2009 GISA Conference Experience

I participated in a workshop entitled, "Introduction to Web 2.0 Technology". The idea is that Web 1.0 was read-only and Web 2.0 is much more interactive, collaborative and personal.

To see how the web has grown over a 10 year time frame:
In 1996 there were 45 million users and 250,000 sites
In 2006 there were 1billion+ users and 80 million sites

At home our students have access to the world via the internet, when they come to school we cut them off and limit what they can see and do on the internet with our security parameters. Instead, as teachers (not that I am one) we can monitor their usage in the classroom as opposed to blocking them from specific sites. They are digital natives, there has not been a day they can remember when they were not exposed to computers of some type. We adults on the other hand are digital immigrants - we moved into this technological world, some of us reluctantly or not at all yet. (Honestly, I have seen a two year old manipulate an iPhone to watch a video of the Wiggles that was stored on it, then get tired of that and look at the photos it held.)

As a child I had a pen pal - if I am not mistaken, this was arranged by a teacher that wanted us to get some handwriting experience and it continued for me over several years. I only remember that I enjoyed this experience with someone so far away as Florida (at the time I lived in Wisconsin). Today one can have e-pals, where you trade emails with others - potentially even in a different country. These are arranged for by teachers wanting their students to get exposure to, not only writing, but also cultural and geographical information. Foreign language teachers wanting their students to practice their new found language and learn about the customs of that country as well. Anyway, if you are interested, here is a website where those arrangements can be made: http://www.epals.com/ you may want to look at the website even if you think you aren't interested - they have some great lesson ideas.

Many elementary/middle school students use journaling as a tool to increase writing skills - in the electronic world these are blogs (web logs). There are many sites to set up a blog, but the easiest seems to be http://www.blogger.com (yes, this is that site). Try it for yourself to get comfortable with it -it really is easy - and it is FREE (you do need to set up a gmail account if you don't already have one).

Wikis are sites that let visitors become participants (http://www.wikipedia.org is an example) as these sites are constantly under revision - a living collaboration that shares the creative process and product by many - group research projects fit well into a wiki. PBworks is a place where you can set up your own or student wiki's - http://pbworks.com/academic.wiki

Teacher WebPages - as we continue to develop the website at work we will eventually have the capability to have teacher webpages. These are a place for instructors to put whatever they need to convey to either students or parents or the world at large. Here is an example of a teacher at Mill Springs Academy who is currently using this technology today: http://www.dalescience.info/science/syllabus.html/ (thanks for sharing Dale)

With something called Toniks and Skype, a Spanish class can interact with someone in Mexico over the internet on a video phone call (most new computers come with a web cam), allowing the opportunity to use their Spanish skills in a real life situation. http://www.toniks.com/ and http://www.skype.com/business/case-studies/toniks/

I love that today's technology makes the world a smaller place. The last quote the instructor left us with was, "Just because you don't know techonology doesn't mean you shouldn't learn it and use it. Given the realities of our modern age and the demands of our children's future, is it really satisfactory to allow teachers to choose whether they use modern technology in their instruction?" Just food for thought.

If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow. --John Dewey