Hi, all! I watched the You Tube video again from my last post and am laughing out loud by what the facilitator, Christopher Barnatt, says about defining Web 2.0: "Defining exactly what is meant by Web 2.0 is about as difficult as nailing jelly to the wall". Whew - that makes me feel a little bit better about not being an expert on the topic.
This week I'm going to focus on one key aspect of Web 2.0, interpersonal computing. Examples include social networking, wikis, blogs, and on-line video. I know that many students are really into using social networks like Facebook or MySpace. I am wondering at what age it starts? I'm thinking teenage years and up but perhaps some children are interested and allowed to join social networks at an earlier age? My oldest daughter is ten and she is interested in social networking but we have not allowed her an account or even explored the opportunity to see if any rules or guidelines regarding age apply. I'd like to explore how social networks can be used for educational or training purposes. Many K-12 schools have rules banning the access of social networks during school hours. However, there is an opportunity for application. I found a good article from an Ohio newspaper, Schools Get on the Web 2.0 Bandwagon. This article talks about how some schools and some teachers are now using the technology rather than cracking down on its use, as they may have done in the past. This sparks a block or teach debate in the schools and also brings up issues around keeping students safe in cyberspace. I especially like the example of students communicating with pen pals from across the world via blogging. When I was in middle school, I had a pen pal from England but had to communicate via good 'ole snail mail. I can imagine how much more interesting it would have been to communicate via blogs and include links, photos, and videos. This article also has a nice, basic glossary of Web 2.0 terms and examples. Anybody want to Twitter about that glossary? If so, you'll have to teach me how!
Hi Sue:
ReplyDeleteThank you for this fantastic post which continues your discussion about Web 2.0. I read the newspaper article, "Schools Get on the Web 2.0 Bandwagon" and I especially liked the quote from Principal David Mueller who wrote to parents about the use of Web 2.0 technology in the classroom stating: "I felt like I did when watching the live telecast of the first moon landing. I realized that we had crossed into a radically changed world." What a great quote because not only does it addresses his changing perspective on what new strategies can be used for educating today's kids, but also it juxtaposes and highlights the impact of two very different technologies that not only people's consciousness, but also the way they operated and engaged the surrounding world: Broadcast Television and the Internet.
Just a little side commentary:
The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used in everyday speech without much distinction. However, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not one and the same. The Internet is a global data communications system. It is a hardware and software infrastructure that provides connectivity between computers. In contrast, the Web is one of the services communicated via the Internet. It is a collection of interconnected documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URLs.
Reference
Wikipedia: the Internet. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet
Aja,
ReplyDeleteI love that quote myself (when the principal describes a "radically changed world"). It speaks volumes to the potential power of using Web 2.0 technology in the classroom. Now the challenge to school districts will be to better understand educational applications of Web 2.0 technologies and then support whatever they deem most appropriate - with policy changes, training for both teachers and students, and resources to support the costs of these new technologies.
Thank you for pointing out the difference between the terms "internet" and "World Wide web". That made me think about my use of the term "cyberspace" in my blog. I found the following definition of cyberspace in Wikipedia:
"Cyberspace is the electronic medium of computer networks, in which online communication takes place. It is readily identified with the interconnected information technology required to achieve the wide range of system capabilities associated with the transport of communication and control products and services. Current technology integrates a number of capabilities (sensors, signals, connections, transmissions, processors, and controllers) sufficient to generate a virtual interactive experience accessible regardless of a geographic location."
Given that definition, I think I used the word cyberspace correctly. Feel free to give me your opinion from cyberspace!
Reference
Wikipedia: Cyberspace. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberspace
4 years ago I overheard my 2nd grade students talking about Myspace. One of the boys who was new to our school was bragging to the girls that he had one. I told him I was going to go home and look him up because I was sure that 7 or 8 year olds were not able to have their own page. I entered a search for people with just his first name and Syracuse as the location. There were 3 matches that contained profile pictures and one of them was easily identifiable as my student. I clicked on his page to see his age listed at 18 and profanity littering the text. I was very uncomfortable with what I saw. The next day at school, I notified my teammates and the school social worker about my findings. The social worker advised me to let his parents know that I was aware of his page. I waited afterschool for him to get picked up one day and told his mom about what I saw. She claimed his high school age cousins created the page and that he only was allowed on it with them or other family adults present. So regardless of what rules social networking sites may have, kids will find ways around them.
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