tracEvidence

The recent posts from David Warlick (Toys and Tools), Bora Zivkovic (There is no need for a ‘Creepy Treehouse’ in using the Web in the classroom), and the article and responses from the article that spurred their posts (Wired Campus: When Professors Create Social Networks for Classes, Some Students See a ‘Creepy Treehouse’) led me to think about the term “creepy treehouse” in relation to the use of certain technology tools in the classroom.

In the article, Jeffrey R. Young states:

A growing number of professors are experimenting with Facebook, Twitter, and other social-networking tools for their courses, but some students greet an invitation to join professors’ personal networks with horror, seeing faculty members as intruders in their private online spaces. Recognizing that, some professors have coined the term “creepy treehouse” to describe technological innovations by faculty members that make students’ skin crawl.

I’m sure the vast majority of professors who are using these tools have nothing sinister in mind. I’m also sure, however, that some do, leading to the “creep factor.”

Granted this article is talking about college and university, but it does relate to the elementary classroom as well. As I’ve been trying to set up some ways to get students blogging and using the Web 2.0 starting in September, I now need to look at it carefully to make sure I’m not creating a creepy treehouse. I shudder at the thought that some students may find this “creepy”; I need to make sure that students don’t find this an infringement on their privacy.

I remember as a student, very much prior to computer technology, that any time I was asked to do a journal entry, I felt that that was an invasion of privacy. In fact, in grade 9 English, I remember being forced to journal for a set period of time each class. The teacher promised not to read the journal; she was only going to give a completion mark at the end of the year. I don’t think I wrote a single serious entry. Most of it was a very paranoid variation of, “Are you reading this, even though you said you wouldn’t?” (I’m sure that if she actually had read it, she would have referred me to a counsellor…perhaps, this should have happened, in retrospect!)

I think that this is why I have never really forced students to journal (although I haven’t given it conscious thought until now). When I have done journals, I’ve always given an impersonal prompt (a quotation, poem, or question to respond to, for instance) in case they don’t want to write about their life. However, maybe not doing journals with students is avoiding a valuable form of communication with students who would prefer to communicate with me through writing. This is something I have to think more about. I have a week!

I know that I will be aware of this as I embark on using blogs and other web-based tools in the classroom. I will also be aware of this as I re-embark into the academic world and start an on-line masters program, which I am sure will challenge my fears about journals and blogging.