Article Reviews Essie Mallonee Article #1 Avoiding the Digital Abyss ...

Article Reviews
Essie Mallonee
Article #1
Avoiding the Digital Abyss: Getting Started in the Classroom with Youtube, Digital Stories, and
Blogs.
REBECCA MULLEN and LINDA WEDWICK
In “Avoiding the Digital Abyss” Mullen and Wedwick explore the how the integration of
different technologies effects the classroom and classroom learning. The article begins with an
explanation of the digital world that we live in, and how important it is to use the tools and
resources that we have at our fingertips. There is “a digital divide that exists between teachers
and students” (66) and schools need to recognize this divide and do what they can to help avoid
it.
Mullen and Wedwick explore three different forms of technology that can be
implemented in the classroom: Youtube, Digital Stories, and Blogs. They recognize that there
are many different digital tools to choose from, but that these three are all user friendly and
apply to almost any age. Their study was conducted in middle school classrooms, but can be
related to both higher and lower levels of education. They start with the exploration of Youtube
as a teacher resource. Youtube is a video sharing website that allows teachers to access visuals
and video enhancements. Mullen and Wedwick use the example that the teacher in their study
was having difficulty explaining the meaning of nostalgia to her students. She asked them what
show they watched when they were younger, used Youtube to find a video clip of that show,

and the children began reminiscing about when they were younger and how much they
enjoyed that show. Thus she was able to spontaneously reinforce the meaning of a vocabulary
word through the use of technology. The problem that you run into with this kind of resource is
that it can be taken advantage of. Many schools, mine included, ban the use of Youtube
because of the abundance of inappropriate material. This should not be the answer, there
needs to be a way that teachers and students can use resources like this one.
The second mode of technology that they examined was Digital Stories. The students
used Digital Stories in replacement of writing assignments. They were still doing the same
amount of work, still had to do the research and the writing, but the end product was a movie
instead of a final paper. Because of the freedom that movie making provides, the students get
to individualize their assignments, and take more pride in their finish product than they would if
they were simply writing a paper.
The last forum that Mullen and Wedwick discuss is the use of Blogs. According to
Merriam-Webster (2008) blogs are “a Web site that contains an online personal journal with
reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer” (69). Blogs are mostly
used as a communication tool. It is especially useful for group activities so that results and
comments as a group can be posted in one place.
They conclude by reminding us that we live in a Digital world, and students need to be
taught how to use their technology to gain certain skills that will help them in their future
endeavors. These three mediums are all easy and simple ways that teachers can integrate
technology into their classroom learning to enhance the learning experience.

Article #2
Classroom Blogging: What is the Role in Science Learning?
ALISON SAWMILLER
In “Classroom Blogging” Sawmiller explores how the use of blogs enhances the
experience that students have in the classroom, and more specifically in science learning. She
begins by explaining the need for new technologies, such as blogs, in classrooms. She
acknowledges that the main problem is that “At home, students read and write electronically,
using computers, iPods, and kindles. In the classroom students read and write almost
exclusively on paper.” (44) Students at home are learning in this new digital age, while the
institutions where they are in the classroom have not caught up with societies technologies,
and are much slower to change their ways.
Sawmiller looks at the use of Blogs in science as a new way to do journal writing. These
journals are used to develop critical thinking skills, involving problem solving and self-reflection.
The most important aspect of the blog is that it can appeal to almost every style of learning.
“Students may be better visual, auditory, kinesthetic, social, logical, verbal, or solitary learners.
The best lessons are the ones that embrace the most styles of learning.” (46) The blog offers
ways to incorporate each style of learning, whether it is through pictures, podcasts, journal
writing, or conducting experiments. That way it is much easier to reach and try to relate with all
different kinds of students.
Although this study was primarily looking at a science classroom, the values of using a
blog can easily translate to many other arenas of learning. You can take the findings that she

had in her study and relate it to all different ages and subjects. This is an important technology
because it can be used anywhere. There are many different factors that could limit the amount
of time that students have in the classroom (Snow, flu epidemic, other illness etc.) and this
provides a forum for learning that can occur outside classroom walls. As long as a student has
access to the internet they can upload data and information to their blog and can stay in touch
with other classmates and the teacher.
Article #3
Why Do Teachers Not Practice What They Believe Regarding Technology Integration?
CHAO-HSIU CHEN
This article explores a different aspect to technology in the classrooms, and that is why
it is not implemented by the teachers. The study takes place in Taiwan, but the results can be
related to schools all over the world. Chen first had teachers show their beliefs to specific
questions pertaining to constructivist instruction, and then observed classroom activities to see
if the beliefs matched up with classroom implementation. He found that although many
teachers believe that technology is important to learning, and that it should be implemented in
the classroom, teachers often do not or are not able to act accordingly.
There were many different aspects that restricted teachers from using technology in
their classrooms. First there were logistical problems. Many schools do not have the resources
available. There aren’t enough computers, or the schedule is set up so that there isn’t enough

