So I am working on my Master's in administration and the current course that I am in is technology and educational leadership. This is how I became inspired to create a blog. Web 2.0 is the internet revamped to include social networking, online auctions, and e-commerce. Its amazing how many of us use facebook or twitter everyday and even purchase things online. Web 2.0 is a big part of our lives and even more so of our students' lives, yet we don't use Web 2.0 in our classrooms. Why? Is it because we aren't sure of how to set things up? Is it because we think that a large number of students don't have access to the internet? I'm not sure. However, if you surveyed your students, I bet you would find that the great majority have internet access via computer at home, phone, or computers at school. I am completely guilty of not using this as well, but I have recently been inspired to try starting when we come back from Spring Break. I am having my class create a wiki on all the Biomes around the world together, call it cooperative learning online. How neat would it be for a writing class to have their students create and keep up with a blog as a way to respond to writing prompts or an English class respond to a blog about a novel study? How about science creating a twitter account for their students to follow so they can see how their teacher observes science all around them, or even better, the students observeing and "tweeting" about it? With all of the conversation regarding Differentiated Instruction and respectful tasks, isn't NOT using Web 2.0 disrespectful? I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but shouldn't we at least try? Afterall our job is to prepare them for the future right? Well I happen to think that our future involves more and more technology and less and less face-to-face converstations!
Let me know what you think or what things you have tried in your class with regards to technology.
