Educators are becoming very aware of the push for technology within the field to accomplish various objectives; but are we really ready to internalize its induction and use into our specific contexts? What are the benefits/ challenges? Is there resistance? Why? Is this a disruption to our system? Is disruption "good" or "bad"?
These are some of the questions that may come up when the topic of technology and education is approached. As we move more towards a technologically driven world (both social and professional) it is important to consider these issues and, more significantly, converse about them.
PSSC has taken a little "disruptive" step in using technology to narrow the gap between its members and the academic community. We have now a blog spot for our members to get together to talk about issues that are important to them. Blogging has become important in both the personal and professional contexts. Blogging provides an accessible virtual space for conversations that become enriched as different voices and perspectives join in to deepen discussions on topics of interest. It takes the social interaction component and merges with scholarly practices of building knowledge and understanding. As our members are spread out throughout the state and may not have access to engage in valuable conversations with colleagues, we provide a space for such endeavors.
Our aim is to also have our members interact with members of the higher education community to contribute to the conversations and share diverse voices and perspectives. As a PSSC member and participant of the blog, you will have access to various resources, links, videos and commentary posted by blog administrators, other PSSC members and others who follow and participate in the blog discussions.
Blogging is a fairly straightforward and easily accessible forum which offers great opportunity to communicate virtually. As the PSSC blog site grows, so will the community and the resources. We believe this is a great way to reach out and talk about the issues that are important to all of us.
We hope to see you around our new virtual space and hope you become part of our interactive discourse community.
Below are two articles that relate
to blogs and virtual spaces that can enable valuable interactions and
conversations about pertinent issues to the education community. What are your
thoughts on spaces such as this for engaging in academic discourse? Would
spaces like this be adaptable in k-12 settings? What are the benefits and
risks? We look forward to your comments
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES Blogs and Wikis: Environments for On-line CollaborationWhy We Blog (click on the pdf, or htm tab to access the article)
*If you
encounter any problems accessing the links, please contact project director
Stephanie Cardona at smc1046@psu.edu
