Discussion

A reader writes:

I use Blogging and Wikispaces in my middle school social studies classes. It has been wonderful. The students seem to bite into the assignments and discussions with much less resistance.

Yes, and I think the key thing here is that they bite into the DISCUSSIONS. Many people harbor the idea that technology makes kids less likely to participate vocally in class; but my experience has been EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE.

I think part of it has to do with the fact that they are able to quickly have facts and figures at their fingertips, so they don't have such a fear of being 'wrong'. Having an immediate connection to Wikipedia actually gives the students more confidence to speak their minds.