Why learning with technology is crucial for K12 students

In his article, "Learning to Learn Software: Ten Heuristics" Patrick Dickson closes by saying, "In a global economy and a world of continual and accelerating change, we must create a society in which everyone knows how to continually learn and has the dispositions and habits of the heart to do so. Anyone today who waits to be taught runs the risk of being left behind by those who know how to learn on their own and with colleagues."
This is precisely what worries me every day about my students. They are not provided the opportunities to work with technology in a meaningful way. Sometimes they get time on a computer, but that is pretty hit or miss and usually confined to data processing or maybe a little Internet research, but no way close to fully utilizing the possibilities of Web 2.0 collaboration and sharing of knowledge. If they don't learn these skills in high school, where will they? Only a small percentage of students from my school go to college, they rest seek places in the job market. They are waiting to be taught. Their parents have confidence that the school is teaching their children the skills they will need as adults. However, if the students (and thereby, the parents) do not have exposure to Web 2.0 tools, how will they know what they are missing until it's too late? Teachers need to push, school districts need to push, legislatures need to respond in a morally responsible way rather than just clamoring for NCLB tests as a way to get votes and keep themselves in office.

Sharing Tools of Web 2.0

In my experience, many veteran teachers are still coming to grips with Web 1.0 and do not have much of a clue about what Web 2.0 has to offer for them in the classroom or the implications for the future of education. They have probably heard of blogging, but have not written one nor read many. They have probably heard of wikis but their experience with one, if any, is limited to wikipedia. The concepts and implications of social software are just not within their consciousness. So, how do we bridge that gap so that our students benefit from Web 2.0 and gain the experience they need to fully participate in the global economy of the 21st century?

Bryan Alexander's 2006 article in EDUCAUSE review titled "Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning?" is a good place to start. It defines what Web 2.0 is, gives some of its history, and provides some ideas for how social software can be used in education. While it mostly focuses on higher education and business, the applications for K-12 education can be easily seen as well. The collaboration and sharing of knowledge is foremost a part of Web 2.0, but many veteran teachers find that disconcerting, to say the least, as it means they must give up some control in the classroom. As Alexander points out though, this is not a bad thing. Students learn from each other and the professor. His example is with social bookmarking, tagging. Students tag items they find useful for their own research, but also learn things they might have missed by reviewing their classmates and their professor's tags. This is just one small example of how social software can be easily integrated into a teacher's regular routine.

Web 2.0 Learning Platform Thoughts

I recently read an article that was quite thought provoking. Great collection of references too!



Rogers, P., Chan, P., & Isom, B. (2007). Web 2.0 learning platform: Harnessing collective intelligence. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education. July, 2007, 8 (3), 16-33.



Social software is redefining education. Whereas older e-learning was patterned after traditional methods of teaching (i.e. drill & kill, etc.), social software is all about collaboration and sharing knowledge. The lines between teacher and student are blended as each learns from the other. This is not to say that what it means to be educated is changing, just the way in which we learn and how we express knowledge. MIT and other universities are moving toward open sharing of content by putting all their courses online. The feeling is that learning (value) does not come from just transferring content (sounds like teacher lecture/student listen), but rather learning comes from the creative, interactive, and meaningful ways that the content is used in a community (p. 20).

So how do we harness this collective intelligence, the wisdom of the crowds? Because the economy is rapidly changing we need to prepare students for the world in which they will live and work. Rather than let learning be driven by the needs of the educational institution, we as education leaders need to encourage learning that fits the current and future needs of our students. Don't fight it, work with it, embrace it.

Social Learning through Web 2.0

Social software can be an agent of social change by its very nature. A collaborative ethos is established as studentswork together for a common goal; they are able to learn from each other while enhancing their own research and critical thinking skills. However, as web-based social learning is still a recent phenomena in K-12 education, several issues arise for consideration:
How to meet the need for staff development in the most effective ways to enable teachers to use social software?
What constitutes the community students will be working in/within?
How do those who do not have access to social software still glean the benefits?