Close Commenting: An Essential Skill

Conversation snippit: see 2nd paragraph

Have you ever read a blog post, Facebook update, or online news article then scrolled casually down, only to find CONTROVERSY?  These are not only the liveliest but also often the most thought-provoking scenarios in my web-day.

Consider this post by John Spenser at Education Rethink, a blog which I follow with a critical eye. John is gutsy and writes exactly what he means to say. But do you think he thought that Do We Still Need Schools and Teachers (A Thought on Holes in the Wall) would elicit a series of responses from Sugata Mitra?  I have met with Mitra (in a living room in Maine...) and I am not surprised.  I am a bit disappointed that John did not extend the conversation more.

Another of John's posts (Facebook), resulted in a long discussion about the content of a math test question.  Although I agree with John on this one (he continues his own thoughts in a 2nd blog post), I have to admit that many of the comments gave me pause.  I have not yet done so, but it seems to me that by stepping back and re-reading these comments, I might be able to isolate a significant problem within k-4 math education.

We are talking about small pieces of text in a list, yet the above are examples of the type of discussion that we should require our students to engage in.  In fact, standards ARE requiring students to have these discussions.

Close Comments are comments that extend, critique, further support, refine or otherwise analyze a specific argument or element in a text (yes, this could be a media text).

Consider your local online newspaper - it doesn't have to be the Times.  On a good day, literate and intelligent readers extend the conversation begun in an editorial, letter or article.  On a bad day (at least in Maine), after reading the comments you might consider moving to another state.  Either way, close comments from readers propel you, the reader, to more closely consider the issues and information, and they might propel you to reread the original text or follow a link suggested by a comment writer.

Think about this: If we expect - require - students to write not just 120 characters but full paragraphs about ideas - as we now must do beginning in grade 3 - why do we not require students to fully comment on the online texts they read, review, or edit?

I have taken to closely commenting on Scoop.it content that does not merit wide dispersal without comment.  More often than not, someone responds to my criticism, often multiple people, and a conversation is engaged. Were I simply to rescoop a scoop, post, or tweet, I would not be entering a conversation.  By and large, sharing tools lead to a scatterplot instead of a conversation. This has its place, surely, in trend detection and trend creation, which are critical thinking elements, but it is not an action that develops an essential thinking skill for learning.

In contrast, Close Commenting is itself a critical thinking skill.  

Excellent comments generate conversation.

But wait - there is more.  As noted in this Dot Earth post by Andrew Revkin, commenting can serve a social, political, and even an ethical purpose. This is all educational, for the reader as well as for the writer. We can view "crowd-commenting" as a mechanism for issue groups to "build their online presence through more engagement in comments on articles or blog posts" (source). What is a student analyst if not an issue group of 1? Through the mechanism of a commenting conversation, that student will develop, refine, and adapt his ideas and their evidence. 

Imagine if student "crowd-commenting" (or comment blitzing, to use Revkin's phrase) were used to:

• analyze a film's use of visual imagery to develop meaning  (sample: respond to The Shining Code 2.0)
• debate, using textual evidence, questions such as "Who is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet?" (respond to anchor paragraph or essay)
• present evidence supporting a poet's use of imagery to develop meaning (respond to anchor essay)
• trace an author's development of character or POV using textual evidence (respond to a passage or short story)
• explain the use of fairy tale patterns in The Hunger Games (respond to film of HG or to an animated video of "Hansel and Gretel"...)

And so on.  

But this will only work if the comments are factually and logically accurate, precise, and complete.  Emotional, unsupported, or vapid commentary, which often crowd the Comment field, can be effectively drowned out by extensive and documented discussion pertinent to the issue at hand (not necessarily in support of the initial assertion, either).  

The educational value of Close Commenting goes beyond the value of blogging.  When we require deep, critical, commenting, and assess it, we build the skills of both writing and close reading.  It is an essential skill.

At any age or school year or subject, a Close Comment should have these elements:

• a specific reference to a key element of the text (the original text or a comment to which the student is replying), quoted and introduced correctly: __________ [or You] states/asserts/proposes/criticizes X/assumes/identifies X, "______________________.") - this demonstrates that student has done a close reading of the source text
• a transitional or introductory word or phrase, which should avoid using "I" (Another argument/example/interpretation - On the other hand - The opposite is true - etc.)
• a discussion or logical explanation of the validity of the point being made
• (optional) a concise summary of what has been said

Sound familiar?

How to?  Do not just ask a question.  You must provide analytical or informational or argumentative text to which students will respond (not creative text).  I personally like provacative science texts, cartoons, short videos (include ads) and "out there" interpretations of events or texts.  Make yourself a collection of these appropriate to your students and your school.

The space (real or digital) to which you post this text must have a reply feature.  The space must be visual in that all Comments and the reply thread are visible to readers. Some suggestions:

• Safe: 
• digital classroom - using a blogging platform to which students have been given accounts (such as Google's Blogger through Google Education, Kidblog or edublogs), use a private post to post a text - invite students and begin the conversation 
• digital classroom - using an ed.Voicethread account to which students have accounts, post a text - invite students and begin the conversation
• ditto Thinglink
• post text on large paper or paste onto poster board - student can respond on index cards and attach responses, maintaining the vertical alignment of online comments and with horizontal space for branching (replies)
• digital use a "brainstorming" platform (such as to create a web
• Less safe:
• Scoop an article (after you have created an account and a Topic for yourself), send students to the URL or embed your Topic elsewhere online, and let the conversation begin
• use any blogging platform that can be accessed through your school, post a text, etc.
• embed Close Comments in YouTube videos that have been posted to YouTube
• Badges:
• recognize the best student Close Comments by making them source texts or by posting them in some way - in your comment, point out what makes this an excellent example

There are other tools for Close Commenting.  If you have a favorite, let me know.  Other ideas?

