Integration of Technology and Teaching

Web 2.0 initiated from the business sector and the Web 2.0 programs rapidly became the tools of choice.  There has been a significant transition in the use of the Internet.  Since the World Wide Web was largely a one-way vehicle it is now moving to a two-way process. Thus inviting an experience to share and collaborate within a society.  Sounds great but it does not diminish the focus on the continual social question locally, nationally or globally, “Who is steering the ship and how are “we” part of the journey?”

In using this metaphor it describes a much larger picture to evaluate and assess but it can also describe a smaller view on how “we” are part of this voyage.  As a classroom educator who is interested in being part of this growing assembly to discover and use these types of tools in my teaching and learning I need to be aware that any development done in the classroom will be managed by the constraints established within the school and it’s environment. The movement from “www” towards the Web 2.0 means that a solid infrastructure needs to be developed, tested, evaluated and maintained. In creating any foundation for a successful and meaning experience it needs to be transparent and seamless to all shareholders of the school environment.  That is a big challenge.  I am excited about going on the cruise but I am not sure I know all the rules and expectations of those on the same journey.

Articles:
How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century
More on School 2.0
Classroom 2.0
Pedagogy defines School 2.0
School 2.0   

I am still out when it comes to social networking because of the lack of personal experience in the environment. I can, however, comment what is/has happened thus far in our independent school.

Our school has blocked assess to the different social networking possibilities. When the trend started to pick up momentum if was easy to spot the students daily in these type of environments. The parents noticed the amount of time their children was spending on this activity and found it to be an unacceptable use of time. There was a large parental push for the philosophy in the school how this was impacting our their children time and experiences. The Board found it relative to include in the user agreement that any social networking was not appropriate at school.

Even though the school has filtered the IP addresses it is interesting to see how many students have found a way around this obstruction. The students did try to move politically in changing this stance through their student representatives but to no avail. The stated situation is still being enforced.

I like some the positive points mentioned in the articles I read; Willard, Mitrano, and Monahan.

• Members of a social space may search for other members who share similar interest and are located near them.
• Different geographic locations make it easier to communicate.
• Easy to send and receive messages to one another on the site itself.
• Members may also become part of special interest groups with the larger social space

Too there were many views that erred caution:
• Posting too much information that may have serious repercussions.
• Teen Decision-making
• Lack of Parental Attention
• Dangerous Strangers Online

Living in an international environment has many stakeholders in the school to take the caution route. There are many individuals who are attached to embassies, government, and high-level corporations. To compound that posture the general public in Europe has changed their view of Americans and other foreigners living in their country.

My vote is still out on using this type of environment but too we have access to other possibilities to use in the classroom that simulates social networking.

At the moment I do not use IM in the classroom but I like the intention to collaborate and have an effective exchange with others. I tried it when we got a new “communication” software that supported instant messaging. As I slowly worked on possible ideas on how to use this new idea in the classroom I was feeling fairly positive in my preparation. Then I tried it out in class.

I found that I had less control over the students. When I say less control it means their focus and mine was minimized because of the distraction the tool brought to us. It was too easy to get off the point. Also I found that when the students would give an instant reply they were not better, thoughtful or organized responses.

The setup and management of this new attempt of learning was not developed well either. In fact, the school had to disconnect the IM capabilities because of the misuse by students. We had to go back to the table and think it through more; it hasn’t left the table yet.

I will admit that we, providers, need to do a better job introducing a tool like IM to a school environment and also make clear the expectations and consequences of it’s use to all individuals, specifically instructors and students, within the organization. It may be possible to start again with smaller steps by using online software like Yahoo Messenger, GoogleTalk, AIM.com or even Jabber to learn how it may be more successful within a my classroom.

I am not sure how to use blogging in the classroom yet. I have read a lot of material on the subject but I have no real direction since I teach five different technology classes that may have students from 9-12 grade levels. I have a good start. I believe that blogging would be beneficial for students but establishing proper guidelines and education would have to be addressed first. Some students are doing blogging now but not as much within a classroom and that is a completely different type of environment that brings more responsibilities and consequences to all involved. The biggest hurdle will be the time to be able to plan and create. The time constraints are many especially to those who teach technology the expectations make this step more difficult. In any form of change and development a person needs to be positive about what they want to accomplish and make that there is a level of success at each step. Take one class to pilot and be patient in its development. Fight? All struggles are advantageous. It’s that why we are involved with technology. Right?

Welcome to your brand new blog at Edublogs.

To get started, simply log in, edit or delete this post and check out all the other options available to you.

There’s stacks of great supporting material too! Take time to view our some helpful introductory videos, read through our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) or stop by The Edublogs Forums to chat with other edubloggers.

If you’ve got 4 minutes and 55 seconds, we’ve also put together a video introduction that you might like:

You can also subscribe to our brilliant free publication, The Edublogger, which is jammed with helpful tips, ideas and more.

And finally, if you like Edublogs but want to be able to simply create, administer, control and manage hundreds of student and teacher blogs at your school or college, check out Edublogs Campus… it’s like Edublogs in a box, all for you.

Thanks again for signing up with Edublogs!