I think…

I took my second year class to see a production of “A MidsummerNight’s Dream” in Edinburgh the other day and,  if ever I needed proof that my stumble into social media was beneficial to the knowledge and understanding of our children then I was handed it on a plate. Only twenty five of the fifty kids I had with me had actully read the play, I gave them very little assistence while doing so and watched as their understanding unfolded on their wiki space. In class they could navigate their way around the characters and the diffeernt plot lines and became quite fluent in “Shakespeare speak” busilyily working away at tasks of all natures: discursive, analytical, imaginative, historical all the time aware that anything they did could be seen by others the world over.

In the theatre that day I was asked whether wikis did truly make a difference. As the curatain went up I got my answer as twenty five pupils led the other twenty five through the play with astounding knowledge and conviction. “Now you see she loves…but…” and “What they mean is…” and “Well now that’s because…” resonated in muffled whisphers around me with nods  of agreement and gasps of excitment following.

On the bus afterwards one kid summed it up beautifully, “Here Miss, I was sitttng next to Anna, I reckon she knows more about this play than even you.” The small smile that crept across my face before I turned and sat down was simply my way of saying “yes, she probably does.”

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