I can see why this is beneficial to employers for computer-programming jobs. Many different programs/courses/trainings are available for many occupations today.. the only real difference here is that you would earn a "badge" once complete. It would be hard to make this universal with the endless programs, certifications, etc. for so many different subjects/reasons/etc.

I agree with this statement. I guess it depends on the field you are looking to get a job in... but I have been told by professors that if a resume is over a page long, sometimes it is not even considered.

Some may think that "finding the needles they care about in a huge haystack" would be a rather time consuming task; however, with RSS feeds like the one we were required to set up at the beginning of this course, the tool does the work for you. You will not have to filter through everything you read for the stuff that you really care about. In the Networked Student Video that is a part of the Week 8 tasks, students now use their iPod or music listening device to listen through iTunesU to literally some of the best professors in the world. You may think that what you are researching or trying to find may be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but you can't be scared to go out and look for ways and people to find out as much as you can. As I read in this article, "It never hurts to ask- people love to share their knowledge in their fields of expertise.

To add, again from the "Networked Student" video from Week 8, "Information management will be a major challenge in the 21st century". Subscribing to RSS feeds is changing the content on the internet that becomes availble to you.

Since many educators do take this standpoint today, and if much of the learning is done outside of this "classical perspective" of knowledge, you may ask yourself what exactly is the role of a teacher who is encouraging the use of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom? As I learned from the "Networked Student" video, the teacher has many roles. The teacher helps to take advantage of learning opportunities, build your "network", offers guidance, models, and organizes information. The teacher also assists students when they hit a bump in the road. This shift in "teaching" I believe is a struggle for many educators.

"I value what they say and think" I really should start a blog to share with my parents and school community. I could center it around only what my STUDENTS say and do in my classroom. Being 5 and 6, they come up with some very interesting things. Some posts would be quite humorous, while others could be stories and learning experiences. I often share with parents via e-mail things that come up throughout the school day and they get a kick out of it. The more I think about this, the more ideas start springing into my head :)

This becomes very important once you hit middle school and high school. The name of the author shouldn't impact the comment that a student gives. This reminded me of a personal experience. I went to a very small private school (Juniata) here in PA which meant very small classes. I had one professor who got to know all of us very well and he always had his classes put their student ID number at the top of all papers instead of their names.. This way, he graded the papers first without knowing who wrote it. After, he would match up the ID's to our names. I respected this philosophy and had wished more professors did this.