Web 2.0 in the Classroom: Still in Beta?

"Isn't every course beta? isn't deep learning beta by definition?"

- Barbara Ganley on twitter -

Barbara Ganley is always a deep, thorough read. But this twit posted last week has left me with a lot to think about. Many people hate changing grade levels and courses. After a year or two of teaching the same course, we are often happy and content. We have filing cabinets or harddrives jammed with files that we can draw upon, use and re-use until the papers and pixels are worn thin. We're all human. We all get into our comfort zone. We all find things that work and want to stick with them. But at what point does: "this is tried and true. It is a technique/presentation/movie/assignment/etc that I know is successful and gets to the heart of the matter" become something that is overused? When does it begin to get old?

Although I've been using technology in my classroom for years, this is only the forth year that I've been involved with blogging, podcasting, using wikis, etc. This is my forth year of web 2.0 in the classroom and it is time for serious questions. Can I see the benefits? Are the kids connecting? Is their learning changing? Are they more global and thought - full? This brings along the next set of questions: can we recognise when using 2.0 in our classroom is a benefit or not? Can we give up tools when we need to?

I have not added many tools to my classroom this year. In our thinwalls classroom we have tried out several new ones: Voicethread, Moodle, and several IM clients among them. But none of them have really taken hold in my classroom. We can use them as needed, but none of them have become cornerstones and changed the way we work. I don't believe that all tools and methods are equal for all classrooms and teachers. For example, I don't believe that blogging is for everyone, but I do believe that everyone can find something in the 2.0 universe that fits them, their classroom life, and their needs. That may be podcasting instead of blogging. It might be using twitter or ning or something else. But in all situations our own context and classroom life must be paramount; not what is the tool of the moment. I look for long term value from things. I think it takes time for tools to become helpful and useful in learning. That time might range from a few weeks to several months before we can honestly evaluate the effect they have on learning in our classrooms.

My school year still has almost six weeks to go and this is the time of year when I begin to reflect and look back. I wonder about the things we've accomplished and the things we have not managed to do. This is also the time of year when I take the time to try out new things that I'm interested in doing full scale next year. I might try out a technology for a few lessons and question if it can be used long term. As my classroom and my thoughts about teaching evolve I critically search for a match between the tools I use and my needs.

It is time for the questions and time to search for the benefits.

Tags: BarbaraGanley, 2.0, classrooms, learning, evaluate, thinwalls

Comments

[Jake]

It's great to see that you've started utilizing web 2.0 functions in your classroom. It is also good to read someone giving an analysis of the benefit thus far (or lack-of benefit) after utilizing the different concepts over the years. You make an excellent point that somethings will work better for certain teachers and teaching styles, and I'm sure that is realized through trial and error. Either way, I look forward to seeing what happens in the near future as the classroom becomes more and more technologically based.

What has been the biggest advantage you have found to having web 2.0 in your classroom? Has it shown to be a huge distraction for the kids more than it has been helpful?

Jake
www.NoteScribe.net

[Nadine N]

The comment that really struck me was "I don't believe that blogging is for everyone, but I do believe that everyone can find something in the 2.0 universe that fits them, their classroom life, and their needs." I have found that many people feel that if you don't have a well developed blog, your understanding and your preparedness to teach using web2.0 tools is somehow lacking. I once saw a comment on twitter that said, "How can you teach blogging if you don't blog?" I was taken back by that because I think one can understand the benefits and implications of an application like blogging even if it's not really for them. Like you, I believe it's important to find ways to work these new communication/information tools into a professional life and into teaching - but which one, should be depend entirely on the class and the teacher.