Thing 5

What does school 2.0 mean to me? Before really diving into the articles listed I would have said web 2.0 means a giant headache. Now, with an open mind and less naive view, I would say it’s an interactive learning tool (in the simplest of forms). It’s a constructive continuous feedback type of learning. It’s more than an interactive journal. It’s a new way of teaching. It’s a means of tailoring learning to the individual and a stepping stone for teaching outside the box. This phrasing might sound silly, but, it’s who I need to become as an educator. I not only want to use tools like this I want to be this versatile and flexible in my teaching. I want to offer all the different learning styles in each lesson I teach. Web 2.0 is a means to becoming a master teacher.

I read through all the links on the 23things page and I found a couple of the links extremely insightful. One link suggested plugging into social networking, which I’m sure most of us in class have accomplished at least some form of Facebook. The same site also suggests participating so learning takes place. Comments and participation are how people build knowledge. They read and discuss to get their brain stimulated. http://www.stevehargadon.com/2008/03/web-20-is-future-of-education.html those suggestions came from this blog forum.

One the 50 different ignored web 2.0 list that didn’t make the cut, I found some incredible sites. The google art project lets you see art from museums around the world. I also loved the kidblogg.org. What a fabulous idea to give kids accesses to a blog so they can do creative journals and communicate through writing whereas they might have just stayed silent had the blog not been available. The site also provides some great photo editing tools that would come in handy for class projects.

I know the question asks what does web 2.0 mean for schools of the future. I’m not convinced it’s a school of the future. It should be called web 2.0 for the present. The idea of web 2.0 has been in place for some time now. Schools should be “gung-ho” to get this in their classrooms. Web 2.0 means that every child will have a lesson taught/tailored specifically to their needs as the learner. This would mean that every child is given equal opportunity to learn as much as they can in the short time they are in the classroom.