After reading and completing Thing 1 I feel excited and encouraged to learn more about Web 2.0. I am choosing to participate in 23 things with the goal of learning what is new and available to me as an educator who wants to know about technology, and also to increase the use of technology with my students.
I am already using some types of technology with my students. We have a blog that relates to a novel we are currently reading. Students respond to higher level thinking questions that relate to their reading and also have the opportunity to read other blog posts. I wish that the blogspot had the feature that would allow students to respond to other people's posts, so they are able to have a threaded discussion. I have found that students can view other posts, but can't respond directly under another response. Other social networking sites such as Facebook are better for responding which I think is key!
One thing that struck me when I read the blog post from Thing 1 was that collaboration through the use of technology is so important for learning. I remember when I started my Master's classes I told my grandfather that much of my coursework would take place with study groups and would be project based. He expressed concern that I would miss out on lectures. Now I truly realize how important it is to not just be a recipient of information. As learners, we need to communicate with others and work toward creating and developing our knowledge in a hands-on way.
Sometimes I worry that through the use of blogs or the use of other types of technology students will just want to play or won't take the assignment seriously. Students are so used to using technology for their own fun and entertainment. I want to know how to get them to use it seriously for educational purposes as well. I want them to use technology as a real tool for learning. I look forward to learning more about Web 2.0 and hope it will alleviate some of the fears I still have about this type of shift in instruction!
I am already using some types of technology with my students. We have a blog that relates to a novel we are currently reading. Students respond to higher level thinking questions that relate to their reading and also have the opportunity to read other blog posts. I wish that the blogspot had the feature that would allow students to respond to other people's posts, so they are able to have a threaded discussion. I have found that students can view other posts, but can't respond directly under another response. Other social networking sites such as Facebook are better for responding which I think is key!
One thing that struck me when I read the blog post from Thing 1 was that collaboration through the use of technology is so important for learning. I remember when I started my Master's classes I told my grandfather that much of my coursework would take place with study groups and would be project based. He expressed concern that I would miss out on lectures. Now I truly realize how important it is to not just be a recipient of information. As learners, we need to communicate with others and work toward creating and developing our knowledge in a hands-on way.
Sometimes I worry that through the use of blogs or the use of other types of technology students will just want to play or won't take the assignment seriously. Students are so used to using technology for their own fun and entertainment. I want to know how to get them to use it seriously for educational purposes as well. I want them to use technology as a real tool for learning. I look forward to learning more about Web 2.0 and hope it will alleviate some of the fears I still have about this type of shift in instruction!
