The term "Web 2.0" can be applied across broad categories of emerging technology tools and design principles, social and economic shifts, business philosophies, participatory media and culture, etc.... Web 2.0 tools (blogs, wikis, podcasts, social networking and social bookmarking sites, tagging, photo- and video-sharing, RSS, etc...) are collaborative, browser-based and user-driven. They include platforms and tools for publishing, connecting, sharing, organizing and remixing.
A popular synonym for "Web 2.0" is the "Read/Write" web, which suggests that users are contributing, creating and collaborating rather than just consuming web content. "Web 1.0" or the "Read-Only" web was a place where the average user didn't publish content, because it required technical knowledge (HTML and other programming code) and money (to purchase server space and software). Web 2.0 tools allow users to easily participate and to customize their online experiences.
At its core, Web 2.0 is about powerful Web-based technologies that are connecting people and ideas.
So, what is Web 2.0?
Here are a few "one-sentence" definitions, and one that is slightly longer:
A popular synonym for "Web 2.0" is the "Read/Write" web, which suggests that users are contributing, creating and collaborating rather than just consuming web content. "Web 1.0" or the "Read-Only" web was a place where the average user didn't publish content, because it required technical knowledge (HTML and other programming code) and money (to purchase server space and software). Web 2.0 tools allow users to easily participate and to customize their online experiences.
At its core, Web 2.0 is about powerful Web-based technologies that are connecting people and ideas.
So, what is Web 2.0?
Here are a few "one-sentence" definitions, and one that is slightly longer:
- "It's not a web of computers, it's a web of people." - Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the World Wide Web
- "Working on the Internet is the same as working on your desktop." - Sarah Bresee, Outcast
- "Web 2.0 is the two-way web where content finds you." - Ron Rasmussen, KnowNow
- "People doing things together on the web." - Mitchell Baker, Mozilla Foundation
- "Web 2.0 is all the Web sites out there that get their value from the actions of users." - George Jones, InformationWeek
- "The new WWW: Whatever. Whenever. Wherever." - Tom March, Educator, Inventor of WebQuests
- "Less than a decade ago, when we were first getting used to the idea of an Internet, people described the act of going online as venturing into some foreign realm called cyberspace. But that metaphor no longer applies. MySpace, Flickr and all the other newcomers aren't places to go, but things to do, ways to express yourself, means to connect with others and extend your own horizons. Cyberspace was somewhere else. The Web is where we live." - Steven Levy and Brad Stone, Newsweek.
Thing 1 Tasks:
Read the the article "A Day in the Life of Web 2.0" by David Warlick. Consider the ways in which Web 2.0 tools might change (or have already changed) your professional practice.
How might you be able to use these new tools to to engage today's "digital learners?"
Why would you want to?
Then - Watch the two videos below.
Post your comments below about the article, and any comments about the two videos on how education, the read/write web and technology will effect education and educators.
Read the the article "A Day in the Life of Web 2.0" by David Warlick. Consider the ways in which Web 2.0 tools might change (or have already changed) your professional practice.
How might you be able to use these new tools to to engage today's "digital learners?"
Why would you want to?
Then - Watch the two videos below.
Post your comments below about the article, and any comments about the two videos on how education, the read/write web and technology will effect education and educators.
Watch: A Vision of students today -- Alternative location on YouTube
With Web 2.0 teachers can learn what how other teachers (around the world) are teaching the same topic they are. They can collobarate with other teachers in their building to integrate learning across the curriculum. Administrators can keep up with what their teachers are teaching.
ReplyDeleteThe jobs of the future are all about teamwork, communication and "thinking outside the box". Web 2.0 is the perfect tool for teaching our students to do that.
Very importantly, students are incorporating what they are learning and WRITING across subject areas. Writing a blog is less intimidating than a formal essay - and other students get to view it, rather than just the teacher. Students can evaluate, critique, support, and add to the writings of their classmates.
Thanks for the vidoes....thought provoking and interesting.
