21st Century Learning
The title of our program is 21st Century Learning, and the question has become, what does that initially mean? First of all, we have to examine how we provide instruction for students. Let's take time to review what a traditional learner uses to learn. Blog it!
Now lets consider how students actually learn today.
Most of us believe that "www" means world wide web, but consider this...
Whatever
Whenever
Wherever...
The title of our program is 21st Century Learning, and the question has become, what does that initially mean? First of all, we have to examine how we provide instruction for students. Let's take time to review what a traditional learner uses to learn. Blog it!
Now lets consider how students actually learn today.
Most of us believe that "www" means world wide web, but consider this...
Whatever
Whenever
Wherever...
Well, lets start with baby steps. What can we use to enhance best practice, in this case teaching and learning? Well, have we considered Web 2.0? Web 2.0 is the new lingo out there, but it is not new at all, in fact, we are going to be looking at Web 3.0 sooner rather than later. Web 2.0 is a series of online collaboration pieces. I know what your thinking, I don't have time to reinvent the wheel, so something as simple as setting up a blogger account could be considered what I believe to be the simplest of the applications.
I am a huge advocate for David Warlick and his website, http://davidwarlick.com/wiki/pmwiki.php?n=Main.HomePage. I saw David and another speaker, Will Richardson at a conference recently and I was mesmerized with the possibilities for educators. There were so many ideas that I had no idea where to start. As Warlick states, Web 2.0 encompasses a family of web applications that make the web more participatory in nature. Take a Wiki for example, a Wiki is a means in which people can have open collaboration on various topics, yet we tell our students, no, stay away from this medium, yet, in the tiniest parts of our day we reach for it for various types of information. Part of me is still a nay sayer, telling students not to use it, the side of me wanting to create lessons allowing students to use it, and edit the various sites for possible inaccuracies, because that is what collaboration is.
Sites such as google docs, writeboard, NoteMesh, Flickr, Video Google, are all available for collaboration. But what about now? As we continue, please go to theachingonthethreshold@blogger.com and add comments about what is going on in real time. Remember this is meant to be a collaborative process, and this is the most basic.
At the end of the day we have to start considering how students access their information in this information age.
We have to consider how they learn as opposed to how we learn. What kind of learners do we want our students to become? Well, we first have to look at how we provide information and instruction, and how they access information on their own. Creating learning networks using Google Scholar is one avenue. Let the students ask those at the top of their fields pertinent questions.
1. How do we best prepare them for their future; a future different from our own? Now we have to look at what is available for them to learn. Take a cell phone, which has become a polarizing issue in the classroom.
2. How can we create lessons allowing them to utilize their technology? Something as simple as a scavenger hunt, or creating web-quests, or even utilizing the most up-to-date versions of online textbooks.
3. How is teaching going to change for the next generation? We can do a needs assessment, and even ask our students. How can we utilize mediums such as podcasts? Or as Warlick writes, how do we harness the digital landscape?
4. How is teaching with this new technology going to change our profession? It already has... Let's blog that...
Interesting Blogging info:
3. How is teaching going to change for the next generation? We can do a needs assessment, and even ask our students. How can we utilize mediums such as podcasts? Or as Warlick writes, how do we harness the digital landscape?
4. How is teaching with this new technology going to change our profession? It already has... Let's blog that...
Interesting Blogging info:
budtheteacher.com- expectations for class usage
21classes- Online Setup for blogs
Prezzi:
My Prezzi
Here is a good site for ranked and awarded Web 2.0 websites: http://www.seomoz.org/web2.0#cat_126
Here is a good site for ranked and awarded Web 2.0 websites: http://www.seomoz.org/web2.0#cat_126
