Web 2.0 is an exciting time and set of tools for all people. Determining how integrated this can be in the classroom can be difficult. Recently I had a workshop on the importance of technology in the classroom. Some of the tools presented were not particularly tech savvy but it did get me thinking.
Personally I feel excited and passionate about technology. There are so many potential ways to integrate and use the Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. The possibilities are endless! Being able to be on the edge of all of this is awesome but all goes back to meeting students needs and Web 2.0 can aid in meeting needs.
However, the decision to incorporate technology into the classroom can be the easiest part. We can clearly see that students react to and are excited about learning different technologies. After coming to the realization that this is definitely positive, determining the appropriate technology to learn and apply can be the most difficult part.
Some of my most familiar include (this is a variety of sites, open source, and tools) :
Saywire Mobi United Streaming
Moodle Twitter Ning
Facebook MySpace Elgg
Blogspot Study Island Kick Apps
There is so much to say about any one of these but there is only so much to put here in the initial post. It seems that every time you learn about one of these sources, another open pops up. It is fascinating!
So even more influential (as you can basically find or create any technology to meet your needs) are determinates as to what technologies can be used in your classroom. Some questions/factors include:
o What technology best fits your needs in your classroom?
o What do students use outside of class?
o Accessibility
Just like other teacher methods in the ultimate, best case scenario we would use what is best for the students. But with this situation, with reality, we need to pick the best for the students taking into account the factor determinates. In my classroom I was unable to use these Web 2.0 tools for a variety of factors. One was the accessibility of the computer labs. I was unable to use the computer lab often because there weren’t a lot of times available. But it also was my first year teaching and I wanted to make sure the content was set up best rather than my use of technology. In subsequent years I would integrate more technology which would fit with my curriculum seamlessly. I believe technology should support, not overshadow, the content.
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I would love to see the addition of Web 2.0 tools in our school. Our problem is that most are blocked by our filter. While I know that they could be unblocked, they are blocked for a reason. We have students who do not respect the acceptable use policy of the school and there would be a higher need for policing of the students. I for sure want to see blogging used in the school and from there would branch out to other 2.0 tools. And, that is where I am going to start. Web 2.0 brings in a whole new concept when thinking about interactive activities for the classroom. Imagine the learning possibilities!
ReplyDeleteI can definately relate to the frustrations of not having access to computers. I feel that my school is at the point of having way more technology applications available than actually having the hardware explore them. My co-workers and I have discussed on numerous occations that something would be great to use in class, such as google docs, if we only had regular access to computers to do it. It kind of like they are handing us a can of food but not giving us the can opener.
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