In a crude survey of my roughly one hundred students that I have in my classes, it was determined that over 83% of them have home access to and use AIM at least 4 times per week. When asked to specify topics of their online communications, the list was what you would expect from middle school tween-agers - boys/girls, music, parents, teachers, schoolwork, and the like. Although access to online IMs is blocked in my school district, the usage of online
communications between the students at home is very much integral to the students' school experience.
Here is a topical example: During yesterday's matinee performance of our school musical, of which I am the Assistant Director, one of the show's stars did an acrobatic flip after running up a wall. It was a dangerous and impulsive move, and the student had been told not to attempt it because of its risks. To make a long and ugly story short, the Director was very upset. The student was defiant and was given a loud reprimand. He was subjected to pretty heavy, and to some, excessive, discipline for the remainder of the show. He was made to sit alone in a separate area between scenes and was told that further consequences would await him today.
As students filtered in this morning, I asked them what the vibe was "on the street" about the incident and how it had been handled. The very first student told me that it was the topic of conversation on AIM all night long. There were rumors that the boy had been kicked out of the show, that he had quit, that the director slapped him, that he was going to be expelled, that his parents had filed a lawsuit, that future show performances were cancelled - all in one evening and all, by the way, not true. But there was a buzz in the school all day because everyone had actively participated in online communication networks or had been text-messaged by the few present who had actually witnessed the episodes. Every student had a slant on it. I don't doubt that what he did had been preordained and also discussed via ICTs.
The students didn't need to be told to log in to read and write about the incident. It was taken for granted that the word would spread from Buddy List to Buddy List. Unfortunately, new literacies are as susceptible to misinformation as older communication methods, but at least there were no surprises first thing in the morning - the incident had been covered in-depth.
The important thing was that students were engaged in literacy. They were actively reading and responding in writing. They formed opinions and expressed them in writing. They were "engage[d] in decoding, encoding, interpretation, and analysis" and "technology and sociality [were] intertwined" (Lewis and Fabos, 2005).
The very first act we completed in this Masters' program, as I recall, involved signing up for an AIM account. It has served us well. I often begin my UConn assignments by checking my Buddy List and sending a greeting to a few colleagues. I have also relied on the communication process to inquire about class expectations or problems/questions I may have about a task. AIM has really served as "the maintenance of social relationships" since we have had limited face-to-face contact with most of our colleagues (Lewis and Fabo, 2005). The IM exchanges have helped me to complete my assignments, feel connected, and stay on top of information flow.
communications between the students at home is very much integral to the students' school experience.
Here is a topical example: During yesterday's matinee performance of our school musical, of which I am the Assistant Director, one of the show's stars did an acrobatic flip after running up a wall. It was a dangerous and impulsive move, and the student had been told not to attempt it because of its risks. To make a long and ugly story short, the Director was very upset. The student was defiant and was given a loud reprimand. He was subjected to pretty heavy, and to some, excessive, discipline for the remainder of the show. He was made to sit alone in a separate area between scenes and was told that further consequences would await him today.
As students filtered in this morning, I asked them what the vibe was "on the street" about the incident and how it had been handled. The very first student told me that it was the topic of conversation on AIM all night long. There were rumors that the boy had been kicked out of the show, that he had quit, that the director slapped him, that he was going to be expelled, that his parents had filed a lawsuit, that future show performances were cancelled - all in one evening and all, by the way, not true. But there was a buzz in the school all day because everyone had actively participated in online communication networks or had been text-messaged by the few present who had actually witnessed the episodes. Every student had a slant on it. I don't doubt that what he did had been preordained and also discussed via ICTs.
The students didn't need to be told to log in to read and write about the incident. It was taken for granted that the word would spread from Buddy List to Buddy List. Unfortunately, new literacies are as susceptible to misinformation as older communication methods, but at least there were no surprises first thing in the morning - the incident had been covered in-depth.
The important thing was that students were engaged in literacy. They were actively reading and responding in writing. They formed opinions and expressed them in writing. They were "engage[d] in decoding, encoding, interpretation, and analysis" and "technology and sociality [were] intertwined" (Lewis and Fabos, 2005).
The very first act we completed in this Masters' program, as I recall, involved signing up for an AIM account. It has served us well. I often begin my UConn assignments by checking my Buddy List and sending a greeting to a few colleagues. I have also relied on the communication process to inquire about class expectations or problems/questions I may have about a task. AIM has really served as "the maintenance of social relationships" since we have had limited face-to-face contact with most of our colleagues (Lewis and Fabo, 2005). The IM exchanges have helped me to complete my assignments, feel connected, and stay on top of information flow.
2 comments:
John,
It's interesting how the gossip travels through the IM world.
I agree with you that IM has been such a help in collaborating with classmates on projects or just venting. I don't know how I would have survived without it.
Wow what a grapevine of chatter! Amazing what happens these days with IMing. Interesting also to note your singling out of 'engagement' as a key element in literacy. I think this is the greatest challenge for teachers in general, to find ways to engage students with subject matter. From our readings, I get the sense that most all the researchers agree that the means are there to engage students, now it's up to teachers and researchers to find their way, through the myriad of means, to seek newer ways to engage students in active and meaningful learning.
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