Final+Examination

media type="youtube" key="JFbDEBNS7AE" height="300" width="400" Will Richardson talks about the future of education on YouTube.


 * Final Examination - Kenton Larsen**

Will Richardson's excellent book "[|Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts (and other powerful Web tools for classrooms)]" explains how teachers can integrate online media into their teaching to help students learn and be engaged - no small task, as any teacher knows.

As a college communications instructor, I can see how the online tools he talks about not only apply to my current situation, but that they're integral to its success. The big question: "How?"

As I read the book, I found myself nodding my head a lot - I've incorporated many of Richardson's resources into my advertising, public relations, and comedy writing classes, which I'll describe here, but I also see areas in which I can improve upon these activities.

As someone who attempts to keep up with the latest digital media and technology, I could also identify where some of Richardson's recommended tools have already been replaced by other online tools, and it was interesting to read his predictions in today's context. Example: Richardson imagines a tablet, which of course is now a widespread reality.

That the book came out in 2006 (the third edition was published in 2010) shows how quickly technology has changed and is changing, and how nimble a teacher must be in order to incorporate it into the classroom in a timely and meaningful way.

Richardson begins the book with a discussion about Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Web, who was recently honored at the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony. (Read the article in [|the Examiner].)

Berners-Lee's vision for technology is the very title of our class - "the Read-Write Web:" "Berners-Lee saw the potential to construct a vast "web" of linked information, built by people from around the globe, creating the ability to share not just data but personal talents in new and powerful ways." (Richardson, P. 1)

It's a theoretical idea championed by the public relations industry for years (in the industry, we call it "two-way symmetric" communication), but it took the Internet to make it come to life.

In his book, Richardson gives examples of how teachers can use the read-write Web to communicate, get and pass along information, create content, and encourage students to create content.


 * Richardson's resources**

What follows is a discussion of Richardson's resources (in his order), how I'm using them in my classroom, potential other ways I could use them, and the pros and cons of each:


 * 1. Blogs**

I've been a champion of blogging for years, though I admit that, as a writer, I arrived a couple of years late to the party. But as soon as I started blogging, I made up for lost time.

As Richardson says: "I will never forget the first time I posted my opinion, and the first time someone responded to it. There was something really powerful about so easily being able to share resources and ideas with a Web audience that was willing to share back what they thought about those ideas" (Richardson, P. 17). Amen.

I use blogs across the classes I teach: advertising, PR, and comedy writing. Students spend the first class setting up their blog, and I ask them to update it once a week. I give the occasional assignment (getting them started is important), but after a few weeks, they're on their own. I comment on their blogs regularly, though, so they know that I'm reading.

The students' blogs are individual, but they're connected through the CreComm Blog Network page here, which we use as a portal: http://crecommblognetwork.blogspot.ca/. In addition, the blogs function as a landing/launching pad to students' social-media presence.


 * Blog assignment samples from my classes (files are saved in Dropbox):**

1. Blog: []

2. Blog setup: []

3. Blog assignment example (be a media critic/theorist): []

4. Improving your blog assignment: []

I encourage students to use their blogs as an online filing cabinet and, at the end of their schooling, a comprehensive portfolio piece.

In Richardson's chapters on blogging, I particularly like his suggestion that teachers use blogs with other schools - in their neighborhood or around the world - to encourage discussion. It's an idea that I hadn't considered. I also find it useful to bring in a group of four experienced bloggers (of various backgrounds) for a panel discussion at the beginning of the school year.

For my students, the biggest blogging benefit is a chance to practice expressing themselves in writing in a public forum, which is something they'll be expected to do for their potential employers.

My colleagues and I have noted that students' writing skills have steadily declined over the past decade, and I see every chance to write as a chance to get better. I recall Stephen King's advice in his excellent book, "[|On Writing]": "Practice is invaluable (and should feel good, really not like practice at all) and...honesty is indispensable" (King, P. 195). Blogging checks both boxes.

The biggest downside to blogging, from a teacher's perspective, is that it's difficult to legislate students' blogging and commenting; left to their own devices without constant nurturing and egging on, I fear that there would be very little blogging being done. Even with the nurturing and encouragement, I note that most students didn't comment on each other's blogs in my classes last semester, and a couple of students didn't update their blogs at all - even with marks at stake. It's the age-old problem: how do you teach (or encourage) passion?

The other issue: the constant moan that "no one reads my blog, so why should I bother updating it?" The answer, of course: "You need to update your blog, so that people will read it."


 * 2. Wikis**

I've never used a wiki as a classroom tool, other than for the classes I'm taking myself at Central Michigan University.

So, I felt a little ashamed when I read Richardson's chapter on wikis and then came across this article on Smartteaching.org: [|50 Ways to use wikis for a more collaborative and interactive classroom]. Ideas include "virtual field trips," "exam review," "fan clubs," data collection, "adventure story," "school tour," and "teacher collaboration."

Clearly, there are many great reasons to use wikis: collaboration, resource creation, student participation, group projects, and interaction among them. "Journalism" is a key component of the program in which I teach and (although I don't teach the class) "classroom newspaper" is a particularly relevant suggestion.

Among Richardson's great suggestions: creating an online classroom text, lesson plan exchange, or class Wikipedia (Richardson, P. 61).

The strengths and limitations of using a class wiki are apparent when you visit our CMU class' shared wiki pages on http://edu653-1.wikispaces.com - the variety of fonts, colors, and formats (not to mention coding issues and broken links) can make for a disjointed read. In addition, the ability to edit and be edited can be a help and a hindrance. What if, for example, a well-meaning student edits a classmate's work, but makes an incorrect edit? And what if a student posts weak work, knowing that someone else will likely correct it?

Of course, if [|Wikipedia] founders would have listened to these arguments, we'd be missing one of the key sites on the Web. "No one person or even small group of people, could produce Wikipedia, as currently edits appear at a rate of around 400,000 a day. The extent to which this happens and to which it is successful is truly inspiring" (Richardson, P. 56 and 57).


 * 3. RSS**

As part of the blog assignments I discuss above, my students follow each other's RSS feeds, and I get them to download an RSS reader app on their mobile device.

Says Richardson: "I think it's the one technology that you should start using today, right now, this minute. And tomorrow, you should teach your students to use it" (Richardson, P. 70 and 71).

The difference between what RSS readers used to be and what they are now is stunning. For instance, I find [|Google Reader] to be a difficult way to enjoy reading my favorite feeds. What's better? My heart goes to the [|Flipboard] and [|Pulse] mobile apps, which turn RSS feeds into very readable social magazines and news tickers, respectively.

The upside of this technology is enormous: the ability to "read more content from more sources in less time" (Richardson, P. 72). In this age of "too much information" that's the real trick.

The downside of this technology is that you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink; students may subscribe to the prescribed RSS feeds, but that doesn't mean that they'll read them. Perhaps the thing that would make RSS readers most useful of all is the ability not just to read a blog, but to leave a comment on it. In my experience, it's important for teachers to "leave their mark" on the students' blogs as they read them. An RSS reader with a comment function would change the world.


 * 4. Twitter and social bookmarking**

I tweet, therefore I am. And I hope that it makes up for my lack of work in the wiki world, because with [|Twitter], I'm all in and so are my students.

From the time my colleague and I introduced this assignment three years ago, the site has exploded as the best way to answer, "What's happening now?" (even if Twitter itself has abandoned the question!). Perhaps surprisingly, about 50 per cent of my students (average age: 24 or so) on the first day of school reveal that they've never used Twitter. This changes by the end of the first week of school. As it now stands, Twitter is the go-to place for teachers and students in our program to communicate.


 * Twitter assignments:**

1. Twitter assignment: setting it up - []

2. Joke journal on Twitter: []

3. Twitter for small business (resource created by Twitter): []

The upside of using Twitter is enormous: I've used it for class discussions and networking (#journchat on Monday evenings is particularly good), for generating and testing comedy material in class, and to see what students are saying when I'm not around (ha, ha!).

Speaking of: the downside is that students have tweeted things they shouldn't have, including a student who thought she was sending her husband a private message when, in fact, she was telling everyone (including her teachers) that she was skipping class. The other issue with Twitter (and all social media) is the tendency to at first be afraid of sharing, which - months later - becomes "not afraid to share anything."

I haven't yet used a social bookmarking tool in class, but I plan on introducing [|Scoop.it] (website and app) this coming semester. Similar to [|Delicious] and [|Instapaper] ("read it later"), Scoop.it lets you publish online magazines by curating content (social bookmarking?) on the topic of your choice. [|Read the article on my blog].

The benefits, again, are collaboration and the ability to collect, curate, and share - for students and teachers. The alternative is information overload.


 * 5. Flickr**

Photo-sharing is part and parcel of being online - so much so that my students don't appear to think about the idea of sharing images online as something separate from "social networking."

Generally speaking, photo-sharing is easy and part and parcel of running a blog. Apart from reminding students to "post a photo with every blog post," I've never needed to make photo-sharing a separate assignment - it's happened organically.

As Richardson says, "The easiest place for teachers and students to begin experimenting with creating and publishing content other than text is with digital photography, a technology that is becoming more and more accessible every day" (Richardson, P. 101).

[|Flickr] is where Richardson and I part ways, although it's only fair to point out that his book came out before there was an [|Instagram] and pretty great digital-phone photography led by the iPhone.

Instagram, of course, is the photo-sharing website that Facebook recently bought for a cool billion dollars. [|Read the Mashable article].

Interest in Instagram is booming: according to Mashable, Instagram already has 50 million users and is adding users to the tune of five million a week. [|Read the article].

Instagram has some advantages over Flickr: the ability from your mobile phone to very easily take and filter your photos, post them online instantly, and instantly share them with your friends on Instagram or other social networks. At its heart, Instagram is easier, more flexible, and faster than Flickr. However, Instagram's biggest advantage might be its "fun factor." Where Flickr is a photo storage site with sharing options, Instagram is all about sharing, liking, and commenting with storage as an afterthought.

For me, the other big advantage is that Instagram is free with no maximum number of uploads (though it's not currently possible to upload whole photo albums). Flickr caps users at 200 photos and then asks them to upgrade to a premium account. Knowing that I could upload the same photos to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook without charge, I would likely decline to pay for Flickr's premium service.

The benefits of photo-sharing in the classroom include the ability to create photo essays, presentations, and virtual field trips, provide visual elements to blog (and other) content, tag, and comment. The downside: oversharing, inappropriate content, and insight into students' personal lives (and vice-versa?) that might be better left a mystery.


 * 6. Podcasting/screencasting/streaming**

"The simple fact is that it has become much easier to create and consume multimedia as well as text and digital images" (Richardson, P. 112). This is the part of our class I was most excited to learn about, mostly because I'm a podcast junkie and had never before recorded my own.

I'm grateful I had the chance to learn [|GarageBand] and to find out how easy it is to record one. I'm at three and counting - and I'm looking forward to submitting it to iTunes in the near future, alongside my podcasting comedy heroes Adam Carolla, Bill Burr, Greg Proops, Marc Maron, and Joe Rogan.

I will put this knowledge to good use at school: my college's radio station recently discontinued its broadcast license (the details are murky), which means that podcasting is among the best options to replace it. It's unfortunate that students will no longer be able to broadcast on traditional radio frequencies, but I'm optimistic that podcasting skills are the more forward-looking skills, since you can no longer imagine an invisible audience listening; instead you've got download and streaming stats and "marketing" becomes the much-needed partner in crime.

I intend on working with the radio instructor on implementing a podcast component to the course in which she teaches the technical recording aspects of podcasts, and I teach the marketing and advertising aspects. The good news: "About $100 and an Internet connection is all you need to start doing regular radio shows with your students" (Richardson, P. 115).

My college is setup for live video streaming from its state-of-the-art TV studio. We haven't used streaming very much in the past, but I intend to make full use of it this year for live streaming from student presentations and award ceremonies. I've also recently downloaded the Ustream, viddy, and Bambuser apps, which allow anyone with a smartphone to live stream video.

Also underrepresented in my curriculum: screencasting.

