Electric Learning: New Reviews

3.5 inch floppy disks, Photo by: HNF

Technology is something that has always had to struggle in the classroom. Its ability to distract has been almost comparable to its ability to elevate learning. In the early 2000s I managed to convince my parents that I should be in the new 'laptop class' that was being offered at Mission Viejo High School. Back when one gigabite of storage was huge, and I busily burnt files CDs to free up space on my laptop, kids would play online games in class and 'tab out' when the teacher approached. Nowadays, kids have it easy. The devices are small enough to hide in a pocket and lock quickly enough that even if handed over to a teacher, that teacher will likely never know what was really going on. These are the thoughts that spring to my head before I remember that we made virtual portfolios and typed up papers in class. Now, I watch students grab a classroom Netbook and type together onto the same GoogleDoc, as they did during the writing lesson mentioned in “Teaching Creativity?” I've seen the unease that older teachers have with computers, but I question whether that is still warranted. In my English 457 teaching credential class at Cal State Long Beach, our professor, Dr. Hseih introduced a class on the various apps that could be used. After some struggling with my iPhone, one caught my eye.

Photo By: Amazon.com

Goodreads is a reading app. I use the website version to keep track of what I read and how I feel after reading something, but I'd never considered using it in the classroom. One of my classmates was unfamiliar with the program, so I described it as a rating website where one could rate a book (using 1-5 stars), tag it with genres, and write a review about it. I also mentioned that others can respond and like reviews. It has been some time since I've written a full review on the website, but I still get notifications in my e-mail every few weeks about people liking one of my old reviews. My classmate said that she'd had a similar experience with writing an Amazon review from “To Kill a Mockingbird” where she was amazed at the responses and how many people found her review useful. Writing a book review is by no means a new act, but the interaction is. It is satisfying to know that others react to our thoughts. Now the teacher can easily expand the exercise to the world, and the student can feel the real world impact that a good review can have. It might even lead to the student wanting to read and write more reviews. This might make students prone to criticism, but the Goodreads community tends to be fairly respectful from my experience. Also, the teacher can provide a checklist for what makes up a good review which should limit the amount of harsh criticism a student receives. It could also spark a class discussion about what criticism is and how it can be constructive. If the students link it to their e-mail, they'll get an update whenever someone likes or comments on their review. It might even cause a student to return to reading years down the road or allow them to examine how their thoughts change if they read a book again as an adult like having an electronic time capsule that others can interact with.