CHAPTER 2--Where Should the Line be Drawn???

In chapter 2, I found that an engaging topic was the usages of RSS within the teaching of writing (21). Lets face it; students are generally highly engaged in computers and intricate programs that many teachers aren’t aware of. Therefore, I like how Hicks pushes the inclusion of having students create their own personal spaces online where they learn to safely engage with other students. I liked how he posed the four questions on pages 21-22 that allowed students to feel like their blog would be online for a purpose, relating to their lives and ideas. Some things I wish he had covered more are instances in which things could go wrong on the Internet. I understand that he mentioned how teachers need to teach students the safe ways in which to have their own Blogs. But, a reality is that things can go very wrong. Students could be talking to people they believe are their age and they end up to be people who have negative motives. As great as the Internet is, it is an extremely scary place, a very vulnerable place for young teens to be exploring without the utmost regulations. He only briefly mentions on how it can be dangerous. I think that there should be more descriptions on how to teach students this safety within this chapter. Hicks cannot assume everyone trained as well as he is with the Internet. Many of us aren’t. He also mentions that students could use these blogs as a new notebook for their work, choosing not to publish things publicly if they want. But, personally, I am against this. As a future English teacher, I want to conserve the little we have left of life without technology in my classroom when it comes to writing. This isn’t to say that I want to leave technology out of my classroom by NO MEANS! I think that technology is something that is a part of this generation and it would be foolish for teachers to not prepare their students for the life they will be entering. But, I believe that the blog idea could be used as a mini project one week to help students understand another form of writing. But, I believe students should still understand the beauty and purpose of a pen in their hand and a paper in front of them. Reading this book, I understand that he is trying to create amazing connections with technology in classrooms. But, I believe he should also keep mentioning the importance of not making technology the main focus of a classroom, especially an English classroom. The problem with making a blog the main notebook for a student is that they aren’t learning how to write enough. There isn’t enough room for mistakes. Spell checks pushes students away from learning more than it pushes them closer to it. As much as I believe that many of the things implicated in this chapter is beneficial to a classroom, I believe that, as an English teacher, there should be more mentioning of this being only a section of a classroom’s ways. Not the entire way the class should be ran.

--Kaitlyn