I think my students could do some excellent work on [|ShowMe] (my experiment):

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And [|Educreations] (my experiment):

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The downside of much of this technology is that it's becoming more and more necessary for everyone to own an iPhone and iPad. On a student budget, that is not always a possibility. However, I can't help but consider how great it would be if our communications program could provide each student with an iPad on the first day of school.

"Our ability to create and share multimedia in more and more transparent ways is only going to continue to expand...publishing to an audience can be a great motivator for students. Podcasting, videocasting, screencasting, and...live-streaming TV are all great ways to get student content online" (Richardson, P. 129).


 * 7. Facebook/Ning**

Our academic semester started memorably last year with a visit from the college lawyer, who more or less banned teachers from being friends with students on [|Facebook]. Other social-media websites? No problem. The main issue, as far as I can see, is the word "friend."

My school is far from the only one that has made this decision. Nonetheless, I believe it's a bad one. Students can find ways around any social-media bans ([|Read the article in the New York Times]) and I believe it's a teacher's duty to show "appropriate use," especially in a communications program. To ban it, I think, only makes it more alluring.

Richardson says: "The key to...these sites for educators is to move beyond the friendship-based connections and really explore the potentials of the networked, interest-based learning that's possible within these frames" (Richardson, P. 132).

Among the benefits of Facebook are creating a strong online class community, sharing information, and collaborating. However, if one's school doesn't allow it, what's the solution? Could it be [|Ning]?

Before this class, I'd never heard of Ning. I was looking forward to experimenting with it, but you begin to be charged for using it after a 30-day trial. [|Edmodo] - a Ning competitor - is available for free. Like a Facebook for the classroom, I've found Edmodo do be very easy to use and a great way to meet other teachers. The issue is getting students used to using a site other than Facebook - they're not accustomed to visiting Edmodo and are inherently suspicious of anything that's described as "the Facebook for (blank)."

In my class, since I can't use Facebook with students, I generally use it for discussion purposes: What is Facebook's responsibility toward its users? Personal data? Is freedom of speech on Facebook a right? ([|Read the Foreign Policy article here].)


 * Conclusion**

The ongoing multimedia revolution is mind-boggling and ubiquitous at once. To ignore this revolution in school is to miss out on an incredibly powerful range of communication tools that allow us to publish, consume, discuss, comment, and collaborate. Our students will be using "the new media" in the workplace when they graduate, and it may look very different than it does today. We owe it to ourselves and our students to show them how to not only learn about the tools in this paper, but to be on the cusp of whatever replaces them.

Thanks for the class!


 * - Kenton Larsen**


 * Sources:**

Conlin, J. (Sept. 2, 2011). Students find ways to thwart Facebook bans. In New York Times. Retrieved Aug. 4, 2012, from [].

Jill, J. (2012). 5 Olympic opening ceremony surprises; Tim Berners-Lee, Mr. Bean shocked fans. In Examiner.com. Retrieved July 28, 2012, from [].

King, S. On Writing. Scribner, 2000, print.

MacKinnon, R. (June 14, 2012). Ruling Facebookistan. In Foreign Policy. Retrieved Aug. 8, 2012, from [].

Price, E. (April 9, 2012). Facebook buys Instagram for $1 billion. In Mashable. Retrieved Aug. 8, 2012, from [].

Taylor, C. (April 30, 2012). Instagram passes 50 million users. In Mashable. Retrieved Aug. 8, 2012, from [].

Unknown Author. (Aug. 4, 2008). 50 ways to use wikis for a more collaborative and interactive classroom. In Smartteaching.org. Retrieved Aug. 5, 2012, from [].

Unknown Author. (2008). The Future of Education in a Web-based world. In YouTube. Retrieved Aug. 7, 2012, from [].

Richardson, W. Blogs, Wikis, podcasts, and other powerful Web tools for classrooms - 3rd ed, Corwin, 2010, print.

@TwitterSmallBiz. (2012). Twitter for Small Business. In Business.Twitter.com. Retrieved Aug. 5, 2012, from [].

Assignment links included here are written by the author of this essay: Kenton Larsen.