Most schools do not allow Wikipedia to be used

I believe that presented in the correct way to students, that wikipedia can and should be used as valid source of information. This is why: In the text book Literacy 2.0 Reading and Writing in 21st Century Classrooms by Nancy Frey she provides two examples of how if done correctly teachers can actually teach students how to determine whether or not information is valid or not.

She gives the example of a teacher Margaret Santori who uses wikipedia to build students' understanding of discussing ideas and show them that disagreements can arise during these type of discussions. Santori shows the discussion that took place on T.S. Elliot's wiki page and even though people who were adding information disagreed with each other, they did it civilly among themselves. By show students this example she was able to demonstrate an expectation she wanted for class discussions.

Would you use Wikipedia like Margaret Santori with your students? Why?

Frey, N., Fisher, D., & Gonzalez, A. Literacy 2.0: Reading and Writing in the 21st century classroom. Solution Tree Press, Bloomington Indiana, c 2010 ISBN: 978-1-935249-80-1

Teachers and Students using cell phones to text information to each other about a class?

A photo by edesignpics on Flickr.

I think texting between teachers and students about a class is acceptable as long as it is at a professional level. In fact, I do it now in a program called Healthy Active Lifestyles. This fitness program has no seat time so I utilize wiki’s and websites to get information to my students. I found that texting them assignment due dates and where to get the assignments has been really effective. What do you think?

Good CNN video called Teacher vs. Texting. Talks about a school who is piloting a program that issued cell phones to students to use during class.

Educational Gaming

is a game created by MIT and the Smithsonian Institution for students ages 10-14.5. They have created senarios where environmental disasters have happened and they need help. Students race against time to solve
games, puzzles, and other online challenges. This would be a great game for students to simulate real world situations and have to use problems solving skills. The only problem is that only 10-14 year olds can participate. If you are interested in this education game click on the either picture to take you the website.

The NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies

The NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies