Comment Carnage

Many of us have witnessed an argument on social media that basically follows the format pictured above. Someone posts an emotionally charged opinion, someone disagrees, sides form, "experts" weigh in, people tell each other to mind their own business, the original poster claims their right to have an opinion... Let's be honest, we all know exactly how most of these showdowns will play out. And yet we keep tabs on them. We watch. We might even join in. It's the bloodsport of our day. And while I'm just as much a fan of watching social media gladiators go toe-to-toe as the next kinda chubby dude who's got nothing better to do, I can't help but wonder, is any of this productive?

As an ELA teacher, argumentation and persuasion are a critical component of what we do in the classroom. It hurts me to see that the tenets of good persuasive writing are not being utilized where they are most needed; on social media platforms.

One idea I have for integrating the use of technology in the classroom is to use comment threads as a vehicle for persuasive writing. Whether we like it or not, social media has redefined the way we argue. As an ELA teacher, I have a responsibility to teach my students to make argumentative claims that are supported by evidence and validly reasoned, and a (structured) comment thread seems like the perfect place to do this.

This use of technology in the classroom reaches the Redefinition level of the SAMR model because using technology in this way will redefine the way we teach argumentation in the classroom. There will still be room for lengthier argumentative pieces (the initial article under which the comment thread will take place), but for the most part, argumentative comments will need to be succinct and well worded. Gone are the days of the lengthy argumentative essay where there is little to no opportunity for discourse. This is an opportunity for technology to redefine how argumentative writing is taught.

In turn, the hope is that teaching these kinds of lessons will redefine the way our students actually argue online. Indeed the hope of any educational practice is that it will transfer to real-world application, but here we as ELA teachers have a chance to make a difference in a world that doesn't know how to disagree constructively. People in comment threads today are at each other's throats. Is this our chance to end the comment carnage?