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Patty Ferrentino
EDTO 598
Intro to Using Technology in Teaching
Ellen Freeman
Now that I have been introduced to Web 2.0 I realize more than ever I am becoming quickly emersed into a whole new world of learning and communication. While the impact of this phenomenon is a bit overwhelming, I realize more than ever, it is my responsibility to prepare my students with the 21st century skills they will need to be successful.
Most people have used the World Wide Web. We have “linked and clicked” our way to interesting sites, though largely isolation and for our own interest. We didn’t necessarily think about ways to share or contribute information. But now our notion of interactivity on the web has to change from fun perusal or special interest research to creating and sharing. The social nature of web communication is startling to me. There is a new wave of communication where self-expression is expected, such as, community networks, blogs, wikis, and photo and video sharing sites. I read in our text that almost 40% of adult internet users read blogs. 8% write blogs. My daughter has a face book page that she includes photos on and my son has a myspace page that has his own music on it. This is just common practice among their peer group. Anyone with access can go to their sites and view, listen, and blog. And that’s how it is! This willingness to abandon privacy, while acceptable to teens and 20 somethings, is totally a new idea for those of us who are older. It’s an idea that takes some getting use to. It can be acknowledged that bloggers are connecting with others and communicating.
I was particularly intrigued with the section in our text on 21st century skills. A strong case is made for the changing nature of education and that technology is a huge factor in this change. Collaboration and communication will be the new emphasis so that students can be creative problem solvers. To that end they will need assistance from the educators in their lives to use the tools to acquire new skills and use them appropriately.
And what are the new skills our students have to learn? Overall digital literacy, for one. That is, literacy in using technology and accessing visual and other information. Students will need to be inventive and creative problem solvers, have self-direction, curiosity, and use reasoning skills. Students will increasingly solve work problems in a team format. They will collaborate no matter where they are using technology. Students will need to make effective use of technology tools and produce high quality, relevant work. My job, as an educator will be to use my pedagogy to develop real world investigations which will in turn allow my students to develop these skills using a Web 2.0 technology focus.
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