I can shamelessly say that I have not been this excited in a long time. Blogs, wikis, concept mapping- I am being slowly seduced by it all. The potential for enhancing learning across key learning components are endless. The more I read, the greater the anticipation and the clearer it becomes. This knowledege of web 2.o technology holds a lot of promise for our boys who struggle with reading. They love opportunities to explore, find out, to discover what lies beneath. Boys are kinesthetic learners, they respond well to visual images which stimulate their learning. Web 2.0 technology would definitely assist their reading development.
The urge to spread the news is really strong. I share my new found knowledge with my peers, many of whom have never heard of Web 2.0 technology. So go on and tell someone, this is too important to remain covered under the layers of many years of not knowing. Ignorance is no longer bliss.
The following article provides insightful information on how technology can assist struggling male readers.
Me Read? No Way!
Pickup, Kathy. (2001). Closing the gap: Educating boys and girls.
If you can’t feed a hundred people then feed just one
Mother Theresa
I agree with you Clevia, the knowledge of Web 2.0 technology does hold a lot of promise for boys who are struggling readers. Those same “struggling readers” are usually “techno savvy” and truly they are stimulated by visual images so things like concept mapping will “blow them away”. I have a “soft spot” for male learners and I do not like them constantly being compared to the female learner in a negative light. I believe that that negative comparison damages their self esteem. It is important to understand how boys learn and use the technology with which they are fascinated to enhance their learning.
ReplyDeleteHi Cleo
ReplyDeleteI am un total agreement, I am grateful for the exposure in some cases and the reminder in others of how beneficial technology can be in our classrooms. When we have access to technology we can do so much but sadly so many of our schools do not or just have limited access to the wonders of technology especially Web 2.0 tools, they are so creative and fun for all!