the inevitability of web 2.0

At this point, I am sold on Web 2.0.

OK, so maybe I'm not sold on it. There are many things I still have reservations about. At the tender age of 38, I am a self-proclaimed "fuddy duddy". I'm uncomfortable with the amount of information out there about us that is available at the touch of a button and I'm uncomfortable with the quality of a lot of the information out there. I don't want to be on Facebook (how ironic that I'm blogging about all of this). I like my privacy. That being said, I do think that there are a lot of good things about Web 2.0 and it is the world that we are living in.

Between this week and last week, I really have been astonished at the tools available to us (online and free for the most part). As a case in point, the timeline sites that we looked at were every bit as good as software like Timeliner. I used this software at the middle school and no longer have it available at the high school but now I can use a site like Timetoast easily. The resources that have been given to us in the syllabus plus the resources people have posted on the discussion board and in the Diggo account are phenomenal. I plan on going back and revisiting all of them in depth when the class is finished as well as rereading some of the articles.

I still do believe that technology is just a tool and choosing the right tool is crucial, whether it is a blog, ning or pencil and paper. I also believe that time constraints become more and more pressing. Every year it seems that we are expected to do more and more with less and less time. As educators we need to continue to ask for the time we need to explore new options and technologies, collaborate with other education professionals and plan quality lessons.

I also believe that as our world grows smaller through technology and the amount of information available grows exponentially, we need to do a better job of educating students on issues like cyber citizenship, privacy concerns and the importance of evaluating information. We need to continue to grow and change right along with the world we live in.

lots to think about

This week's links and articles really got me thinking about all of the resources out there to utilize in the classroom. Just when it becomes overwhelming, I think about the TPAK model and striving to choose the correct tool for the educational outcomes we want to achieve. In fact, I'm meeting with a teacher tomorrow to try to revamp a project we've done before, using Web 2.0 tools: the first thing I'm going to talk to her about is what the ultimate goals of the project are in terms of what she wants the students to learn and demonstrate and then we'll take it from there.

A few thoughts on some of the different tools we've been talking about:

Diiggo- I'm really impressed by this social bookmarking site. I like that it allows you to not only bookmark sites but read and highlight and annotate. I'm also interested in the slide presentations that you can do with it. I'm going to have to spend some more time working with the site. As far as the Elluminate session went, I wasn't too sidetracked by the chat going on, I just ignored it. I've taken several webinars (using different software) and have been pleased with all of them. I especially like the flexibility it gives you in learning and professional development. Most of the courses I've taken have been on databases that I subscribe to in my library and I wouldn't have access to these types of professional development without the webinar option.

Podcasting- I've taken a class on Podcasting through our BOCES but have yet to develop a project with a teacher. I'd be interested in perhaps doing some audio book reviews to add to our library catalog (not technically podcasting). I think this technology works better for me as an additional informational resource to offer students when doing research. Although I wouldn't rule out working with a teacher on podcasting as a project outcome. I'm still puzzling through RSS feeds myself and need to play around more with them. It is pretty amazing the number of resources you can get through places like Itunes U.

Digital Storytelling- I'm very interested in working this into a few projects. I think it will be extremely motivating to students. As one of the other students said in our discussion, storytelling is as old as time but the technology is new. I do know how incorporating technology into a project makes students that much more interested. It's just a question of working with a few teachers to develop projects and picking one appropriate tool from the plethora available.

When I start to get overwhelmed by the amount of resources out there, I need to remind myself to start small: work with one person, pick one project, choose one technology that will best suit the outcomes of the project and explore from there. I don't have to do it all. One step at a time.

