Response to "Is Education 1.0 Ready for Web 2.0 Students?"

I think I will leave this class in April boiling with excitement. This will be due to the great changes and possibilities the class will most likely bring to my attention. This article was perfect at introducing the reason why this class will be so engaging and necessary as we enter the classroom.

Web 2.0 is vastly different than what the world has ever been exposed to. It was exciting times when the internet became available to anyone with a hook up. Anyone, anywhere could access almost any kind of information. But with web 2.0 we have entered a whole new realm of exciting times. Now we can not only access that information but provide it.

Although the article talked mainly of post-secondary institutions, my mind was making connections to K-12 as I read. I think many teachers to day view technology (especially Facebook, Blogs, portable devices ect.) as a distraction in their classroom. As time goes on it will not only be logical, but will be necessary to turn to the newest technology as a teaching tool.

I believe that a main goal of education should be to teach students skills and competencies to help them in the real world. Students have an endless amount of resources at their fingertips. In the near future it is likely that a Social Studies class will focus less on the details of WW2 and more on teaching the skills needed to find that information.

As students and teachers foster this relationship with technology it seems ridiculous to ignore the aspects of Web 2.0. Much as teaching something helps a student achieve deeper learning, providing information to the world can assist in their learning process. Many of the schools in our area use Moodle as an online tool to connect with students, but how much quicker would a student see a teacher post if it was on Facebook, or a school blog? Sites where a student would likely visit multiple times a day.

There are some obvious restrictions to this and it will take some time to reach this level of comfort with technology. But I think that it is important, especially as young emerging teachers, that we do not shy away from the internet, specifically Web 2.0 as a teaching tool.

http://innovateonline.info/pdf/vol3_issue4/Is_Education_1.0_Ready_for_Web_2.0_Students_.pdf