Web 2.0: Enhancing Education Through Technology

"Kurt Wootton, co-author of A Reason to Read. "In my view, the repetition must not come before allowing students to participate in the creative tasks, but rather repeated practice walks side-by-side with the creative process."" I find this statement to "hit the nail on the head" as the debate between rote memory and creative "aha" moments continue. The analogy of the musician practicing for hours playing scales as well as note for note renditions of other's work is appropriate to this discussion. The book, "Outliers",by Malcolm Gladwell, addresses the 10,000 hour rule. To paraphrase; To become world class at anything, it takes 10,000 hours of focused practice. The author's examples range from Bill Gates to The Beatles. When two sides are set up as an US vs THEM debate, it misses the oppoprtunity to combine perfect practice with creative inspiration. Putting together a perfect meal is based on proper choices of various food combinations. Putting together a perfect learning environment is very similar in that a combination of repetitive learning and creative opportunity helps the learning as well as creative process.

"Kurt Wootton, co-author of A Reason to Read. "In my view, the repetition must not come before allowing students to participate in the creative tasks, but rather repeated practice walks side-by-side with the creative process."" I find this statement to "hit the nail on the head" as the debate between rote memory and creative "aha" moments continue. The analogy of the musician practicing for hours playing scales as well as note for note renditions of other's work is appropriate to this discussion. The book, "Outliers",by Malcolm Gladwell, addresses the 10,000 hour rule. To paraphrase; To become world class at anything, it takes 10,000 hours of focused practice. The author's examples range from Bill Gates to The Beatles. When two sides are set up as an US vs THEM debate, it misses the oppoprtunity to combine perfect practice with creative inspiration. Putting together a perfect meal is based on proper choices of various food combinations. Putting together a perfect learning environment is very similar in that a combination of repetitive learning and creative opportunity helps the learning as well as creative process.

This article gives great examples of Twitter being used as an educational tool. Communicating with a person from Egypt on the eve of President Mubarak's speech to get a reaction that was not created by the international press is a very exciting opportunity. The responsibility of the student to interpret the value of this response becomes a critical part of the Twitter experience.

Finding Dulcinea and Sweet Search are my two favorite Web 2.0 finds this week.  There is also a great Guide to Web Searches!  I think all educators will find these tools quite useful.  Check them out!

Two teachers collaborating together with Biology, art and technology to create a video on DNA.

For any teacher that wants to experience what cross disciplinary, project based teaching and learning can be, I recommend the short video, " Team Teaching: Two Teachers, Three subjects, One Project http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ASO9FM6gDLs The video explores the opportunities that exist when a traditional physiology topic, blood, is integrated with multimedia. The results are motivating. The viewer experiences art and science coming together under the umbrella of one topic. The team teaching approach is aided by the fact that teachers begin their day an hour before students in order to meet and coordinate the team approach. Students engage in research as they work toward creating multimedia presentations that are placed on display at a local art gallery in order to promote blood donation. This project based approach allows students to share their works with a large audience while creating a community connection with the local blood bank as well as the local art gallery. The teachers guide students through the project and become a resource, rather than only a "holder of knowledge". Students are given real world deadlines and are held accountable by their teachers through online digital portfolios. The exciting part of this project, for teachers interested in attempting this approach to learning, is the opportunity it provides for the teacher to grow outside of their normal curriculum.

Author -Dan Ponterfract proposes a new Model for education in which student collaboration is the "default behavior". Learning is done " at any point in time, through any medium, and at any location", and curriculum focuses on the "community of learning". This article presents educators with the ABCs necessary to transform our system into a 21st century learning environment.

If you are looking for tools to help students and teachers in traditional classrooms working on group projects, the following collaboration tools will help with any need. From group papers to file sharing to group communication, the following tools will help bring any educational group together seamlessly to produce awesome results.

I thought this would be helpful in a Church History course--great introduction and use of accurate material

Hi Megan, I was wondering if there was another link that would work for this topic of Media and Social Justice. I would love to see more! Thanks Tara

For some reason the link is not available. This would be helpful in History as well as my Church History Class.

A great summary of how and why web2.0 technology supports 21st century skills and  and the future of learning.

This truly is a great summary of 21st century direction. Teaching and learning will consist of digital delivery, it will be interest driven, and Web 2.0 skills will be the focus. I believe that this trend is very accurate and that this shift will, ultimately, improve the motivation for learning of our students. I think the drawback is the teachers who do not wish or are not willing to make the shift. I believe the future of education is exhilarating!

Kae, Key points: --"reliable, valuable, and up-to-the-minute information."(web 1.0) --"content-creating process". (Web 2.0) --"the idea of K-12 education being tailored to students' own interests is becoming more commonplace."An old idea whose time may have come due to access to information through technology. --"Democratizing education." Huge implications for poorer school districts. The focus moves away from bricks and mortar to learning and access to information. The big question becomes,"As the culture of the school diminishes in the role of traditional learning, will the culture of the home be equipped to encourage the child? Will underperforming students start to perform better by providing equal access to all information? Tom

I found this article quite informative and wrote a blog entry about it. That can be located at http://alwaysjan.edublogs.org/2013/02/17/if-we-teach-today-as-we-taught-yesterday-we-rob-out-children-of-tomorrow-john-dewey/ . I hope you take the time to read my blog post.

This is an awesome example of how to use a wiki for professional development. Thank you Neal.

Teaching students and faculty to produce videos to enhance education and schools are also using videos on their web sites to keep parents informed about school events.

Because today's students use so many digital devices that use up bandwidth that colleges have had to block students from using online services like Naptser, Netflix and Youtube during severe storms when students are forced to stay indoors for days at a time.

As we are creating new opportunities for students to develop their 21st century skills, it is important to stay current wit rigorous and relevant assessments for real world work.  This blog speaks to this issue

Quick Facts About HOT No one thinks perfectly or poorly all the time. Memorizing something is not the same as thinking about it. You can memorize something without understanding it. Thinking is done in both words and pictures. These are just a few of the HOT qualities identified in this article

Thanks, Tom. I went back to the article after reading your comment. The address is: http://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/highorderthinking.php As I was exploring the site I must have copied an incorrect address. Sister

Sister Jacqueline, The article was well worth reading. It does a nice job of explaining the importance of higher order thinking and how it relates to problem solving and its importance in a school setting. Tom

Practical tips for teachers who are looking to become bloggers. 

Thanks, Jen. As a new blogger, I found this article to have some good thoughts about the subject matter of a blog. I like his "to-the-point" suggestions. Sister J.

Schools of the future promote learning by embracing individual diversity, promoting passion-based learning and allowing for choice and flexibility in terms of content. 

Gregory Ferenstein posts in Tech Crunch: http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/11/a-huge-month-online-education-is-replacing-physical-colleges-at-a-crazy-fast-pace/ GREGORY FERENSTEIN Monday, February 11th, 2013 The rate at which online education is becoming part of the fabric of higher education is experiencing exponential growth. Over 1800 accredited Universities including M.I.T, Duke, UPenn, University of Wisconsin are actively embracing the new technologies. Many of the new courses are rigorous science based courses now being offered at vey low tuition rates. Studies are showing that test scores are rising in an online environment. A word of caution must be added. Initial experiments in education usually recruit the best and brightest on both sides of the equation. As these programs expand, close attention should be paid to the results.