Lessons+Learned

At the beginning of this course, I knew very little about Web 2.0 tools. I was familiar with Wikispaces but little else. As I began exploring, I realized there are so many different options at an instructor's disposal that can help facilitate learning for his or her students. While working on my learning space, I realized that I have to work really hard to be creative. It is a slow process for me; as a result, I did not have time to implement all of the ideas that I had for my learning enviroment. However, as I continue to explore the Web 2.0 tools available, I will be able to expand and add new and more interesting things to my learning space to enhance student learning.

As I move forward in my career, I feel that I will need to be better at keeping up with what is going on in terms of mainstream media and technology. Something that I learned from taking this course is that although I may not be interested in blogging in my personal life, my students may gain some real benefit from it in their learning. They can use a medium they are comfortable with, and it keeps them reading and writing. I also think some of the other Web 2.0 tools (including blogs) enhance students' learning and keep them engaged and motivated because they are tools that students are familiar with and are comfortable using. The trick for me is to become familiar and comfortable with them as well. Except for Twitter. I refuse to Twitter. Sorry. I am adamant about this! It is part of my job as a teacher to evaluate what will be a potentially good learning tool and what is plain bunko in terms of educational worth. Twitter is bunko.

The thing that I feel I must remember is that the world is going to change and move forward whether I want it to or not. It is so much easier for me to do activities and projects that I am comfortable evaluating; however, I realize that my students may be losing out on building those 21st-Century skills and fluencies that they will need as they enter the workforce.

I also learned that it is really important to engage students in some critical analysis and evaluation of print, web, or other kinds of media information. It is an important skill to be able to determine what is fact or merely someone's opinion. There are shades of gray, of course, with any piece of information we see and hear. It seems that people are more willing to accept as true what they see; therefore, in this era of altered photos, films, and audio, it is even more important to carefully weigh where information is coming from and for what purpose it is being used. I cite the "tree octopus" photos as evidence of this. We all know that tree octopi do not exist, but it looks so real! Of course, the person who set up the site may assume that everyone knows it is a joke, but unless he says that younger kids may not yet have the ability to pick up on the subtle cues that this site is fabricated. As more and more students are born into the "Digital Generation," it will become even more important to teach them early to have a healthy skepticism about the sensory information they experience with regard to Web 2.0 tools.