Web 2.0

I have been listening to the podcast that was on Will's website (conveniently downloaded and listened to through my iPod). Although a little dry and boring in places, the presentation was overall enlightening. What corellates between this podcast and Warlick's Great Question (What is important for us to teach our students?) is the application of this technology outside of the classroom. For example, the Houston Chronicle uses over 30 blogs in their coverage every day, presenting a "conversational model of journalism". To me, this would make reading the paper infinitely more interesting, because if people are presenting news in a more colloquial fashion, it will be easier to comprehend. John Edwards and other presidential candidates are using blogs and Youtube to announce their candidacy over the Internet. This is incredible! What is a better way to connect with people, especially younger people, than to use the technology that they are helping to perfect? If you wanted to see a speech, but missed when it aired (if it was even aired at all) a simple Youtube search can solve your problems.

What's amazing is that school has the potential to no longer be just a 7:30-3:00 application. You can learn anything 24/7 and connect to your students or classmates whenever you are able, even if school is out of session. One of the examples I see is with the Science Learning Academy that Will and Rob were discussing. The instant messenger problem really opened my eyes, that students would be interesting in attempting to further their own education by removing troublemakers by singling them out. But what really suprised me was that it happened in June. School didn't start until September. Kids are using the Internet to have discussions with classmates that they don't know and won't see for months! They were forming the learning environment that they wanted, not what their teachers had envisioned.

Blogging and podcasts lead to greater student engagement and it allows teachers to tap into a huge, secret underground resevoir of crude oil of talent and creativity from their students. For example, check out this class. I would normally not express myself in the form of a blog unless I was forced to, but yet I rather enjoy it. I like having people see what I have to say, how I write, how I choose to express my ideas. And this blog makes me want to contact my favorite authors, because if kids in Will's class can do it, why can't I? Why can't I strive to make a difference for myself and anyone else who chooses to read this? Wow. I can say that I am hooked now. Another example from the presentation was the third and fourth graders from Maine who wanted to do podcasts, even when their teacher was doubtful about it. WHAT. When I was a fourth grader all I wanted to do was read Goosebumps books and watch Eek! The Cat on FOX. I never wanted to apply myself towards school, hell, I still don't. But these kids, I daresay they are inspiring. And not only did they want to make podcasts, but they wanted to do it during recess and naptime!

This technology is important to learn because it broadens horizons and breaks barriers. The classroom is no longer a five day a week, morning to afternoon enterprise. It has become limitless. It is this idea that our students need to learn, that they are completely uninhibited. They can learn anything they want, they can take classes from MIT online for free (minus the degree, but who needs one anyway). The time is here for students to begin to educate themselves and along with guidance and additional instruction from teachers, they can take the reigns of their own educational lives.