Article Assessment #2: Richardson, The Read/ Write Web

Richardson, W. (2006). The Read/ Write Web. Retrieved November 28, 2009 from www.corwinpress.com/upm-data/10848_Chapter_1.pdf


Overview

In "The Read/ Write Web" Will Richardson discusses the evolution of the internet from a primarily one-way platform to a collaborative tool. Richardson considers the earlier internet one thtat focused on reading, while the current version of the internet balances reading with writing, the consumption of content with the production of content. Richardson discusses specific examples such as Howard Dean's use of blogging in his 2004 presidential campaign, and the use of blogging in language arts classes. He lists the tools of the collaborative internet including blogs, wikis, RSS, social bookmarking, online photo galleries, and audio/ video casting.


Reference Points

• The original intent of the internet, according to the people who created its early structure, was to make a collaborative environment.
• Students today are not only readers and writers, but editors and collaborators of online content.
• There is an important distinction between publishing and managing information. Anyone can publish information online, but it takes a more critical mindset to manage information effectively.
• I would like to begin using wikis and social bookmarking with students.
• I would like to learn more about the Children's Internet Protection Act, and research effective filtering practices. Overly restrictive practices take away much of the collaborative nature of the internet. Anyone who doubts this should try working behind a filter that blocks all blogs and Google Images.
• In the first video, Richardson calls writing on the internet "connective writing". I like this way of thinking about the difference between writing that stays in the classroom and writing for an online audience.
• Richardson also says we "read as editors" online, taking information from less polished posts.
• Richardson says, "I don't save anything on my hard drive anymore," and adds that he posts everything online to facilitate collaboration. This seems to be an exaggeration; it is hard to imagine he wrote a book through an entirely transparent process. This form of exaggeration misleads people who look to Richardson to help them understand how to use the current version of the internet.
• Richardson quotes Clarence Fisher, who speaks of "thinly-walled classrooms". This metaphor sounds better than the more commonly heard "classrooms without walls". Some walls are important, but recognizing the need to go beyond them is important as well. Fisher's phrase captures the balance we should all be after.

Reflection

At first I found little of significance in this article. The internet has become steadily more collaborative over the last five to ten years, so many of these concepts are not very new. It was interesting to rethink the long history of the internet, however. At its beginning the internet was fully collaborative, fully read/ write, because everyone using it knew how to share content. As the audience expanded, many new users started out as "read-only" users. So the "evolution" towards a read/ write web is really a return to a more level playing field for most users.