Week 1 - Blog Posting #1 - Web 2.0

So my little trip down computer memory lane helped bring the point home, that although I am a digital immigrant (Prensky, 2001), I have been working hard not to be for quite awhile. When I think about how many computers I have owned (I forgot about the Toshiba Tablet and the custom built PC tower I bought in 1999), I have been intrigued by computer technology.

When I started teaching in the late 80s, technology integration consisted of the overhead projector. I mean if you had an overhead projector and by the end of the day your hands were all smeared with Vis-a-Vis ink, you were cutting edge! Wow, how things have changed. Yet, I am really beginning to wonder if they really have. Are we really integrating the technology or do we just use the hardware in place of older hardward, i.e. LCD projected Powerpoint presentations instead of transparancies. The bottom line as Solomon and Schrum (2007) point out is that school is still a text dominated experience.

The authors of Web 2.0 new tools, new schools (2007) emphasize in the early chapters, citing numerous research, that the kids we teach today are radically different than kids just a few years ago. One statement that really caught my attention: computers and the internet are communications tools, first. I think that is what truly sets the digital immigrant apart from the digital native. Even though we (teachers/adults) are using social media, we still predominantly view the computer and internet as a source for material. The paradigm shift is to understand it as a collaborative tool . . . and use it for collaboration.

I remember that one of my professors defined a research project and the subsequent paper as an opportunity to enter into the professional conversation about that topic. Hah, there was no "conversation" unless someone read the paper. Today, Web 2.0 has created a place for the whole world (granted they have internet access) to enter the conversation. And not just converse, but to build and create together--collaborate.

I am pretty jazzed about the future. I hope that by becoming more aware of technology as communication, I will be able to help students better use the tools they use and play with everyday. What a great opportunity.

Prensky, M. (2001, October). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/

Solomon, G. & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0 new tools, new schools. Washington, D.C.: International Society for Technology in Education.