Journal 6 – Don’t Feed the Trolls (NETS 4)

Richardson, Karen W. (May 2008). Don’t feed the trolls: using blogs to
teach civil discourse. Learning and Leading with Technology, Retrieved
July 27, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/
Publications/LL/LLIssues/Volume_35_2007_2008_/
MayNo7/L_L_May_2008.htm

With many teachers turning to weblogs for reasons such as reducing paper usage, keeping historical documentation of work, having the ability to link to related and supporting documentation, and for the ability to improve and document collaborative learning, this author stresses in this article a different reason for using blogs. This author advocates the use of weblogs as a tool for teaching middle and high school age students the art of civil discourse. As a foundation of a democratic society, civil interchanges are an important tool for learning about others’ ideas and opinions without resorting to put-downs and angry responses. Weblogs aid this through their ability to document discourse. This documentation creates a history that is missing in verbal discourses which allows the blogs to be used as teaching tools for improvement of discourse language and technique. Her article gives guidelines for good civil discourse through a review of rules of behavior, ways to put the rules into practice, encouraging self-monitoring in order to develop an internalization of responsible behavior, and have teachers model good behavior and provide opportunities for students to reinforce positive habits.

Question 1: Is this a useful article for younger students?
Answer: Although the content of this article is intended for older students, the basic rules are applicable for all students. The golden rule that younger students learn is equivalent in that they are taught to be respectful of others. This article just elaborates on these ideas so that older students can learn to deal with people who aren’t just peers in a controlled environment but also with strangers who may not have any respect for their youth and inexperience.

Question 2: How can I incorporate this article’s information into a primary grade classroom?
Answer: This article has some good suggestions for putting rules into practice: use “I” statements, avoid labeling, no name-calling, stay on topic, don’t respond to provocations and listen to others’ views. These are certainly good rules for any age.