Thing #1

In the 21st century, education is becoming more and more a communal event. Having a Read/Write web available for student use to enhance his/her education is incredibly exciting as it opens up the possibilities for assignments and engagement similar to what students will encounter in their personal and professional lives.

Web 2.0 MUST change the education process! I'm an English teacher by trade, so I truly believe that books have their place and papers must be written. Being literate, however, has a whole new meaning. What an incredible learning opportunity for students to post their writing in a place where their classmates can comment, question, and engage in learning. It seems that the article is correct that using Web 2.0 capabilities would force students to think more in depth, to see each other's work, and to become literate on a technological level -- essentially, teach their peers. Without having documented proof, I would wager that the quality of a student's work would increase with the involvement of the Read/Write web in a class simply because someone besides "just the teacher" will be viewing their thoughts and ideas, and students value what their peers think about them.

I've always believed that education needs to be more about the process of learning...knowing how and where to look for solutions to questions and problems. Rote memorization is necessary for many facets of education, but it cannot stop there! Like the videos pointed out, many of the students today will have jobs that are not yet created! How do we prepare students for the unknown? We need to teach them how to be resourceful, how to learn from and interact with peers, and we need to make their education experience applicable to their future.

One of my greatest frustrations as a student in education courses was to hear professors emphasize the importance of identifying learning styles, to use cooperative learning, etc. yet never utilize these same strategies in their own teaching. To tell our students that the web is the way of the future and not give them a chance to use it in a variety of ways is a disservice to them and to our future.

I do worry about my own kids' future in a classroom. So often I hear stories from other parents about what is going on in their child's classroom, and I cringe at what isn't happening. As our world advances exponentially, our classroom conduct and content seem to struggle to keep up. There is no more room for excuses.

Teachers and parents no longer have excuses for poor communication or planning. I would have loved the opportunity to create lesson plans across the curriculum (sadly, not encouraged in my district), and by keeping up with other teachers' blogs I would have had a chance to help my students make more connections in their learning. As I stated earlier, education is becoming more communal, and that should include parents. Allowing parents to observe their child's contributions to and involvement in class discussions and projects is an invaluable school-home connection. Without that, parents have very few resources to help them see their child's progress. This feature of Web 2.0 alone will change what education looks like.