When I think of Web 2.0, I think of connections. And whether you are visualizing those connections by looking at a representation of a del.icious or Flickr network, it is all about linking to people, and the multiple connections that one can initiate through the click of a mouse.

Linking to people gives you access to conversations, ideas, resources and an enormous potential for personal growth. Anyone involved in this understands that.

If you are an educator, being connected within the world of Web 2.0 puts you in the minority. Teachers and administrators have been slow to embrace the power and potential of Web 2.0, but that's no surprise, given that the adoption of more traditional technology has been less than optimal.

So where does Web 2.0 fit into education? Does it fit?



When people ask me about the role of technology in education, especially as it relates to integration (a word I wish we wouldn't use-integral might be a better choice), I often relate my three fundamental beliefs about what makes technology an integral part of teaching and learning. Here is my framework:

First, the technology use should support a fundamental literacy that the school or organization believes in.

Second, the use of that technology must extend the lesson, or learning, to a place that could not be achieved unless the technology had been included. In other words, there must be a value-added component to the inclusion of the technology.

And finally, the use of technology must be framed within a pedagogically sound instructional approach-without that, the first two are meaningless.

So, with those three ideas in mind, I've got some questions...

Given that framework, what are the fundamental literacies that we believe in? Are there new literacies? Has school leadership sat down and said "You know, it's no longer 1974 and the world is changing, and our kids need new skills. What are they, and what is the best way to teach them?" What exactly does it mean to extend the lesson to a new place, given the context of the tools of Web 2.0 and what those tools can bring to a learning landscape? What's the new place these tools can take us to? And given all of this, how must pedagogy change to put learners in the center of learning and not on the periphery? What new approaches are required, what must be discarded and what must now be embraced? The environment of Web 2.0 presents some enormous challenges, and to make that environment a mission-critical part of the education that prepares kids for today and tomorrow will require an enormous rethinking of much of our core beliefs and practices. Is it any wonder why educators have been slow on the uptake?

I believe that the literacies that we've always held to be a part of learning are still important, and just as critical. But they're not enough now, not in today's world. There has to be more, and we need to closely re-examine what we do, and redefine how we do it. Here are my four essential literacies, within the context of today's networked information world that Web 2.0 supports, that I believe to be essential for kids today.

Be able to connect. Not just to classmates. Not just to the teacher. To authors, to scientists, politicians, and to other teachers and kids, with the understanding that these individuals are important to personal growth, and that you can be just as important in theirs. Use these connections to understand the world view of others, and learn how to forge and develop mutually beneficial relationships that lead to cooperation rather than competition. Use the same connections to distribute you, your creativity, and what you represent beyond the walls of the school. Understand that learning is no longer, or does not have to be, limited by time and space, by brick and mortar, so go global, go 24-7, go 365.

Be able to create. Not posters, not PowerPoints, not some absolutely silly brochure on the tundra, but some serious digital content for posting on the platforms and networks of Web 2.0. Create content and products by mashing up the work of others into something new, and then have the expectation that others will do the same with your content. Create something and make it available for all-and allow the world to recreate it, amplify it.

Be able to communicate. Not by writing for the teacher, but for the world. Not to give a notecard-driven speech in class, but to develop a podcast, screencast, or vodcast for the world to hear or see. Write in a blog and actively contribute to someone else's perception and thoughts by commenting in theirs. Communicate not for an audience within four walls, but for an audience without walls.

Be able to collaborate. Not only with classmates, but with "classmates" in other states, other provinces, other countries, other continents. Use the power of wikis to collaboratively create content with individuals who have the same interests. Be a life-long contributor.

Your school may have these as viable expectations for students already. But how many schools have these skills as expectations within the context of Web 2.0, directly supported by Web 2.0 tools? Sure, we ask kids to collaborate and communicate, but is how we do it now reflective of how it can be done, should be done, and needs to be done? How many schools have teachers that can step away from the center, step away from how it's always been done, and be a connector or catalyst, and help to create a new learning culture with these tools? And how many administrators even understand what the tools are?

Is there absolutely any doubt that the four skills I have identified above will be necessary for success? Is their importance not blatantly obvious? And yet we focus on what has always been....

And that's sitting in a classroom in a row of fellow students with paper and pencil taking notes while listening to the one source of content currently available and then living within the expectation that the content will be returned to the content provider in a paper, bubble-in format for grading in a machine, with a nice, tidy pink score printed on it.

It doesn't have to be that way....

However, do we realistically believe that schools will embrace the use of these tools, especially in the United States, with its emphasis on its NCLB/AYP/CIPA/NCIPA/DOPA mentality? Do we realistically believe that teachers and administrators believe we need to go in this direction, with an emphasis on these types of skills? Is Web 2.0 a hopelessly square peg in a round educational hole?

It doesn't have to be that way....

I'll leave you with one question, which I hope to get at least 25 responses to. Please take a few minutes to write several sentences.

What has been the impact of Web 2.0 tools on your school, your teaching or on your kids, at this point in time?

By David Jakes

From TechLearning.com

• ‹ previous
• 117 of 155
• next ›