Journal 6-- Feeding the Trolls

Richardson, K.W. (2008, May ). Don’t feed the trolls Using blogs to teach civil discourse. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved July 31, 2009,http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues/Volume_35_2007_2008_/MayNo7/L_L_May_2008.htm

This article spoke about how educators need to help their students define and practice civil discourse on the Internet through modeling appropriate behavior and explicit overt instructions on the correct way to engage with people online. ‘MOOse Crossing’ an online interactive learning environment for kids ages 9 to 13, is often cited, as they employ language that any age student can understand, for example “don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t say at recess”. The rest of the guidelines that are mentioned are essentially the same rules one would use for a face-to-face discussion, such as speak about ideas not people, don’t name call, and respect the opinions of others. She ends the discussion by stating that it is especially important for teachers to teach civil discourse, as it is an important skill for the citizens of a democracy to understand how to disagree civilly.


Is it really important to teach civil discourse as a specific lesson?

Like all etiquette, civil discourse is important to having a peaceful environment where our students’ work can respectfully and cooperatively together. The teacher should definitely speak about the proper way to interact online just as she shows them the proper way to act in the classroom. However, I think children are pretty smart and already know that calling people names in a virtual world is just as bad as doing it in the real world, and thus she doesn’t need to spend that much time in this arena.


How will I achieve this in my classroom?

While I will obviously inform them of the ‘rules of the road” in the beginning, I think that modeling the proper behavior and having consequences for the students who don’t have the correct manners and rewards for those who do, is the most efficient way to teach this concept.