Morse code. They would write a letter, go to a telegram office, and have
the employees use Morse code to send the letter. This analogy is false
because schools have never taught Morse code to write papers.
E-mail has not replaced carrier mail, but offered an enhance way to
communicate faster and easier with people. Yet, carrier mail still exist
because we still need to send letters and packages. Should we not teach
students how a post office works because it is considered obsolete?
From answers.com
Wiki = A collaborative website whose content can be edited by anyone who has
access to it.
Blog = A website that displays in chronological order the postings by one or
more individuals and usually has links to comments on specific postings.
I argued against having students use a wiki or a blog as the only means to
submit homework assignments if they do not know how to use a word processor.
Yet by the definitions I posted above, they don't seem to replace the
traditional word processor. A wiki or a blog relies on a totally different
means of communication. It does not replace real life document styles.
Questions:
- Do you feel that by ignoring their fallacies on a word processor would
make it okay if they do it on a blog?
- Would you send your students to college if they did not know how to 1.5
space, 1" margin, and set the typeface to a sans-serif typeface?
- Would you trust a high school student to help you with your finances on
the computer if they did not know how to make basic calculations on a
spreadsheet?
If we tell students, "Hey, since you don't know how to use a word processor,
you can submit your assignments on a blog." You take this philosophy, and
you bring it to the corporate level and government level. You would find
that students would not know how to create the organization's financial
statements on a word processor. You would find that student would not know
how to calculate basic expense and income reports because they don't know
how to use a spreadsheet.
A wiki or a blog does NOT enhance the communication of a research report.
The style of the wiki and the blog differ than a regular report written on a
word document. The wiki/blog offers alternative forms of the style of
information, but it does not replace the traditional styles everybody is
using today.
The computer replaced the typewriter in terms of the technology we used to
create documents, but it did not change how we create documents. How we
write cover letters, business letters, and reports still remain the same.
In the end, if you believe that a wiki/blog can replace a word processor and
spreadsheet knowledge, you should try to have a teacher tell students to
submit their papers on a blog. Multiply that by 80 students in one class,
and see if the teacher is happy with the outcome. See if the teacher can
make corrections to their grammar or composition on their blogs.
If we allow students to submit homework via blog/wiki because they don't
understand how to use a word processor, we are doing them a disservice.
Brian Lee
-
On 2/15/09 6:53 PM, "Greg Kearney" <kearney@tribcsp.com> wrote:
> This is clearly false, Do you or do you expect your students to know
> how to set type or transmit in morse code? Try and send a telegram
> today. These were once common skills of communication which are now
> all but extinct.
>
> Greg
>
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