iGoogle (response)

I'm finding it interesting to see which students are able to look at this project as open ended and which are still stuck on the more traditional way they typically do research projects. A few kids want to come up with a thesis and then look for research to support it. One kid loves hockey, so I encouraged him to read about hockey (as a business). He said today, "Well, there's only one hockey rule that I find controversial, so I don't think I want to focus on hockey." What? Researching to FIND a thesis (much less a topic) is surprisingly new for some kids. Research (as they see it) is what you do to SUPPORT an answer you already have. It's the filler that teachers require.

Interesting!

Next week, I'll say a little more about google reader, show them how to find blogs, and then give them time to play around. I want to get the class pioneers off and running so that they can hopefully bring others along with them. Let's keep in mind that for some students, senior paper ALWAYS requires some pulling of teeth; we're just getting it in October rather than in April. As kids start to find topics they like, I think they will race ahead. Until then, it will be slow going.

Again, just imagine if they'd been using Google reading since 9th grade. If there home page WAS an iGoogle page with a news feed or two on it, they might actually read the news now and then...and we will have succeeded in changing the culture!