Friday, January 30, 2009

Journal Reading and Blogging Assignment-Chatting It Up Online

Chatting It Up Online by Pamela Livingston

 

         This article is about how now children have the opportunity to speak with the author of the books they read in class online. The author, Pamela Livingston, first discusses how classes find the chat they want to participate in and what they have to do in order to participate. Livingston then goes on to tell how the program was, and the details involved with the chat, such as rules, protocol, and etiquette, such as not using all capital letters (which is considered shouting in online chats). After this, she moved on to talk about her school's participation in the program, the pros and cons they felt, and their overall satisfaction level. After reading this author, I thought, why is it a positive addition to a child's education to allow them to speak with the author of the book they read? I feel that encouraging children to read is one of the best things a teacher can do, and I believe this program would greatly encourage children to read. Also, being able to ask questions to the actual author instead of just a teacher will help children further understand the reading. I also wondered if this program is available and affordable to every school, considering the cost of computers and Internet access can be costly. This program is a great idea, but I think there are many schools that do not have adequate funding in order to participate. I actually saw a commercial yesterday for a new donation program for schools, wherein the public can go to a website and choose specific programs at schools that they wish to donate to. This way people can feel like they are actually making a difference, instead of just feeling like they are paying taxes. Some of our taxes go to schools, but many people do not see immediate results that they would like, so this program allows them to see those results.

3 comments:

  1. it is great to be able to find a program that promotes reading. this sounds like a great way to get kids to know the name of the author and get interested in other book they might have written. this would be something that i would like to introduce in a classroom if the school that i worked at had the ability to have computers for the kids so that they could get interested in reading.

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  2. I read this article as well and found it to be very interesting and beneficial for all of us future teachers. You bring up a great points about the issues of budgets and accessibility. Not all schools have the same funding and some have greater opportunties than others. It would be awesome for people to donate to schools for this particular program (online chats) and see that they can make a difference!

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  3. As I commented on Natalie's post, it's always interesting to see another persons point of view. I also read this article and had many of the same reactions you had. One thing you brought up that I didn't think of was the cost and accessibility that a "lesson" and/or chat of this nature might entail for a school. I never thought of how costly an operation like this might impose on a school, I take it for granted the most schools have a computer lab and a tech team, but thats not always the case, and with the current situation of our economy, programs that might allow for events such as the one in this article, are being cut left and right. It's something to think about , rather than take for granted - I'm glad you brought that up! On the other hand, if you(your school) have the means of doing something similar to what Livingston did, by all means take advantage of the opportunity.

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