Item #15

I really like the way some of the Wikis are being used between classrooms worldwide. It's like the great-great grandchildren of pen pals. When I was in second grade, I became friends with Erin D in New Jersey and we wrote back and forth for years. This is like an international, instantaneous (except for time zones) classroom full of pen pals. I think at some point cultural sensitivities will have to be taught in school (perhaps along with anti-bullying training) so that students can get the most from their collaborative relationships.

There are some fantastic uses of technology, but what I saw reading through the flat classroom project was mainly that students have the ability to demonstrate their understanding and learning in different media. If a student can articulate (or link to) information, then others don't have to repeat the information but can build on it.

My main question is: How do you determine when an individual student has internalized the content and fit it into his own personal framework? At what point can we stop testing students for recalled facts and start testing them on synthesizing information and use of logical thinking and accurate fact searching?