Week 2 - Blog Posting #3 - Media Literacy

The Gever Tulley video we watched for class this week got me thinking about how much we coddle our students (and children in general) today.

When I was an elementary/middle school student back in the early 90's, I went to a summer school run by my local school board that was vaguely similar to Tulley's Tinkering school. While more structured in curriculum, it was similar in that students were given the responsibility of using tools and equipment to build and create items. In my summers at this school I carved a wooden duck, developed black and white film, built a bird house, made a leather-worked wallet, and crafted a stained glass ornament.

My education background is in Visual Art, so I am extremely aware of how impossible it would be to get permission to do most, if not any, of these projects in a school today. Tools like soldering guns, glass cutters, wood carvers, and saws have been taken out of school programs to "protect" children from injury, as well as protect schools from lawsuits and make parents feel their children are safe. We now seem to take anything away from children that could have even the potential of hurting them if used incorrectly.

This ban on physical tools in schools is much like the ban many of my classmates have noted is going on in schools with virtual Web 2.0 tools. In an effort to protect children from online predators or questionable content, schools and parents have moved towards banning anything related to Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is filled with content and tools that students need to be able to use for their future careers. It's also composed of resources that teachers can use to better reach their students. Despite all this, many school districts, parents, principals, and even fellow teachers would have us ignore this technology for fear of it injuring our students in some way.

My thought is this: instead of trying to shelter our students from perceived (often overexaggerated) threats, why don't we give them a structured education on how to use this technology safely? At the summer school I attended many years ago, the instructors gave us detailed information about how to use physical tools safely. They also demonstrated safe use, gave us real informaton about the dangers of misuse, and supervised us to make sure we were using the tools correctly. At some point though, my summer school teachers gave us students enough credit to know that we would do our best to use their lessons and work safely.

Instead of banning Web 2.0 services outright, why not instead give our students the education they need to use these services both effectively and safely? Websites like Orange Safety's section on Web 2.0 and this slideshow on talking to students about online safety issues show how we as teachers can provide an environment that can take advantage of Web 2.0 technology, while also teaching our students to us this technology in a way that doesn't put them at risk.

Tulley's video showed students who, when given the responsibility of using "dangerous" tools, did not use them irresponsibly and instead created fabulous creations like boats, rollercoasters, and treehouses. Just imagine the creations we are currently holding our children back from creating by limiting and banning their use of Web 2.0 services.