What Do You Think?

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Writing Out Loud

Good writing and references to the “cannon” remind me of the power and the beauty of reading and writing – and why I became a librarian in the first place.  The Power, the Truth & the Immortality of Words

It has also started me thinking about  communication on the interactive web – ranging from email, to forums, to blogs, to Twitter etc..

We teach expository and creative writing in English class all the time.  How much do we teach about communicating in public?

My questions:

  • Are we teaching students how to communicate effectively ONLINE?
  • Are there writing conventions that we should be teaching to increase the quality of that discourse?
  • Do we teach students how to express their ideas in a compelling and succinct manner?
  • Do we teach students how to express disagreement/dismay/disgust respectfully through powerful language, free of expletives?
  • Do we teach kids the power of using common  literary & cultural references in their writing outside of English class?
  • How many teachers give students the opportunity to practice these skills authentically through blogs and such?

At the risk of being a curmudgeon, when I read the opinions posted on YouTube et al, I despair for the fate of rational discourse in the internet era.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, specific units taught in your school, opinions on how to keep internet communication civil and meaningful, references to articles….anything you would like to share with me – and the small number of folks that wander into this blog now and again.

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The Power, the Truth & the Immortality of Words

I was struck today by this week’s Time Magazine Inbox.  Referencing an article about our corporate/economic meltdown, Vicky Brago writes:

The villains in this saga are not sorry. Almost 70 years ago, C.S. Lewis wrote that “the greatest evil is not done in those sordid dens of evil Dickens loved to paint but … in clear, carpeted, warmed, well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices.” Never before has the truth of his words been so apparent.

To be able to write like C. S. Lewis……  You can feel, see – almost touch – the cold & seductive evil described in those words.   There is a reason why we read the “classics”.

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Literacy techniques – the same for print and online?

I feel like the teenager left out of the party right now. Everyone is at NECC – and I wish I were too. Oh well. Maybe someday I too will go to the ball 🙂

Meanwhile – I am out here thinking on my own. And as usual, I need help.

All good readers have developed reading techniques to help us through difficult text. Scanning for headings and subheadings, interpreting context when encountering unfamiliar words, etc. What about online? There are lots of articles about evaluating resources on the web. I am looking for a list of tools that will help students make quick but informed decisions while navigating websites. Are there techniques that can be used?

We ‘traditional” readers are used to reading in a linear fashion. How does this work in a hyperlinked environment?

I am not sure what I am looking for here. Certainly, I would like to find some good research articles/ studies on how people approach a website. From these studies, articles, blog posts etc., I would like to develop a list of techniques that I can emphasize when teaching our students.

Some techniques I am thinking about:

  • Scan the whole page before clicking anything.
  • Locate the navigation helps on the top and the sides of the page.
  • Locate the “about me/about us” link. If it is not there – go on to the next site.
  • Look at the address so when you click a link that takes you away from the site – you are aware that you are “not in Kansas anymore”.
  • Know how to click those ruby slippers and get back home quickly.
  • Other ideas?

Please help me out here folks. I need to make a vague idea concrete.

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What we have here is a failure to adapt

Hopefully Paul Newman will not charge me for the title of this post – a take-off of his famous line in Cool Hand Luke.

I was shocked to read Will Richardson’s post today. I’m glad that he does not ascribe to the new AP pricing rules for quoting – or I would owe him money:

$12.50 for Five Words

That’s what it’s going to cost you to excerpt in your blog any content published by the Associated Press under it’s new pricing structure.

With a little more searching, I did discover a discount for educators. We would only owe $7.50 for quoting 5-25 words. 

What’s next? Charging students to use quotations from AP in their research papers? Might happen if any of said research papers should end up on the web.

Come on – figure out a way to make the web and web 2.0 part of your business plan. How are you going to police the Internet? Isn’t it better to figure out how to gain from your reputation as an authoritative source? I would think that bloggers quoting and linking to your sources would create a buzz, bringing more business your way. Get creative and realize that “You’d better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone.” How much do you think I should pay Bob Dylan for using that quote?