I am taking a web publishing course with WVIZ Teacherline. An article entitled “Children Should Be Seen and Heard” by Judi Harris and Stuart Reifel was part of the discussion. You can find the article in April 2002 ISTE, Vol 29, #7. (see link to article below)
Dr. Harris speaks about four dimensions of expression in her article: Speaker, Idea, Contend/Focus, and structure. At the time of her writing, text and language art skills were mainly the focus of what the web could offer. Podcasting allows the literal expression of the speaker to covey content/focus and structure. With the addition of video to the equation, a content consumer can see as well as hear.
It is important to note that technology had not evolved for podcasting when Dr. Harris authored her article in 2002. It would take another four to five years for people to examine RSS feeds and see that audio and now video can be handled in that format. Now that the time has passed and technology has evolved, its time to push the concept spelled out in “Children Should Be Seen and Heard” to the next logical level.
I was asked to respond to the following prompt:
In any learning activity you conduct, how do you consider the four suggested dimensions of expression (the speaker, the idea, the content/focus, and the structure) in your classroom? How would include your students voices in a Web site project?
With the explosion of Web 2.0, the abilities that the web can offer truly seem endless. I have often stated in my podcasting workshops and academy that I believe “Technology has evolved to the point where communication is no longer limited by geographical boundaries; rather, communication is limited only in the ability to find a like minded audience.” Successful communication platforms like podcasting, blogging and recently the rise of social media concepts like Twitter are built upon the fundamental belief in my quote. The “listener” must choose to opt in to hear the content and will choose to “change the channel” if they are not interested.
Consider the power to impact a child’s educational development when they begin to have the power to broadcast their voice, content and points of view in terms of a global audience. Not only can students broadcast, but they can and will be judged on the quality of their four dimensions (either consciously or unconsciously) by their listening audience who then can choose to respond the student in nearly real time.
Students are very heavy media consumers. The mobile lifestyle that has emerged within the last few years has perpetuated student’s exposure to all types of media. The coming revolution in the mobile phone industry is going to insure that students will have no shortage of access to media and more and more often it will be on demand and in real time.
Podcasting should be examined within the confines of the school to allow students to broadcast their ideas, create content and develop an identity within the global discussion. It is no longer responsible to allow students to learn these skills in isolation or through personal interest. Students should be trained and be comfortable in this new environment. Students have a natural curiosity to want to create, and it is only logical that they will desire to create in the media formats they are exposed to as information sources.
Give children a voice and ownership of their creative abilities and allow the to withstand the social critique of their productions. Over the course of time students will refine and polish their work using the skills learned within the classroom because they desire to build their audience of their ideas.
Dr. Harris, thank you for allowing me access to your article and being able to reference it on this page.
