Shared Resources 4-E-3
After a lot of frustration (computer problems, network problems, among others) I was finally able to establish an account on del.icio.us and subscribe to the BOCE class feed. As I was reading through the different items my classmates posted, the power of social bookmarking hit me. This ability to share information through tags is terrific. I can now understand why it is used to sort through the mass of information on the web.
The use of del.icio.us would change the nature of the information in my class. The relationship of teacher to student information would be turned upside-down. In the traditional classroom, the teacher is the researcher, editor, and sometimes producer of information. The information is then delivered to the students. Social bookmarking, as I presently conceive it in the classroom, would have the students conduct the research and determine what information they felt would be important for class consideration; then collectively (teacher and students) would determine the usefulness of the information to classroom understanding. Perhaps, the students use tags to accumulate information for independent learning and research. As the modules progress, I’ll be looking for and considering new ways for del.icio.us use in the classroom.
5 Comments
Hi Jim,
I like the idea that teachers really don’t have to do it all and be the “all” knowing purveyor of knowledge in any given classroom. : ) It seems that the entire idea of sharing is freeing really. I think having the students gather their own research and decide on tags will give them a better sense of ownership of their learning. It’s all just very neat!! See you.
Sue
Fascinating! Are the replies that you are referencing available to see on the web? I’m working on a follow-up post, and would love to see the dialog.
Cheers,
Steve
Jim, this is a great article and echoes workshops of the social networking tools that I have recently attended (Marshall Breeding, Stephen Abrams, Helene Blowers).
The library is my classroom. The obstacles are the IT department and the Administration. I can’t imagine trying to get funding when our physical space has recently decreased. Our smart classrooms in the college have problems as well. And, our distance education department does not involve the library or its resources. The library personnel, for the most part, would eventually accept some of these social networking tools. Many of the library staff would be anxious as to the content. My work environment supports change as the administration wants. It is not collaborative. At the moment, we have tremendous change in the college and library needs are not at the top of the list. Institutional education will need to embrace social networking either as part of a class management systems (such as Angel or Blackboard) or as individual instructional design. Education has already changed and this began with the use of the Internet for online research. Now, we are using social networking tools and skills to motivate and engage our students. The use of anonymous blogging helps those students who don’t have the confidence to speak up in class. Wikis are setting the tone for group project participation as everyone in the group and/or class can look at the discussion
I think the biggest challenge about Web 2.0 is that we need to remember to focus on student learning. We cannot get caught up in the tools that technology provide us with. Web 2.0 definitely provides us with collaborative environment was never available. But, we need to think about how we can use this technology to help the students and the community of learners. Setting up blogs or websites won’t do anything if we don’t have a good lesson plan. We have to make the lesson plan just the same. We want to capture student interest, challenge prior learning, help them connect new and old knowledge, and help them make connection to the real world. I think if used properly, Web 2.0 opens up the whole world to the student apply what they are learning.
My school is supportive of the staff learning Web 2.0 tools. We spend a day on learning about podcasting, RSS, and websites. The process overwhelmed me; I walked away with nothing more than the knowledge of their existence. What I need is a support to implement technology in the curriculum. I would like to have a person to go to discuss what I vision in my lesson plan and how can it be done.
Great post, