From Information Regurgitation to Knowledge Building Beyond the Classroom

"Keeping up with the Joneses" comes to mind when I think about trying to keep up with technology. Personally, I try keep up with the latest and greatest because I fascinated by technology! There is so much out there, it seems impossible to keep up with it all! As a teacher, I have two options when it comes to technology ignore it or embrace it.

Embracing technology in the classroom is really the only option that I see, but then again I am a part of the generation that grew up as the internet came to life. I was 4 in 1989 when Berners-Lee was developing the Internet. Never being forced to use the internet, it was a natural part of my youth. For example, in the sixth grade, my class was able to follow a group of bicyclist through the Mayan Ruins. As they moved from location to location they updated us with what they were doing and seeing. We were able to email them questions. An amazing experience as we studied the Mayan culture in social studies.  Change is hard, not everyone educating today's students want to change their teaching practices to include technology. However, if we as educators don't embrace technology, we are doing a disservice to our students. Technology is everywhere in the world our students are engaged in outside of the classroom. How as educators can we teach our students to become well rounded adults without teaching them to interact online? How can we teach them to be responsible online citizens if we don't understand the online community ourselves? 

The days of hand written letters are a thing of the past. (Sorry Grandma!) However, staying connected and maintain relationships has never been more important, it's just gone digital. Using Web 2.0 is one way we can connect to our students outside the 4 walls of the classroom. To effectively use the tools at our disposal, we must first understand what it is and how to use it. Not every tool out there is worth using, but understanding what is available is half the battle. You never know, one of the new web 2.0 tools might make a tried and true lesson easier to carry out? Just as electronic mail made staying connected easier (not to mention cheaper!) over traditional "snail" mail.  As teachers, we attempt to build engaging lesson in the classroom, but learning for today's student extends far beyond the classroom. We need to be the trailblazers, teaching our students how to navigate the new read/write web; teaching them to be responsible online citizen capable of positively adding to an ever growing internet. This year I have had the great experience of using the read/write web with students for the first time. As a class, we created a wiki for the periodic table of elements. Amazing!

I am a young teacher. In my few short years in the classroom, I have seen a shift in my own teaching from information regurgitation to knowledge building beyond the classroom. Thanks to web 2.0 for a shift in my teaching, has made better higher order thinkers of both my students and myself. How had that shift occurred?  For example, my fist year teaching I had each student create at baby book for an element of their choosing and now this year students created an interactive online profile of an element where they were responsible for becoming the expert in order to answer probing questions from others outside our classroom. My first year everything was contained within my classroom and now my students and I share it with the world. 

Taking advantage of the connective tissue of the read/write web has also enabled me move from "my" classroom to "our" class. I have naturally moved away from being the "sage on the stage" to co-learners with my students with endless possibilities from the new read/write web.

As the new semester final starts, I am looking forward to exploring deeper in to web 2.0 tools. I have dipped my toes in podcasts and wikis and now I am ready to try blogs, video casting, voice thread, and student social networking. So many new things to try and explore!

The journey continues!