Critical Reading and Personal Reflection

I am no digital native.  In fact, last April I celebrated my 40^th birthday.  However, the impact of technology on my recent life and this blog are undeniable.  There have been a recent string of “firsts” for me concerning technology.  First, I wrote (actually talked) the first draft of this essay using the Dragon speech-to-text program.  The first draft was not perfect, but this is the intended outcome whether I type on the keyboard or now talk into the microphone.   A second technological impact on this essay is reading I have been doing for this doctoral course.  The first required reading for the course has been 21^st Century Skills:  Learning for Life in our Times by Bernie Trilling and Charles Fadel.  After purchasing an ipad, I went to ibooks and purchased this book.  I can now say I have read my first book on an ipad.  The book has certainly added to my depth of understanding about technology and there are connections to our second required reading that I will attempt to make.   The third major impact of technology on my recent life is that I can now call myself a blogger.  I have created several blogs to facilitate communication with administrators in my district.  The blogs have a different and more conversational tone making email feel more formal now. 

It is interesting that we have been asked to read a chapter about online youth authorship while I have been struggling with several of the same issues explored in the chapter, “Producing Sites, Exploring Identities:  Youth Online Authorship” by Susannah Stern.

The viewpoint that Stern presents in this chapter is important.  She intentionally moves the focus from what teens produce online to why teens are compelled to express themselves with personal sites (personal websites and blogs).  As Stern (2008) describes, “My goal throughout this chapter is to illuminate how we might broaden the terrain for discussion about online youth expression practices, so that our public and popular discourse about young people is more meaningful and contextualized” (p. 96).

The chapter has four important areas that are addressed.  First, what motivates young people to create personal sites.  Second, the audience for whom the young authors are writing.  Third, the factors that impact young authors’ choices about self-presentation are considered.  Lastly, the issue of self-appraisal and audience feedback is explored. (Stern, p. 99).   Reading the chapter by Stern through the lenses of technology, education, and society is very productive.  As an educator, it is important that we consider how schools might incorporate the tools and avenues that students may be using in their personal lives to enhance the educational experience.  The important 21^st century skill of communication could certainly be addressed by expecting students to write and reflect through a blog about important issues and topics.  Many of the goals we seek to reach in schools are being met by students through personal sites.  The chapter cites youth authors feeling ownership in their sites, learning by doing through site creation, expressive writing with an intended audience in mind, and self-realization through writing and reflective thinking.

Chimamanda Adichie describes the dangers of a single story in her TED talk filmed in July, 2009 located at:  http:///www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html

In education we often proclaim that each child is unique and has a unique story to tell.  Perhaps allowing the uniqueness and creativity of each child to be developed through a blog will be a productive avenue for his or her self-discovery and tap into the student’s motivation to participate with a “web presence” in a world that often overlooks the thoughts and ideas of the young.