research, research and more research

As I am doing the readings this week about I'Ming, I realized something. With our technology changing as fast as it does, it is hard to keep the research current and it consistently needs to be updated. Lewis and Fabos was written in 2005. They brought forth much information about the social network including the "new" language that has emerged. However, so much about technology has changed. So I decided to do some informal research of my own. I had a discussion about instant messaging with my sixth graders(honest audience). I asked for a definition and got various responses but in general it is a social tool for them to use with their friends. I asked them if they could see using IM in relation to our class. The look on their faces was priceless. The quote was "Ms. O'Brien I could never see myself I'Ming you." I asked why? The consensus was that i'm is a social interaction they have with friends and that to have that interaction with a teacher just didn't seem appropriate. The discussion then turned to the fact that they would much rather email me than im. The reasoning was that they could edit the email where im is spontaneous and they fear that they may say something wrong. They had no problem with email or a wiki or a discussion thread that would be school related - they however could not see im as a part of the educational process. They also brought it back to me. They stated that it would be an imposition for me to have to be online at a certain time for them to IM. However with email I could check it at any time and answer their questions at my discretion. I brought up the fact that IM in education would not have to only include me. I asked them if they ever IM a friend about a group project or a homework assignment. They said always - I said that brings IM into education. So while they do not want to include me into their social network (whew) they do now see IM being a valuable tool of education.