6 Ways to Get an iAuthentic iAudience

source: Creative Commons license for Audience? http://www.flickr.com/photos/orkomedix/3675825944/

Demystifying jargon:

• An iAuthentic iAudience accesses an archived digital ("shared" or "posted") product.
• An iAuthentic iAudience is sustainable (made of "friends" or "followers").
• An iAuthentic iAudience is involved in a 2-way or many-way conversation.
• An iAuthentic iAudience includes knowledgeable stakeholders (educators, teachers, professionals, active students).
• An iAuthentic iAudience is larger than the student's school or class cohort.

Writing for an authentic audience is one focus of standards-based ELA and (more certainly) literacy curricula. There are good reasons for this focus. Here are a few quick links to ideas:

• Creating Authentic Audiences for Writing Students
• Where's the authentic audience?
• The Power of Audience

Student blogging is iAuthentic only if it is read. By and large, student work, unless sent directly to a specific, identified recipient (e.g. a congressman, a corporate leader), does not reach an audience of any kind. So what digital tools and methods will help students to find that elusive iAuthentic iAudience?  

1. It is important to begin with a visually engaging "adult" blog or wiki site. Select one that will support widgets and html coding. This leaves out some "safe" educational hosting services, so check carefully!  A test run (several false sites created by the teacher or a student that can be deleted) is a good idea.
2. Titles are important. Put a number in the title of every piece of writing (not Symbolism in lnnocent Eréndira, but 3 Key Symbols in Innocent Erendira Demystified).  Well over half of the reposted and rescooped posts written by educators begin with a number.  Also, use superlatives and shout-outs (your students must have amazing insights and excellent ideas).
3. Create a series of Scoop.it accounts, perhaps even one for every student 13 and over. Give these names that will attract adult and student readers (The Deep Analyst, Literature Lovers, Literary Detectives, A Problem in the Community). Scoop every student post. Read the scooped posts and edit to add tags (book titles, authors, "literary analysis", "persuasive writing", etc. - use terms from standards). Rescoop posts to other student scoop.its.  Make sure to add Comments and to reply to all comments.  The more views the better.  Finally, embed each Scoop.it used by the student or class into the blog sidebar, as I have done.  You will need a little .html coding to do this, but it is easy.
4. Work the RSS feed. Blogging services are so vast that the chances of student work being noticed are slight.  That is the reason for the Scoop.it connection. The larger and more obvious the RSS feed link is, the more readers will use it.  Students should, by the way, set up a feedreader
5. Tweet each post.  This can be done via a widget on most blogging platforms.  If there is not already a #hashtag under which student writing logically falls, create one.  Make sure students know how this works! You can even suggest hashtags on the blog sidebar (Check out A Great Twitter Cheat Sheet for Teachers, which, by the way, has been reposted...).  Students should have Twitter accounts (13 and over).
6. Teachers need to publicize student work. There is nothing wrong with reaching out to other teachers. Use your own blog, your own Scoop.it account, your own Twitter account (tweet a link to #comments4kids), a good professional community like English Companion Ning.  Put your writing projects out into the local community also - school websites, district news pages, local papers.  People like me get into the habit of responding to these requests for audience.  Teachers can use the Search function at most online communities to target specific readers (students can also do this).  

Don't want to blog?  ed.VoiceThread (or VoiceThread) and Google Docs are alternatives. Or publish student work to ePub or .pdf and make it available for download via a website.  Or use GoodReads, Shelfari, or Amazon to post student reviews.  It is also highly successful to email student work to targeted readers.  Many working professionals will respond.  Others prefer links sent in a text.  

Writing creatively?  Upload student work to one of the many reliable sites for student publication. 

Whatever platform you choose, remember that an iAuthentic iAudience requires a conversation - students must read and respond to the works of other students and they must respond to the comments and critiques of their readers. 

Blogsy + Posterous = LJ Cog

CC Safe Search source

LJ Cog is my new public Posterous space.  I will be using my iPad to post short thoughts, often on web text and tweets.  The first post is about the app called Blogsy as a tool for classroom use. 

This might be one solution to submitting files in an iPad classroom.  Posterous on its own as an app is probably not a great idea for the elementary and middle school classroom, as most spaces are public.  On the other hand, students should have the app in order to read the private spaces created by classmates - and hopefully by the teacher.  It is relatively easy to post from the iPad using Posterous alone - images are easily uploaded

This is the typical 1:1 conundrum, isn't it?  A good IT person in-house is becoming more and more necessary to guarantee that cost-saving mobile tools are used effectively.  

They will come

I opened a blog space for my next year grade 7 students. They don't know me. I don't know them. We are both a bit nervous. On "Step-up Day" I handed out a paper with directions for finding and logging into the space - and then the space address changed - I created a new space online and linked to it from my school homepage. Which is why teachers need accounts at free spaces, like Blogger or eduBlogs.

Slowly, they are coming. The wonderful thing is that the students who dip their toes into the water come back. I am having digital discussions about reading, about next year, about appropriate stuff. I have been gifted with poems and reflections. The school year has been extended by over a month.

Upside: I am working hard to be an alert and interesting teacher, digitally. One student and I have already begun to plan for a girl-in reading club focused on a new and tough novel.
Downside: I don't want to let these kids down. I am reading overtime.

Actually, that is not a downside, except of course that this is vacation.

But what better use of a teacher's time than teaching?