Dear Kaia
"Dear Kaia" is a blog set up and run by Jabiz Raisdana, but is presented from the view point of his daughter Kaia. Kaia and Jabiz live in Qatar, but their story is pretty remarkable in terms of its possible connection to 21st century technology and education. The story begins on the "Dear Kaia" blog. Jabiz had been reading The Last Child in the Woods and wanted his daughter to experience nature in a meaningful way. He and Kaia decided that they would go on a nature walk near their home and document the things they saw with their digital camera. The walk and subsequent photography were later compiled into a photo essay on Kaia's blog, which is where things start to get interesting.
Mr. Chamberlain's Class
Mr. Chamberlain's class was taking part in a comment for kids project and they came across Kaia's blog and photo essay. Despite the fact that Mr. C's class was in Missouri, they were able to make connections with Kaia across geographic and cultural lines. They posted comments, but quickly heard back from Jabiz (via Skype), who informed them that Kaia cannot really read and comprehend their comments. The class then decided to create a voice thread presentation of their comments and send them back to Kaia. Of course, the entire thing turned out to be a huge success that started to gain some notoriety.
The Intrepid Teacher, and What it All Means
As Jabiz says on his blog , he was really blown away with this whole experience. He is quick to point out that Kaia still cannot really understand the importance of what she has been a part of, but no doubt as she gets older she will grow to appreciate and draw from the experience more. He does point out that he has some trepidation about having his daughter make connections with people over the internet, and having them post pictures of her in their own youtube videos.
On the surface, this story could be passed off as being an insignificant encounter on the internet. Just a few pictures of a nature walk were shared, but this I feel signifies what is becoming a major shift in the Educational paradigm. These people were able to share ideas and experiences in a way that would never be possible without technology. Everyone involved with this story learned a lot. What I feel is most interesting too, is that Kaia was able to actually ENJOY the learning process. By sharing her learning experience online and getting such positive feedback, she will no doubt begin to foster a love for learning, and not only that, but a love for learning that includes technology. As far that the privacy issues, I believe that as long as parents, mentors, and educators do a good job of showing their students/children how to properly surf the net for information and connections, they can remain safe.
On the surface, this story could be passed off as being an insignificant encounter on the internet. Just a few pictures of a nature walk were shared, but this I feel signifies what is becoming a major shift in the Educational paradigm. These people were able to share ideas and experiences in a way that would never be possible without technology. Everyone involved with this story learned a lot. What I feel is most interesting too, is that Kaia was able to actually ENJOY the learning process. By sharing her learning experience online and getting such positive feedback, she will no doubt begin to foster a love for learning, and not only that, but a love for learning that includes technology. As far that the privacy issues, I believe that as long as parents, mentors, and educators do a good job of showing their students/children how to properly surf the net for information and connections, they can remain safe.
No comments:
Post a Comment