Journal Five

Journal Five:

Bull, Glen. (2006). Leading and Learning with Technology. Collaboration in
a Web 2.0 Environment.
Retrieved from: http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=April_No_7_&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&ContentFileID=2642

Web 2.0 offers syndication via RSS (Really Simple Syndication) as a means of classroom collaboration among students, offering them yet another venue in which they can share work and collaborate on projects. What an excellent method of engaging students in content based activities because they are familiar with the practice since it’s so commonly used to contact friends.

With regard to the student population I teach and the subsequent use of Web 2.0., very specific boundaries would be enforced if (or shall I say when) I am in the position to provide student access. For starters. I would do an entire lesson plan about Web 2.0 so my students would be clear (CRYSTAL) on the programs’ purpose. I know my kids well enough to know that they are seeking fun and entertainment rather than the sharing of content; and because they tend to be task avoidant, they venture into unproductive ways of spending time. Both my students and their parents would sign an agreement prior to the onset of a collaborative project.

NetVibes sound like an incredible teaching tool with multiple supports for
students via RSS which features the feed for G-Mail, pictures through the
Flickr, and web based word processing (Writely). Since Web 2.0 offers an editing component (which addresses State Standard Written Expression) offers an intervention for struggling writers who fear peer input. At this point, planning and knowing I had the necessary resources precedes a class or group project involving either Bloglines or Web.2.0; however, at least I have the data to begin some type of integration in my units.

Question 1: How will the students buy into Web 2.0?
A. The fact that they already know how to socially network is a real plus. The magic happens when they find that Web 2.0 provides an interactive and fun way to build and even remediate language (and otherwise skills)

Question 2: What about students who do not have web access at home?
A. Via the site computer labs and the library, students are afforded the opportunity to create a class project vs. Web 2.0.