That title from one of last year's articles comes to mind along with questions and concerns I have about infringing upon the rights and rites of our students as we try to impress them with our knowledge of technology. I do not mean to imply that they have the exclusive rights to technology, but I do cringe at the idea of using their apparent need for constant interconnectedness as a tool for learning. They frequent MySpace and Face Book and an intruder, such as myself, often cringes at the things they dare share in a public forum. When reading such information, I constantly remind myself that I am not the intended audience. The fact that many have requested and accepted me as a "Friend" indicates that they feel they own those arenas and that they can write on them without fear of criticism. That, I feel, involves a certain amount of trust, trust that the "friends" are not the critics, that they will not impose their lessons of grammar and moral judgements.
They write without being prompted. Does their love for posting and tagging translate to a love for blogging? Must they blog? Is this our version of finding them where they are and taking them (reluctantly) where we want them to go? They do not enjoy blogging! Blogging, for many, has the same effect as being in a book club has for others. Like many, I like to read, but being in a book club was not as enjoyable, because the rules changed. I had to finish books by a certain date, articulate an opinion.
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My husband TAs at UW, and he's on Facebook (I am not). We talk sometimes about this -- whether it's OK, and whether it's wise, to be "friends" with students in these online circles. It can become an ethical question. His regular policy is only after the end of a class: yes to former students, no to current ones. I think this is part of the reason I don't have (and don't want) a Facebook account: I like relating to my students face-to-face, and I'm very uncomfortable navigating digital "un/friendships".
Good point, Joyce! I am a book club flunkie twice over! Just couldn't do it! ;)
Good points. Do we want to ruin this type of writing by imposing ourselves and our writing instruction on them in this venue by addressing it in class? I say let nature take its course, give them a foundation in writing in our classes, and leave them alone to enjoy internet technology and to write outside the classroom on their own. We don't really need to see this to find where they are. As for becoming friends, my rule is that students must be graduated before I allow them to be my friend, and even then, I think carefully over it. I do caution people to be careful of what they share. By the way, I have never belonged to a book club, and I am not sure how I would do reading in a structured setting such as that...deadlines and such. Hmmm....
Hi Joyce,
Good points. I'm not sure if students hate blogging or not. I'd say that with anything if it is done for a class, for school, there will be those that do hate it and there will be those that accept it as what they are supposed to do for the class. Perhaps we can look at degrees of hate. Would students rather write a standard analytical response and old school journaling or would they rather blog it out? What would they hate less? I like what Don said about laying down foundations for writing. Students can and will explore how to write on the web on their own. If teachers want to incorporate it into their lessons, great, because I'm sure many young teachers, and some of us older ones too (but not too old--still good lookin' you know)will incorporate technology into writing very naturally. It will happen.
I also have had the same cringing experiences when I have seen what some of the students place on their MySpace pages (or even text messages). I understand that comfort level, where the students feel at ease. But, that mentality of feeling safe and posting things to sites (even though they feel "safe") can be quite the opposite. That content is there out in Cyberspace forever. It can be quite damaging. I have had that discussion with some of my students, and many still feel that it's not a big deal, just MySpace.
I like the connection you make between facebook and tagging, Joyce. I never put it together, but they stem from the same impulse to publish, to make one's mark in a tangible way. Astute point, per usual.
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