I think the future growth of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom is only limited by teachers who are resistant to change or not open to new ideas. It truly seems like there are an incredible amount of ways that technology could improve our classroom instruction, and teaching standards are now reflecting the value of technology in the classroom.
I was skeptical at first that wiki's would be a useful place in my classroom. I was thinking that 5th graders wouldn't be responsible enough to utilize a program that allows anyone to edit the material. However, I have come a across a couple of ways I think wikis should be used in my school (asap!). Throughout our district, there has been a big push to create power standards and align curriculum across the grades. I think that Wiki's could be used to create a digital place for teachers to discuss what standards are being met in their classrooms. It would be nice for teachers to be able to add/adjust/change/update/edit what colleagues are writing so that they could collaborate and map out the entire curriculum.
I'm also making a mental connection to something that our district has already done.. We currently use google apps as a way for teachers to share what they are doing in their classrooms in terms of behavior interventions. It works very well to store that information in a digital format that can be accessed by anybody who needs ideas on interventions. And the files are constantly being updated by teachers with new ideas which makes it even more useful.
As I'm learning more about blogs, I can't stop envisioning ways they could be utilized in my classroom! Besides the fact that I could use a blog as an excellent way to communicate with parents, I think utilizing blogs would really encourage higher level thinking (being able to take what you've learned, put it in your own words, and publish it in a digital format) and collaboration skills among my students. I'm thinking that I could reformat some of the current lessons I have to include blogs as a means of assessment.
For example, right after New Years Eve every year, I do a project with my students where they research the New Years celebration and customs in a different country. They they have to write a letter to me, pretending that they are in that country, and tell me about what they've learned. Instead of assessing their letters, I could be using blogs to assess what they've learned. Students could create a blog for each country, and respond to different prompts (i.e. make one post about the clothing people wear, make one post about the date New Years is celebrated, post pictures from that country).
One issue that I do think is important to address, is that any of these web 2.0 project done within the classroom may need to be exactly that - done within the classroom. At this point, it is still unfair and unrealistic to assign homework that involves use of computers. While the vast majority of my students have access to technology at home, I can't assume that they all do. At-risk or students from low socio-economic status are in all of my classes and it seems like there could be some problems stemming from their lack of access to these materials...
I always struggle with when GoogleDocs is most convenient and when wikis are most useful. I find the organization you can put in a wiki is very helpful for creating an organized "encyclopedia", handbook, FAQ or complex document. It falls down on formatting ability. I find the GoogleDoc useful for multiple people editing one document that will then be shared with others or printed out. The wiki, only one person can work on a page at a time which may be a problem in a classroom setting. The GoogleDoc can have multiple editors as once (which can be a little distracting).
ReplyDeleteIt's a good point about using it in the classroom versus expecting access at home. With handheld devices become more powerful, it will be fascinating to watch what schools do over the next five years in terms of getting computers in the hands of kids. Will school districts provide devices to take home for students who don't have them? Will they provide internet access on these devices (perhaps through a cellular network rather than wifi)?
I do think that a wiki would be a fun and exciting way to do "old fashioned" editing of a writing project. I have never used it before (or GoogleDoc, for that matter) so I can't compare. What other uses have you found for these tools in the classroom?
ReplyDeleteGreat point- the growth of technology is only limited by those resistant to changing the traditional classroom. I haven't been resistant to change, but I feel like I have been a little slow in incorporating new things into the classroom. I think a lot of what we are learning about can be easily incorporated and likely much appreciated by my students!
ReplyDeleteAll of my students at the College have access to computers with the various computer labs at school, so assigning things outside of class time could be easily accomplished. I'm looking forward to adding new things to my syllabus!
It is funny because I was just talking about your openning statement with my principal yesterday. I feel like there are those of teachers who always try to reinvent our teaching so that we can reach our students on "their terms" and there are those teachers who are unable or unwilling to change. Those types of teachers usually believe that students should conform to their ways--in which it rarely happens and students end up "checking out" while they are in that class. At my school I have really been trying to get every teacher to try just one new thing this year and most importantly I am offering my support, advice, and resources for ideas. I am keeping my goal small scale take one lesson and improve it by either adding a 21st century skill (technology integration) or using higher levels of thinking. We are calling it the HOTTs project. (higher order thinking and technology)
ReplyDeleteI think Crystal really nailed it -- how do we convince some of our colleagues that not just does their content change from what they learned in college, but their students and the tools they like to use have changed, so they may need to adapt what they are doing. That higher order thinking is such an important point when you think about integrating technology into teaching. We don't want to use it just to automate something low level. In many cases, that isn't at all motivating to students and it makes decision makers question why we are spending all this money on technology. It really requires a fundamental shift in thinking about how students interact with content and with each other and the role(s) that the teacher might play. Each one of us can be a change agent in our institutions in a small way if we focus on both changing our practice and helping others think about their practice, too.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea about using wikis professionally as curriculum is being modified/developed. Right now our entire district is updating curriculum for every course. We don't have common prep periods and are given virtually no time during the work day to work on the curriculum projects. Angela, I think that you're right about the convenience of wikis with this type of writing. We could all work on it when we could. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteI also agree with a lot of you on here that using these technologies will require a major shift in thinking and teaching. Using tools like the wiki would require a lot of people to get on board...which could be tough. My school is a little slow on the technology front and just got online grading this year. It took the entire first semester to get everyone to "go along" with the project.