Web 2.0 Reflection
I've always been interesting in using technology in my classroom, even though I do not always have the means with which to do so. While helping students through a project using iMovie recently (a broadcast about the dangers of melanoma, with a large focus on how to protect yourself from the sun and also demonstrating a self skin check), I made a note of how one particular group approached their project: with as much "flash and dash" as they could, but with very little of the content objectives accomplished. Their project looked great and had numerous special effects, but was lacking in the important things: content and skills (National Health Education Standards) that our health class is centered around!
I contrasted that project with another group, one who did a very simple project, yet accomplished all of the objectives. They did nothing fancy, shot their broadcast in one take, and didn't include any slide transitions or voice effects. As a teacher, I should always make sure that both things happen for all my students: students demonstrate their learning of content and skills while also showcasing their own strengths and interests with creativity. I find this similar to how I know view Web 2.0 tools: the teaching process should never change due to using Web 2.0 tools. I should be able to enhance a lesson, unit, or assessment with Web 2.0 tools, but the basic content could still be covered without them. I DO think that Web 2.0 tools contain many great ways for students to access higher level thinking and to take more out of a lesson than they would if they were taught using more traditional techniques. I also think that using Web 2.0 tools would help teachers go BACK to basics: without those basics in place, the tools themselves aren't worth a whole lot. If the server went down one day in the middle of using a Web 2.0 brainstorming tool like bubbl.us, Wall Wisher, or exploratree, I would still be able to continue my lesson the "old school" way with chart paper or whiteboards. I just wouldn't be able to share them online, easily read them on the computer, or embed online or into a Google Doc. The same concepts still apply, and students who do not have access to Web 2.0 technology (often cited as a negative to Web 2.0) can still accomplish the same learning. Learning becomes alive with Web 2.0 tools, it celebrates students' creativity, and gives the teacher many options to keep students captivated by their learning. There are privacy issues that need to be addressed, accessibility issues to determine, and time that could be wasted as students lose focus on the actual point of using the Web 2.0 tool.
Creating, collaborating, sharing: what better three advantages are there to Web 2.0? A teacher no longer has to wait for professional development, and a student stuck on a physics problem can find help on Twitter or Khan Academy.
For my own teaching, this is the strength of using Web 2.0 tools: bringing information to students in a way that is accessible to them, while also giving to them immediately for consumption. A properly planned lesson/unit/curriculum is going to be well thought out, most likely planned from the assessment on backwards, etc., whether it uses Web 2.0 tools or not. This is why I put Tim Calvin's quote on the front of this website. For any lesson or unit, Web 2.0 tools could be added in to enhance learning objectives, student learning, and student achievement. And while Web 2.0 technology seems so advanced, it really is so simple: at their core, Web 2.0 tools are designed to do the very same things traditional teaching techniques accomplish. They are just more student-centered and student-involved, engaging students by making them an active part of their learning. When we live in a world where anything is at our fingertips, it only makes sense to use technologies such as Web 2.0 tools as part of our teaching practice. But, it also makes sense to never lose sight as to what got us here in the first place: student-centered learning activities anchored in well-developed learning objectives that enable all students to achieve.
I contrasted that project with another group, one who did a very simple project, yet accomplished all of the objectives. They did nothing fancy, shot their broadcast in one take, and didn't include any slide transitions or voice effects. As a teacher, I should always make sure that both things happen for all my students: students demonstrate their learning of content and skills while also showcasing their own strengths and interests with creativity. I find this similar to how I know view Web 2.0 tools: the teaching process should never change due to using Web 2.0 tools. I should be able to enhance a lesson, unit, or assessment with Web 2.0 tools, but the basic content could still be covered without them. I DO think that Web 2.0 tools contain many great ways for students to access higher level thinking and to take more out of a lesson than they would if they were taught using more traditional techniques. I also think that using Web 2.0 tools would help teachers go BACK to basics: without those basics in place, the tools themselves aren't worth a whole lot. If the server went down one day in the middle of using a Web 2.0 brainstorming tool like bubbl.us, Wall Wisher, or exploratree, I would still be able to continue my lesson the "old school" way with chart paper or whiteboards. I just wouldn't be able to share them online, easily read them on the computer, or embed online or into a Google Doc. The same concepts still apply, and students who do not have access to Web 2.0 technology (often cited as a negative to Web 2.0) can still accomplish the same learning. Learning becomes alive with Web 2.0 tools, it celebrates students' creativity, and gives the teacher many options to keep students captivated by their learning. There are privacy issues that need to be addressed, accessibility issues to determine, and time that could be wasted as students lose focus on the actual point of using the Web 2.0 tool.
Creating, collaborating, sharing: what better three advantages are there to Web 2.0? A teacher no longer has to wait for professional development, and a student stuck on a physics problem can find help on Twitter or Khan Academy.
For my own teaching, this is the strength of using Web 2.0 tools: bringing information to students in a way that is accessible to them, while also giving to them immediately for consumption. A properly planned lesson/unit/curriculum is going to be well thought out, most likely planned from the assessment on backwards, etc., whether it uses Web 2.0 tools or not. This is why I put Tim Calvin's quote on the front of this website. For any lesson or unit, Web 2.0 tools could be added in to enhance learning objectives, student learning, and student achievement. And while Web 2.0 technology seems so advanced, it really is so simple: at their core, Web 2.0 tools are designed to do the very same things traditional teaching techniques accomplish. They are just more student-centered and student-involved, engaging students by making them an active part of their learning. When we live in a world where anything is at our fingertips, it only makes sense to use technologies such as Web 2.0 tools as part of our teaching practice. But, it also makes sense to never lose sight as to what got us here in the first place: student-centered learning activities anchored in well-developed learning objectives that enable all students to achieve.