachers give oral histories to be posted to our Website for future generations.) About teacher portfolios with video and widespread feedback. About new ways to connect and share information and people in global ways and how vitally important that is in these times. About the logistical issues of implementation and anonymity. And much more. It was seriously exhilarating.

It really is about thinking outside the box, now, dreaming and finding the potential. And it was so fun to be in a room full of people who were feeling that too. I really hope their enthusiasm and ideas continue, and I hope they decide to become bloggers in their own right so we can share in the experience.

A couple of articles have been making the rounds that are worth noting…

First, from MSNBC comes “Kids, blogs and too much information” which extends in more detail the continuing saga of kids putting too much information into their myspace and Xanga sites and the potential consequences. I still can’t shake the journal vs. blog issue, but I’ll refrain from pushing it further here. From where I sit, the most discomforting part of this is the sexual nature of many of these kids’ sites. I know it’s not atypical behavior, but I wonder if there isn’t a sense of one-up manship that is really nurtured by the online environment, if as the article says, the whole point is to grow your buddies list.

Because there are so many kid blogs — about 6 million, Aftab estimates — many authors try to outdo each other to get visitors. Often, that includes provocative comments and images.

“It is an attention competition,” she said.

It goes without saying that we need to show kids how to compete for attention with ideas, not bodies. (via Amy Bowllan)

Second is “Youth abandoning old media” which only confirms the idea that our students are turning to online sources for their news and information.

“The future course of the news, including the basic assumptions about how we consume news and information and make decisions in a democratic society, are being altered by technology-savvy young people no longer wedded to traditional news outlets or even accessing news in traditional ways.”

Nor will they be wedded to accessing knowledge and curriculum in traditional ways either…
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