blogs wikis and RSS

So many interesting thoughts from this week's articles and discussions. In Solomon's article on Web 2.0, he mentions Prensky's coinage of the terms digital natives and digital immigrants. I've envisioned this divide many times. There is a real gap between those who grew up before "the internet" and those who've never been without it. Just as there is a cultural divide between actual immigrants and first generation citizens to a country, there is a similar divide between native "techies" and immigrants. I understand the desire of this generation to completely immerse themselves in this new culture but if we abandon all of the "old" ways there will be a real loss. This is where some of my mixed emotions about the Web 2.0 phenomen come into play. Jumping on the bandwagon educationally so to speak without really trying to develop programs with educational merit would be just as bad as ignoring Web 2.0 altogether. As Solomon states, with the advent of technology, students "think and process information fundamentally differently." I want to know more about these differences and how technology is rewiring the brain. When I read that video games are being developed for 9 month olds and preschool groups are the fastest growing online community, I am really disturbed. Especially when we know so little about how technology affects developing brains. Yet I think there is a real tendency in this country and in education to herald things just because they are new. 

That being said, I believe there are real merits to harnessing technology's power to motivate and educate but it needs to be done in a measured way. I know that we are all learning this together and some experimentation is necessary. As a former middle school librarian, currently working in a high school setting, I continue to see how the opportunity to be social is a real boon to learning. Technologies like blogging and social networking can facilitate this: "to the current generation of students, the internet and other forms of electronic discourse are not necessarily associated with their concept of 'reading and writing' in an educational sense, but rather are tools for social interaction." (Duffy, Peter and Bruns, Axel) I see many students who profess to hate reading and writing but spend hours in front of a computer screen- reading and writing. If we present them with the opportunities to read and write in ways that they already love, albeit with guidelines and expectations built in, there should be an intrinsic motivation to learn and engage. 

Part of my fear of all of this, I suppose, is a fear of the lack of control or the "wild west" of the internet and the information available there. I realize that knowledge and "truth" can actually change and evolve: look at how many times history has been "rewritten" or told from another angle. However, I feel that there is such an emphasis on quick and easy, fact checking, editing etc. often get lost in the shuffle. 

Nevertheless I am really interested in trying out some of the technologies mentioned:

Blogs- I've already done a blogging project with an English teacher with a focus on summer reading and literature response and it went very well. I'd be interested in doing some kind of a book sharing and reviewing blog. The key is to get students interested in it and participating. I'd like to work with another English teacher on this. 

Wikis- I'm fascinated by the ability to collaborate as a group, edit and give feedback that wikis provide. I'll be doing a social issues project with 2 freshmen teachers and am already thinking of ways to get students to choose issues important to them, and work in groups to create wikis on a topic that can then be evaluated by other groups in other classes doing the same topic. I do find that using these technologies can be a huge management issue and often need more guidelines and expectations set up AND require more work on a teacher's part. 

RSS- still not quite sure about this but it could be a good way for students to follow a topic of interest to them- kind of an online notebook/library set up. I still need to know a little more about this. 

Dilemma of Web 2.0 and the Classroom- initial ramblings

I have to start off by saying that the whole Web 2.0 phenomenon is both exciting and overwhelming. From taking the online survey, I do realize that I am familiar with quite a bit of the vocabulary and ideas associated with Web 2.0. Using them on a regular basis on a personal or professional level is another story.

I have taken many courses, staff developments etc. on this technology (everything from wikis to social bookmarking to blogging) but I still am hesitant to jump in. I think it has to do with the number of tools available now to do the same thing (i.e. look at all of the different places you can go to create a blog or set up social bookmarks). It 's hard to know where to start and every time I've taken a class, I've gotten more of the theoretical arguments for using these technologies when what I want is to see what the technology looks like in the classroom. In other words, as our professor alluded to in her podcast, I want these things to have real instructional value and not just be bells and whistles.

On the other hand, I do see the strong motivational pull these technologies have on our students. This is the world they are living in and the language they speak and I need to be conversant with that. I find a few of the ideas mentioned in Mishra's and Koehler's article, "Too Cool For School..." exciting and realistic. I learned about Microblogging (not just Twitter) in a BOCES training recently and think it has interesting applications for students reflecting on their research process. I am also interested in checking out some of the visual search engines mentioned. I think this is going to be an interesting and informative exploration for me, even if I am already a little overwhelmed.