Thing #5

I watched/read almost all of the suggested articles and videos describing and defining Web 2.0 and School 2.0 because I found myself having a hard time coming up with a concrete enough idea to encapsulate all of the facets and implications of the two phenomena. I really enjoyed the Wikipedia entry about Web 2.0 partly because Wikipedia is in itself a manifestation of Web 2.0 It was kind of a hot pocket hot pocket (for all of you Jim Gaffigan fans out there) because as I was reading the article I was simultaneously getting the concept. I also found the Horizons Report particularly illuminating because it gave real examples of various Web 2.0 application types and explained why they were a huge leap forward for interactive internet use as well as how each Web 2.0 tool impacted the education community. I appreciated how the report explained implications for students as well as faculty and discussed why it's so key for educators to keep abreast of Web 2.0 developments to not only stay in touch with their students but also to determine which developments can be used to facilitate learning.

To me, School 2.0 is the marrying of Web 2.0 tools with education. It is up to educators to view web tools like Flickr, YouTube, and the technology behind social networking sites like Facebook through a learning lense. Our students are already using these interfaces in their personal lives and are already applying them to school work as they research and create assignments. Teachers can take it one step further by actually incorporating the skillset that our students are acquiring into our instruction. If we allow students to use online learning applications that work in the same way as their favorite social sites and community intelligence databases, they'll be more likely to explore the topics we're covering in class. Creating class blogs, setting up online video tutorials, and encouraging students to publish their projects and papers online to receive peer feedback will help students become part of their class community and the world community. In localities where students do not have as much access to a diverse environment, travel, or global influence, this is even more important.

Schools of the future are going to have to embrace School 2.0 to keep teachers and students on the cutting edge. Schools should place technology at the top of their priority list in terms of budgetary allotments as well as in the training of their faculty. Students are often not only more knowledgable about emerging technologies but also more skilled in their use than their teachers. Because students today have largely grown up in a tech world they have an almost intuitive ability to flesh out a new tool. As teachers we have to make sure we are empowering ourselves to help our students by keeping up to date.

I also believe that even though Web 2.0 tools seemingly make the traditional constructs of classroom learning--one article even asserted that the internet has made books, libraries, and even paper obsolete--schools of the future must continue to remember the importance of a good teacher and in-person human interaction as part of the learning process. Technology will never replace teachers, but great teachers can become even better if they embrace the School 2.0 concepts.