friday yoga

It is, of course, a gift to have a conference available at all times. I did, however in this case, struggle to find a presentation that really spoke to me. Most, from the keynote to the “Prove it” category, merely brushed the surface–the presenters discussed why we as teachers should be looking towards modern technology (web 2.0) as an effective teaching tool for our classroom. As I felt I was already convinced of this, the presentations I looked at weren’t as informative as I had hoped. (I also believe that web 2.0 is a wonderful resource, but shouldn’t be the only tool used in the classroom, particularly for the younger grades. I was admittedly a bit squeamish about young students spending so much screen time to “develop their writing skills.” See: Kathy Cassidy’s “We like our Blogging Buddies: The Write Stuff  with Blogging Mentors.” Just as much, if not more could be achieved “off-line” and would also help the child to develop his graphmotor skills, which as I understand, is directly related to a student’s fluencly in writing. –Although, admittedly, for students with a disability in this area, the blogging could be an effective tool.)  Then, I clicked on “Using Argument Role-Play to Foster Learning to Argue and Arguing to Learn in a High School Composition Class” as presented by Richard Beech, a professor of English as the University of Minnesota. The lecture is only in audio; however, it is quite informative and includes many useful ideas for devising role-playing assignments that will foster what he calls students’ “rhetoric of significance” and “rhetoric of transformation.” In his lecture, Beech argues that the students are more likely to respond to an “authentic audience” rather that writing in a “rhetorical vacuum.” Beech suggests using online discussion tools such as Mootle or Ning; he also mentions online games that are available to encourage debate and the development of opinions. Other websites he recommends are: an Ink Game for pursuasive writing, Debatepedia, Debate Graph, and Opposing Views. Beech advises that students must learn to create hyperlinks to eachother’s work as well as to websites to which the writer is referring, i.e. “mulitmodality.” Additionally, essential to each role-play activity, according to Beech, is the need for a space for students to return to themselves and reflect on their experience–what they’ve learned from the activity, thus developing their “rhetoric of significance” and “rhetoric of transformation.” I’ll be sure to refer to his blog, Teaching Literature to Adolesents for more ideas and research results.