Welcome to Web 2.0!

If you are just getting started go to the Welcome Page or if you are continuing lessons welcome back! Use the Weekly Outline or blog archive for easy navigation. If you are on a roll work ahead. Feel free to email me with any questions. Be sure to scroll down to check the Q&A Meebo Chat Room often.



Are you a VCS Employee? Sign up for Professional Development on Training CALENDAR ~10pts!!

Monday, February 21, 2011

Extra Credit- A Day in the Life of Web 2.0

Read this article by David Warlick originally published in Technology & Learning (2006)I want you to know up front, this is a picture of an ideal Web 2.0 situation.  It may even read Greek to you right now, but the main idea regardless of background knowledge is clear... 

After reading it, respond to one or more of the following:
Can you think of a way we can apply one or more of the ideal situations in VCS?
What are your reactions when you look at the original publish date of this article (2006) and today's date (2011)?
Any general reactions?

12 comments:

christine said...

As I was reading this I was impressed. What impressed me was how the WHOLE school was a part of it....not just a few teachers. I have found that in a school there are different levels of "buy in!' Some teachers jump right in and incorporate it into their classrooms. Others are slower to start/learn but agree that it is a good thing to do. Yet other DON'T want to be bothered learning all that they have to.
I wish VCS (county level) would create something that would enable us to post questions, comments, concerns with the curriculum. I'm thinking a Wiki page for each subject. It would be nice to post a question and have it answered so EVERYONE could see it. (I know I have some of the same concerns/questions as other teachers do)
Our school media center has a Wiki page where the kids can go on and comment of books they are reading (SSYRA). They enjoy going on there are reading what other kids have to say about the book they are reading.
We also have Edmodo groups for teachers and students to share ideas and projects. It is a great way to publish kid's works and let everyone see it instead of a bulletin board in the hallway. It is also a great way for teachers to collaborate with each other school wide or even county wide.

Unknown said...

This is definitely where we seem to be heading slowly as a district. With Edmodo, Wikispaces, Glogster, Go Animate and other sites, we have unlimited potential as a district to grow as learners together. I have to agree with what Christine said about buy in with technology. It is hard for teachers to see the value in using these tools when our students and our teaching is not evaluated on how well our students collaborate with each other on projects, but on how well they take pencil and paper tests. I am making some small headway at my school and will hopefully make more in my new position. I have great hope for our district and our students!

Meredith Gilbert said...

This was written in 2006. Five years later I imagine schools are steps closer to this, but doubt it is a reality at any school. (Mainly because of funding issues.)

I think some of the ideas are fantastic! I can see how much collaboration could occur between colleagues and throughout districts. It also seems like a great way to get parents more involved. Especially working parents!

I think Glogster and EdModo are steps in the right direction!

Mrs. Stewart said...

@Christine:
I think the county should use Edmodo to encourage countywide collaboration. Would be perfect to share curriculum ideas, suggestions and best practices.

Mary Jo said...

I agree with PPS about the lack of funding for technology. I had one student station in my classroom that worked intermitently. That being said, I can't let lack of funding justify my not learning about the web tools available. I think the RSS tool will be very useful for my own professional development. I also think that edmodo will help with collaboration and it seems very user friendly. I think VCS teachers that do newsletters could easily use a blog to communicate with parents and students. That's something I'd like to implement this year.

Gizbe said...

The first word that comes to mind after reading the article is empowerment. Students and teachers alike are empowered in the teaching and learning to be more creative thinkers. I believe the beginning of Edmodo will bring us to the front door of technology in many schools; however, for VCS to reach for the door handle, open it and walk in we need to break down the barriers of fear of technology, misconceptions along with providing many more opportunities to create without technological road blocks that some of us have experienced in the past.

Katy said...

I think collaboration is the key, technology is the tool. I am a relatively new teacher, and I see that teachers, in general, still work in isolation. They have "their" students, "their" classroom, with "their" lesson plans. Fourth grade is isolated from first grade. That used to serve our students well, because they were being prepared for a world in which they performed their jobs in isolation. That is no longer the case. As teachers, we must approach education in the same way our students already approach the world.

Time4Sail said...

I am so glad to see that Volusia County is being proactive by offering this wonderful workshop when we have time to digest the all the new technology :)

Debra said...

Wow--My first thought to the article was my school and I have some catching up to do. That was five years ago that school district was blogging and collabrating that it makes you wonder what must they be accomplishing now. I'm happy to see our county starting to push Edmodo and other collabrating programs for teacher and student use.

Love 4 You 2 Read said...

Since I think that using school labs is the way to accommodate those who do not have computer access outside of school, I am going to try to collaborate with my school media specialist this upcoming school year so we can give students the opportunity to experiment with some of this technology. I have already mentioned wanting to schedule the lab for my classes to get the chance to join Edmodo with me. I have a blog now, so they can go through the steps to access that, and I am sure more will come as I go through this training...

cathy said...

My head was spinning when I read the article because I'm just starting to get involved in the whole technology sphere. I couldn't imagine enough time in the day to do all the blogging and reading, etc. that was described. However, I realize now that we're headed in that direction by taking classes such as this. I realize that all things new take time and are harder at the beginning. I'm willing to take my steps in the journey, and I'm grateful for the help that I receive from others -- collaboration! Let's go for it!

Mme Augat said...

It seems great, and I am ready to head more into such a direction. We lack tools, even basic tools for technology, especially when working in an older school. I also think that we feel isolated, trying things, juggling many levels in our subject (high school), and the task seems overwhelming sometimes. So working with others, sharing and really helping each other would be great and enriching. It is not easy to do, and there is a lot of rivalry, lately especially. I would also like to really find the best tools for my subject, with oral communication at the center of it. All those tech tools open up such an array of possibilities in foreign languages compared to the good old lab of the past, we must learn to tap into them. Will be trying to get better at it...