I guess the biggest challenge in starting a blog is that you have to make time to keep posting to it. Finding that time is not easy. In fact, sometimes it’s downright impossible. That being said, I read a really fantastic post by Steve Hargadon this morning about why Web 2.0 is the future of education. I was inspired (and if you read his posting I hope that you are too – even if you’re not not a “techie person” and feel like he’s speaking another language). So here I am… posting to my blog, eager and enthusiastic to help with the Web 2.0 learning process.
Many of the people reading this blog are probably here at my invitation. I truly appreciate you humoring me by clicking on the link to get here. Now that you’re here, I’m hoping that you will stay awhile (and come back often) to learn with me. I’m guessing that a few of you probably aren’t even really sure what the heck a blog is, despite the fact you’re here reading one. As a result, I thought that talking about blogs might be a really good place to start our virtual exploration of Web 2.0 tools.
Wikipedia offers a pretty comprehensive definition of blogs, if you care to read it. If you’re like me, you might want to keep it a bit more simplistic. Basically it goes like this: The creator of the blog writes an entry or post to discuss their thoughts, feelings, etc. This post is published on the Internet using an easy-to-use, web-based program (often free of charge). Other people read the post. Sometimes people respond to the post by clicking on the “Comment” or “Reply” link at the bottom of the post. The author of the original post can respond to the replies. And so it continues… I really like the way Jeremiah Owyang describes the blogger as being the “keynote speaker” of the blog. It’s a simple definition that makes a lot of sense and might help you understand the differences between blogs and some of the other tools out there.
Probably one of the very best, easy-to-understand descriptions (and under three minutes long, nonetheless!) is the one put together by the CommonCraft Show. They truly do explain things “in plain English” for everyone to understand. Please click on the video link below to watch and learn. Come back soon for a discussion about how we might use blogs in our classrooms and libraries!
Welcome to my first post on this all-new blog. I’m excited that you’re here reading this and hope you’ll check back often.
I am an elementary school Teacher-Librarian who has developed a fascination (and perhaps a slight addiction) to Web 2.0 tools over the course of my wonderful Masters degree program through the University of Alberta. Web 2.0 tools are a terrific way of infusing technology into our teaching practice in a practical, engaging way that can help motivate students to learn. My final capping project for my degree will focus on how the use of these tools can hook reluctant-reader male students into participating in literacy activities. I truly believe they can. That being said, however, I see the benefits of integrating them into lessons with ALL of our students, in every subject area across the curriculum.
We need to consider that most of our current elementary students have been using computers for most of their lives – for some since they were still in diapers. They use technology as part of their everyday life for entertainment, information and communication. Media/technology guru Doug Johnson says it well when describing his own son: “The computer to him is about as remarkable as indoor plumbing is to me. He is constantly “connected” via iPod, cell phone, keyboard, digital videocamera, or game controller”. As educators, we need to recognize that students want – probably even need – to be using these tools as part of their learning at school. They need to be integrated into the curriculum in a meaningful way – not just using technology for the sake of using technology, but as powerful tools which can transform learning, driven by good pedagogy. If you don’t want to take my word for it, please watch this fabulous podcast/presentation by Doug Johnson from the 2007 NECC conference in Atlanta, Georgia. It is wonderful and speaks volumes!
My hope is to use this blog to introduce interested readers to some of the fabulous Web 2.0 tools which I have come across, and tell you about some of the ways in which I envision them being used effectively in classrooms. I encourage you to try them with your students, and reply to me through this blog to let me know how they worked. Share your lesson ideas, successes, frustrations, and excitement! We’re all life-long learners here!
Entries (RSS)