The internet can help students develop a respect for cultural diversity by allowing them to create connections with different populations. In The Case for Cultivating Cultural Awareness, author Lyn Hilt describes seven Web2.0 based "connected learning initiatives." They are: the Flat Classroom Project, Around the World in 80 Schools, My Wonderful World, the Global Read Aloud Project, Skype in the Classroom, E-Pals, and Kiva. These internet connected activities can help create a sense of global awareness among students as they can connect and develop relationships with other students around the world. I see these activities as being particularly useful in isolated, rural communities that would otherwise not have access to other cultures.
Blogging can also play a role in helping students connect to the wider community. Weblogs are viewable on the internet which means that bloggers are also producers of on line content. Also, since blogs frequently reference and link to other blogs and internet sources, they facilitate growth and extension of new knowledge and understanding about a given topic. The commenting sections of blogs change how authors must organize and plan their writing. Comments from readers require bloggers to consider diversity among the opinions of the readers. It requires more than just journaling or espousing personal beliefs. Commenting and author participation lead to a sharing of ideas and beliefs. Through this form of “connective writing” (Richardson, 2010, p. 28) blogging has the potential to facilitate the growth of new knowledge and cultural understanding of diverse populations.
Differentiating instruction is an important topic for me personally. I’m in a crowded, on-level 6th grade social studies classroom. Smith and Thorne (2009) offer convincing evidence that this age group is particularly diverse in their physiological and emotional development. I’m witness to this every year. Some 11 year olds look and act like 3rd graders, while others are as physically developed and mature as 8th graders. If there is a particular time in a child’s life when diversity should be considered it’s at the 11-12 year age range. Fortunately, I have a co-teacher in the classes that have students will special needs. Almost every one of these kids are granted extra time and resources. To me IEP's and a supported classrooms encapsulate the argument put forth by Dave Edyburn in Failure is not an Option. Fairness occurs when students get what they need. Fairness is not “everyone gets the same thing.” (Edyburn, 2006, p. 23)
Fairness for the other kids, those not identified as having special needs, is another issue entirely. There is an extremely wide range of skills, attributes and abilities among students in “on level” classes in public middle schools with 30+ students per class. I’m interested in learning more about how I can diversify to meet the needs of this majority. In Preparing Students to Learn Without Us, Richardson suggests that allowing each student to create his or her own “personal, self-directed learning” (Richardson, 2012, p. 26) is the best way to diversify and differentiate. He provides examples of how blogging, RSS feeds, and Google Docs are assisting in this personal learning process. As always his suggestions are interesting and forward thinking. Unfortunately, they never feel applicable to me. His examples almost always refer to private schools or schools in other countries. He frequently references conversations he’s had with other thought leaders or edubloggers - more people to whom public on-level classroom teachers like me are unlikely to feel any connection. While it makes for fun reading, Richardson's suggestions omit “obstacles that present themselves in classrooms of all levels, such as unruly behavior, self-centeredness, dysfunctional family situations that affect individual students and those around them, copious assessments, movement to other classes, and various interruptions from P.A.” (Smith & Thorne, 2009, p. 38) Indeed, diversifying for the majority is a real challenge that I’m still wading my way through in my 4th year as a 6th grade public school teacher.
References
Edyburn, Dave L. (September, 2006). Failure is not an option. ISTE (International Society for Technology
in Education). Retrieved from
https://kennesaw.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/456068/fullscreen/10046450/View
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Publishers.
Richardson, W. (2012). Preparing students to learn without us. For each to excel, 69 (5), 22-26.
Smith, G. & Throne, T. (2009). Differentiating instruction with technology in middle school
classrooms. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/docs/excerpts/DIFF68-excerpt.pdf
Blogging can also play a role in helping students connect to the wider community. Weblogs are viewable on the internet which means that bloggers are also producers of on line content. Also, since blogs frequently reference and link to other blogs and internet sources, they facilitate growth and extension of new knowledge and understanding about a given topic. The commenting sections of blogs change how authors must organize and plan their writing. Comments from readers require bloggers to consider diversity among the opinions of the readers. It requires more than just journaling or espousing personal beliefs. Commenting and author participation lead to a sharing of ideas and beliefs. Through this form of “connective writing” (Richardson, 2010, p. 28) blogging has the potential to facilitate the growth of new knowledge and cultural understanding of diverse populations.
Differentiating instruction is an important topic for me personally. I’m in a crowded, on-level 6th grade social studies classroom. Smith and Thorne (2009) offer convincing evidence that this age group is particularly diverse in their physiological and emotional development. I’m witness to this every year. Some 11 year olds look and act like 3rd graders, while others are as physically developed and mature as 8th graders. If there is a particular time in a child’s life when diversity should be considered it’s at the 11-12 year age range. Fortunately, I have a co-teacher in the classes that have students will special needs. Almost every one of these kids are granted extra time and resources. To me IEP's and a supported classrooms encapsulate the argument put forth by Dave Edyburn in Failure is not an Option. Fairness occurs when students get what they need. Fairness is not “everyone gets the same thing.” (Edyburn, 2006, p. 23)
Fairness for the other kids, those not identified as having special needs, is another issue entirely. There is an extremely wide range of skills, attributes and abilities among students in “on level” classes in public middle schools with 30+ students per class. I’m interested in learning more about how I can diversify to meet the needs of this majority. In Preparing Students to Learn Without Us, Richardson suggests that allowing each student to create his or her own “personal, self-directed learning” (Richardson, 2012, p. 26) is the best way to diversify and differentiate. He provides examples of how blogging, RSS feeds, and Google Docs are assisting in this personal learning process. As always his suggestions are interesting and forward thinking. Unfortunately, they never feel applicable to me. His examples almost always refer to private schools or schools in other countries. He frequently references conversations he’s had with other thought leaders or edubloggers - more people to whom public on-level classroom teachers like me are unlikely to feel any connection. While it makes for fun reading, Richardson's suggestions omit “obstacles that present themselves in classrooms of all levels, such as unruly behavior, self-centeredness, dysfunctional family situations that affect individual students and those around them, copious assessments, movement to other classes, and various interruptions from P.A.” (Smith & Thorne, 2009, p. 38) Indeed, diversifying for the majority is a real challenge that I’m still wading my way through in my 4th year as a 6th grade public school teacher.
References
Edyburn, Dave L. (September, 2006). Failure is not an option. ISTE (International Society for Technology
in Education). Retrieved from
https://kennesaw.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/456068/fullscreen/10046450/View
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Publishers.
Richardson, W. (2012). Preparing students to learn without us. For each to excel, 69 (5), 22-26.
Smith, G. & Throne, T. (2009). Differentiating instruction with technology in middle school
classrooms. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/docs/excerpts/DIFF68-excerpt.pdf