When I was in the classroom, my fellow teachers and I mostly viewed technology as an "evil" -- cell phones were a constant fight for us with our students, and computers were only to be used for learning to type, or for highly-restricted Internet research. It was as if we saw technology as decreasing our students' attention spans, and increasing the amount of ways they could "cheat" on our assignments.
ReplyDeleteNow that I am no longer in a traditional classroom setting, I think of how much technology could have done for my colleagues and my students. Today's teachers need to evaluate what they classify as important skills for students, just like the videos suggest. It is no longer okay to just teach the things we were taught, and in the ways we were taught them. We won't be helping our students prepare to compete with the rest of the world.
The article poses great ideas for technology use. Even though many of them may not yet be do-able for some of our schools, our schools can decide which tools they can realistically integrate into their classrooms, and start from there. I am excited to learn about the Web 2.0 tools that will benefit myself, my colleagues, and the student population that we serve as well.
Very thought provoking!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking all about current budgets and lack of funding for technology, technology upgrades, staff training, and on-site technology staff. I hope that there is a dramatic shift over the next year within our budgets towards what is and is going to be most important for us and for our students.
Education and educators are already being effected. Now, we just have to jump on board and evolve. Kudos for us for being proactive and taking charge of our own learning and technology knowledge. I hope that we each challenge ourselves to incorporate at least one new thing a quarter or even a month into our learning environments.
@ageek - I think you bring up a very important point about writing across the curriculum - or as I call it "Writing Everywhere-All The Time."
ReplyDeleteJust think about the possibilities to engage our kids in writing all the time if we make blogging part of their homework - to use it as a vehicle for reflecting on the things that interest them or the things that they are struggling with.
I think this is all very interesting. Here I have a Master's in Educational Technology, and I feel so behind! Things sure have changed since I got my degree.
ReplyDeleteI think based on these articles and videos we are in for a true change in education.... one that won't come from Washington or Lansing. There was a time, when I was in grad school, that the debate was whether or not people had access to tech/Internet and if they did, how can we get them to use it. Now, with the advent of cheap computers and Internet enabled phones, we have kids using the web in ways that make adults' heads spin.
With such a giant push to have kids write, I like Ron's idea about using blogs to get kids to write. I have been thinking about ways to integrate more free technology for those that have access in my district, and this might be an easy way. I noticed in one video kids holding up spelling words and asking "how will this help me?" (yes, I admit I have done this in class). Now I start asking.... how will practicing MEAP like writings help my kids? My kids just simply need to learn to write period, that is my biggest struggle. Blogs seem to be a fun way to get them to.
I look forward to exploring ways to make me a better teacher. I don't want to be one of the teachers who is lumped into the 16% or so that don't have kids use technology anymore.
keith
Nicely, laid-out course. Truely a bargin. I firmly believe that Web 2.0 content is the stronger tool in instruction for both learner and teacher. Online courses such as Novanet, EPIC are a travisty, passive and cheap methods that legally passes as education. Perhaps a good tool to reclaim credit in a familiar subject matter but totally antitheical to education and learning for the classroom.
ReplyDeleteIt would be idealist if we had the technology available to us to do the things that are mentioned in the article. Unfortunately, most teachers do not have the knowledge or the time to put these practices into action.
ReplyDeleteIt is time we change our focus. There are so many ways we can use technology within our current curriculum, but it will take time to re-adjust how things have always been done. I think it is worth the time & effort. Kids want to be engaged, to create, to these things in ways that excite & encourage them to learn. Technology is the key to this happening.
I am anxious to explore additional ways to utilize technology in the classroom. It is my hope that I am being proactive in learning about technology!
It was interesting to read about how these tools are being used by not only the students but by teachers, parents and administrators. These tools clearly help students take a much more active role in their learning process. The amount of communication that these tools provide is endless. As an elementary teacher, it makes me think about the importance of touching all of the modalities of learning. There are so many students who don't fit the traditional learning style that you see in many schools. Hopefully technology will become a priority in our education systems and more of these kids will be touched by the power of technology.
ReplyDeleteBudget is always an issue. In our school we have a dedicated staff that worked poker tournaments and raised money to purchase enough projectors and document cameras for every classroom. We were starving for technology, so we took it into our own hands and made it happen. After teaching with my technolgy station in my room for the second year now, I can't imagine life without it. I teach many student who are ELL. I can't imagine what it would be like in my classroom without the use of the web and the use of visual images for these students.
Loved the videos. Can't wait to pass them along to my staff. Very motivating. Looking forward to learning more :)
What an appropriate time for me to watch these two videos! I am a second grade teacher in a school district where technology is yearned for, and that is about all we have is the yearning. I recently assigned an Economics honors project for those who wanted the challenge. The students were to compare two jobs by the means of the goods and services they provided and the the resources each job depended on. One young man brought in an excellent presentation using a keynote software program on Mac. I had to bring my own mac from home in to make it work. The one projector we had in the building was being used. I held the laptop on my lap while the kids watched. They were silent and captivated throughout the presentations and broke out in applause when it was over! My little guy was a hero. (Is it possible to show on this blog?)
ReplyDeleteAfter viewing these videos and reflecting back on this day, I see "engage me" "let me create" stamped all over my own classes expressions.
I like what kmcguire said about raising money through poker tournaments and fundraisers! We have these events planned in our school but I've heard that there is some resistance in our fund raiser committee to use these funds for technology. I plan on bringing this up at our next staff meeting. I would like to show the above videos, my student's presentation and kmcguire's school's creative use of fundraiser money!
I'm more than likely in my last decade of teaching and yet, the idea of teaching the web 2.0 way makes me ready for another 20. (politicians allowing of course:) This is the direction education must take, for our children and the health of our country. I hope there will be a funded push for better technology/communication as those who are in the decision making positions contemplate on how to make our educational system better.
The article was very informative in the different ways that we can continue to grow! I love the cross-curricular application with using Web 2.0 and how students can continue to demonstrate higher level thinking skills in a manner that is more relevant to them, and to teachers. It is so important to have great communication when working on a team, which is how we often refer to those working in our building and district, and Web 2.0 is the perfect way to increase that communication. I also thought that the videos were very eye-opening.
ReplyDeleteA couple of you have identified a disconnect that I speak about quite often - and that is the lack of understanding by school leadership on how technology is impacting the lives of our students outside of school, and how to bring the power of those things inside the classroom.
ReplyDeleteAs we see time and time again - If something is not valued by your building administrators, then it won't happen in the classroom.
A caveat: technology is not the answer for everything. It is merely another useful tool to capitalize on our student's amazing high-tech knowledge and skills when we present curriculum.
Great comments folks! Keep 'em coming.
Thank you, Ron, for your caveat that technology is not the answer for everything...just one of many tools that we need to use effectively to capitalize on in designing instruction. For me, both professionally and personally, it is about balance. Web 2.0 tools have already changed my professional practice in many ways including web-based conferencing, collaboration on documents, and dissemination of information. However, there are still times when more "traditional" methods of interaction are most effective.
ReplyDeleteIn my work as an "adult educator" (professional development provider), I need to find instructionally meaningful ways to incorporate technology so that my "students", in turn, can incorporate into their classroom practice (which is why I am in this course). The challenges that we face are many - but here are a couple:
(1) How do convince / train technology "immigrants" to effectively use techology in their own learning and the teaching technology "natives"? (For example, we were part of a statewide project that set up social networking groups for Algebra teachers - 88 of them from West Michigan. Over the course of a year, there were less than 10 posts total by these teachers in these NING groups).
(2) Time - time for teachers to learn the technology, time to envision how that technology can be woven into the fabric of their instructional practice, and time to implement that vision. In other words, time for the scaffolding necessary to achieve that balance in instruction that not only meets the needs of the student but stretches them in ways they may not know that they need.
There is so much to discuss it is hard to know where to begin. I have been in education for 11 years now, but more importantly we all have been "in education" most of our lives. In 1991, I remember choosing a new computer with a dot-matrix printer over a high-school graduation party. Now a days, students have not only a computer, but ipods, cell phones etc during their school years...PLUS a party at the Grand Plaza! Times have changed!!
ReplyDeleteThe question posed before the article/videos was "How might you be able to use these new tools to engage "digital learners"? I first thought of this question...how do we PREPARE them for this world of new technology tools? Not to say that teachers will always be more "tech savvy", but we need to at least speak their language...which is a technological language. The videos just reinforced (or forced us to admit) what we should already know...that students already speak "technology". Even if we teachers are behind the times with technology, we at least need to allow them to be engaged with these new tools of technology in their learning. The only way to be fully prepared for life after school is to allow students to have practice (perfect practice as they say) in a school setting with our guidance. We can prepare them, but only if we engage them.
What are the ways of engagement? I was thinking that the blogs would be a great way to practice MEAP writing...the writing in response to peer writing to be more specific. Blogs would be a great way to practice over and over in an engaging way, for all students. The MP3 technology would be great for our Spanish Immersion school. I have used this technology to help my students with Spanish spelling tests so they could listen to my pronunciation of the words. My son, who struggles with spelling, uses Spelling City to help him practice more (especially since I can't practice with him always). I e-mail students all the time, but instant messaging would be so much more engaging! We have used Skype to talk to authors who couldn't make an appearance and to pen pals over in Spain!! I'll stop here, but you get the point.
I just hope that school districts are willing to help fund some of these new tools or we will fall behind students!
I come to 23 Things fighting and screaming because I am not a technology natural nor do I enjoy engaging with technology for long periods of time. I am a naturalist and would much rather be outdoors smelling the flowers, which by the way are lovely today. However, I realize the great potential technology provides for engaging students and the need to arm them with the kind of experiences, skills, and expertise they will need in the future.
ReplyDeleteI want to understand how to use the "things", but I want to be sure they are the best way to develop a love of learning - not just a "cool" way to use technology.
Lots of food for thought here. I have two immediate reactions. First, finding the time to learn all of this proficiently enough to implement it comfortably into the classroom seems overwhelming right now. I'm willing to put in the time, but my learning curve will be very high - I can barely take a picture on my phone without messing it up! Second, how do I get the technology into the hands of the kids when our district struggles just to keep people employed. Right now, techonology in my building is limited to Smartboards (where there are many possibilities) and next year, possibly a traveling wireless class set of laptops. It will be interesting to see where this all leads.
ReplyDeleteWhew! The stats from the first video, the yearning for engagement from the second video, and the "fantasy" classroom from the article play on the mind. I trained to be a teacher by becoming skilled in my content area. Now it is so obvious that my content is wholly dependent on my delivery via technology modes that did not exist when I got my degrees. I know that my content knowledge is my primary responsibility to my students but not far behind is being able to connect to my "digital natives" through their technology. Although cell phones are not allowed during the academic hours in my high school, one would have to be incredibly naive not to know that students are constantly accessing this link to their social network. There is no reality to the idea that they truly disconnect from their phones the moment that they enter the school. It seems silly to patrol this second skin of my students and much more practical to start using this tool in my classroom. I can see this practicality but I am poorly trained to know how to create a bridge from my lack of Web 2.0 knowledge to their innate association with it. I have high expectations for what this course can teach me and hope that it will be a jumping off point that will redirect the style of my instruction, the intensity of student engagement, and the application of my content to real life and real audiences.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, let me say that I am way behind in getting things started with the class. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteThe article is a great eye opener as to what we have when it comes to technology and the ability to grow ourselves and students with new learning possibilities. When it comes to utilizing these tools with today’s digital learners this would allow my students the ability to communicate with each other in a different learning style, as well as giving me the opportunity to intercede and assist at any time. Students knowing that they can communicate with other students as well as the instructor make the learning process more enjoyable and interesting.
When I think of why I would want to do this, it makes me think, why not? Communication with the students in a new way allows them the opportunity to ask more questions on their own, without feeling scared. The opportunity for students to look at a new way of learning, would make a student feel more comfortable in the learning setting and could increase the desire to learn.
After watching the 2 videos, it is amazing that we are so behind in our learning styles in our educational process. It is time to grow, time to expand, time to let our students “be engaged” in the learning style that we don’t use enough of. We need to be “digital learners”.
Wow! The most powerful elements of this entire phenomenon are thinking and creating. Students and teachers are free to use their own minds and employ whatever insights and information they choose to take in their own way. Digital learners…they are (and we've got to become) and I agree that the world of education in general will only benefit from being infused with this new technology. But we have to consider that not every student has access to the tools necessary to be "engaged" in this way outside of our school walls. How then do we reach them and allow them to shine? Room has to remain for a little old school within this new one.
ReplyDeleteI'm probably the last one to start 23 Things but I'll try to catch up! (there's not a schedule we're supposed to be on is there?)
ReplyDeleteI'm very excited about web 2.0 applications for the classroom, but I'm not very high tech myself. I teach in academic support and my students can be especially disengaged with traditional teaching methods. I would LOVE to go as high tech as possible and I hope to find specific ideas to pull right into my class! I don't think education really has a choice - we have to update to catch up with the future job/business markets etc.
I continue to be amazed by how much technology my students have access to and knowledge of that I had never even heard of when I finished college 6 years ago. I am fortunate enough to work in a district where they are supportive of technology and are constantly providing us with more access to newly available technology. On the other hand it is difficult to find the time to become familiarized with all of this technology. I truly feel like a digital immigrant when my 3 year old daughter tells me that I have to check on her Facebook page to get information about her. She reminds me why I need to take a course such as this and take the time to investigate all of the new technology I hear about. Next year we will finally have a COW with at least 15 netbooks, with the hopes of buying an additional 15 in the near future. These netbooks will allow my students to have much more access to Web 2.0 tools. I love the fact that students will be able to write in a variety of formats. Even this year I had a student who would only produce writing if he was allowed to use a computer. The actual physical act of using a pencil appeared to be his downfall. Being allowed the freedom to type his writing on the computer allowed him to express himself in ways that a traditional classroom setting would not. The second video mentioned digital storytelling, but as others have mentioned, we need computer availability in order for our students to complete these tasks. Along with the additional computer availability will come many more options.
ReplyDeleteMy only concern with opening up more technology to my students is the fact that they are so young (9-10 years old) and some information they will be able to access is not appropriate for them to view. Although students will be able to access this technology at school, some of them do not have the same technology available at home. I think that it is wonderful that teachers require students to use blogs and wikis, but it is also important to ensure that all students have access to computers and the internet when they are not in school or ensure that there is enough time allotted in the school day for students to complete these assignments.
Web 2.0 can change professional practice by allowing for so much more collaboration between colleagues as well as integration between content areas. Digital learners would be familiar with these tools and would find them fun and more motivating to use in their learning. Students could become more self directed and actively engaged in their learning which are pretty good reasons to consider using Web 2.0. Educating students and especially teachers about the possibilities of Web 2.0 uses and making sure resources are available for students would be the challenge.
ReplyDeleteWell, Jane, not to worry. There is a "classmate" behind you yet in this class. Having read the blogs of the rest of you, I feel that I could parrot many of the things I just read. I TRY to keep up with technological advances, but am woefully behind many of my 5th grade students. MMM said, "it is obvious that my content is wholly dependent on my delivery via technology modes that did not exist when I got my degrees." So true! I found the reading and the videos inspiring, and I am eager to be further challenged and educated as I continue through 22 more "things!"
ReplyDeleteEngage, engage, engage! I have always heard that key word since my university years back in the 1990's. This word continues to make such an impact on teaching instruction, because this is one of our highest goals we want for our students. Now, the twist on this word is to get our learners engaged with technology. Yet, many teachers, like myself, have not become "digital learners" ourselves. It makes me feel sad that I am not farther along on my journey to be proficient in this area. Here's to learning more through this course. The lessons look "engaging".
ReplyDelete