Don't Feed The Trolls

Hey there!

This week I read the article Don't Feed The Trolls by Karen Work Richardson. This article is about actions and their consequences. Specifically referring to teachers disiplining and standing behind their words in the classroom for their students. We also want to encourage self-monitoring so the students can engage in self-regulation. "Incorporating blogs into classroom discourse and curriculum-based learning offers opportunities for students to evaluate and engage in civil discourse" (DFTT). 

The author of Don't Feed The Trolls is embracing blogs for a variety of teaching methods. These teaching methods include eliminating notebooks and linking more relevant material to their lessons rather than just citing it. As always, the educators who created this idea are wary because like anything else, this can be abused. Students are learning more and more about the internet and how to explore. This is great, but letting them 'loose' could allow for the students to go into social media sites and chat rooms rather than the designated material they are supposed to be working on. 

I like the 'Review the Rules' section of the article because this program is designed for students ages nine to thirteen to help them create writing and programming skills: "Most of the rules are just like rules for how to behave in the real world" (DFTT). This article is helpful because the thought of teaching students about technology is frightening because there is so much to learn. I feel that I am not an expert with computers and hope to learn more before I begin teaching students. ISTE is a helpful site that encourages us as educators to learn more while we teach. I feel there is always more to learn and because of programs like this, the possibilities are endless.

The section of the article 'Provide Opportunities' is very helpful because it explains how teachers can focus on these lessons and apply civil discourse to our current methods. "Helping our students come to a clear understanding of what kind of conversation sounds like will help them become more productive citizens who practice and promote civil discourse throughout the various communities-both real and virtual- in which they participate" (DFTT). Preparing students for 'real-world' events is a challenge in itself. We are not only their teacher, but their supervisor, counselor, and parent for most of the day. It is our responsibility to give our students examples of things that can happen in life after school, and hope they take the information and learn from us rather than have to see for themselves. I hope to be able to help my students with technology and prevent civil discourse and "...help students understand and implement the rules of the road for appropriate online interaction" (DFTT). 

Thank you for reading my blog post, I hope it was helpful!

Brianna Adair

Richardson, K. (2008). Don't feed the trolls: Using Blogs to Teach Civil Discourse, 35(7), (pg. 12-15). Retrieved from October, 7, 2013.