As Karl Fisch states in his video, Shift Happens: Di d You Know? , most of the jobs we are preparing our students for do not currently exist. The constant change and forward propulsion that is found in our world requires that we as educators not only stay on top of the “cutting edge” of technology, but also teach our students how to do the same. Throughout this course, and program of study I am particularly interested in learning more about some of the Web 2.0 tools that are available for use in the classroom. While they are not new, weblogs, podcasts, and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds are three of the things I'd like to better understand not only for my students learning, but also my own professional development. I have taken note of the RSS feed button or option on many of the sites I visit frequently, but I have not been sure how to pull it all together to work for me. Through this course and Richardson’s text, I hope to become more proficient with them so I can use them in my classroom as well. As Warlick (2006) shows in his article A Day in the Life of Web 2.0 there are so many possibilities out there for teachers and they are changing so quickly that it becomes hard to fathom everything we have access to on a daily basis.
My school district is one that likes to take pride in the fact that they are always looking for the next step technologically for our staff and students. For the past two years, I have been blessed to work on a team where my students have 1:1 devices at all times. The option to rent the computers and take them home is even offered. Due to this constant access, my class, team, school, and district have been on the prowl for as many Web 2.0 tools as possible. Some of the many Web 2.0 tools we are using currently are Google Docs, Glogster, PowToons, Kahoot, and of course the basic productivity tools such as the Microsoft Office suite. It is imperative that we recognize and embrace the fact that the internet is not just a read/write space anymore, but a collaborative environment where anyone can be the author of a new and novel thing (Richardson, 2010, p. 6). The sky is no longer the limit. There is no limit. It is time we stop limiting the potential for digital learning and embrace the world we live in.
References
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. (3rd ed.). Thousand Oak, California: Corwin.
Warlick, David. "A Day in the Life of Web 2.0." Technology & Learning Magazine (2006).