time to get to the lab. In Taiwan, the teachers do not have their own classrooms, but rather
rotate to meet the students, which cause them to not be as comfortable with their
surroundings. Another aspect that restricted their technology use was outside influences and
pressures. Pressures from parents for their children to do well on tests make the teachers feel
obligated to only teach what will make them successful on the tests. These factors are fairly
specific to Taiwan and the school that Chen was evaluating, but can be related to ones that we
have in our own schools. Parents put a great deal of pressure on administration to teach their
children what they think is necessary. Therefore it is often difficult to implement something
new without receiving complaint.
Another important aspect was that teachers are often not comfortable with the
technology itself. It is up to the administration to train teachers in these newer technologies so
that they may feel comfortable using them in their classrooms. This can easily be related to
schools that we teach in, because all teachers need to be confident in what they are teaching.
So many of these new tools are foreign to teachers, and they take time to get used to and feel
comfortable with. There needs to be time built in to helping teachers get familiar with new
technologies, and the reasoning behind needing to use them.
Article #4
Beyond Technology for Technology’s Sake: Advancing Multiliteracies in the Twenty-First
Century
CARLIN BORSHEIM, KELLY MERRITT, and DAWN REED

Borsheim, Merritt, and Reed explore the need to prepare and motivate students with
multiliteracies. Multiliteracies is “based on the well-established assumption that technologies
(including computers, cell phones, PDA’s, the Internet, and Web 2.0 applications such as wikis,
blogs, and other social networking sites) have impacted the nature of texts, as well as the way
people use and interact with texts.” (87) Using this teachers need to help students understand
different media as well as why different technologies would be used for different purposes.
There are many different reasons to use technology. Borsheim points out that using
media can increase the audience. Whereas a traditional paper will be read by the professor and
few others, using the media can help to broaden the audience which in turn forces the student
to take more time and pride in their work. Reed noticed this in her speech classroom as well.
Instead of just having the students write and recite their speeches, she used podcasts and
posted them to blogs so that they could reach members of the community as well as other
classrooms around the world. This increase in audience made the students take more time in
their projects and go through countless revisions, because they wanted their message to be
heard and they wanted to be proud of what they were accomplishing.
Merritt discusses the use of technology not just to teach students, but also as a teaching
tool for other teachers. She describes the use of wikispace as a place for teachers to collaborate
and discuss ideas. So not only are teachers using technology to better help their students, but it
can be used as a forum to help other teachers as well. It also bridges the distance gap. There
could be a teacher doing exceptional things with technology in California, and through
wikispace can be teaching exactly what they are doing to teachers in Baltimore, eliminating the

cost and time of going to a conference, it can be done digitally. The same can be said for
teachings around the world, not just in the United States, but all over the globe.
Article Review #5
Redefining Rigor: Critical Engagement, Digital Media, and the New English/Language Arts
Jessica Dockter, Delania Haug, Cynthia Lewis
In this article, Dockter, Haug, and Lewis explore implementing media-focused
curriculum. They had a number of goals that they wanted to achieve through this new format.
They used responses that students had from taking a documentary film course, but the
objectives could be related to a number of different subjects.
The first was to “allow students build their own understandings.” (419) Students need to
be allowed to explore and come to their own conclusions, rather than just accepting
preconceived notions. The second was to “allow students to collaborate in meaningful ways”
(419) They use the example of students making podcasts about subjects that were important to
them. Discussing the podcasts encourages the students to have meaningful discussions with
one another, and to really learn something about each other because their learning about what
they’re all interested in. The third goal was to “include authentic audiences and consequences”
(419) Just like a lot of the other articles have said, when you increase the audience size with the
use of technology, it forces to student to care more about the quality of their work. They take
more pride in what they are doing because they are sharing it with more than just a teacher.

The last goal was to “encourage critical and creative thinking through a high degree of rigor”
(419) They mention that the students not only had to critically analyze media but they then had
to produce their own film. This caused them to be more aware of what they were producing
and sharing with the world.
The students’ response to this project was a positive one. They felt that this was the
most intellectually challenging course, the hardest work they had, but also it was something
that they were proud of and they felt respected and more connected with their communities.
Although this relates more to the higher education of middle and upper school grades, it can
also be related to early education. Having students do simple research projects in science or
social studies, and then using podcast or digital stories to publish their findings, uploading it to
a blog or website so that family and friends can see the finished product could result in the
same feelings of pride and accomplishment that Dockter, Haug, and Lewis found with their
students.
References:
Mullen, R., & Wedwick, L. (2008). Avoiding the Digital Abyss: Getting Started in the Classroom
with Youtube, Digital Stories, and Blogs. The Clearing House, Vol. 82 Issue 2, p66-69
Sawmiller, A. (2010). Classroom Blogging: What is the Role in Science Learning?.
The Clearing House, 83: 44-48
Chao-Hsiu, C. (2008). Why Do Teachers Not Practice What They Believe Regarding Technology
Integration?. Journal of Educational Research, Vol 102 Issue 1, p65-75
Borsheim, C., Merritt, K, & Reed, D. (2008). Beyond Technology for Technology’s Sake:
Advancing Multiliteracies in the Twenty-First Century. The Clearing House, Vol 82 Issue 2, p87-
90

Dockter, J., Haug, D., & Lewis, C. (2010). Redefining Rigor: Critical Engagement, Digital Media,
and the New English/Language Arts. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Vol 53 Issue 5,
p418-420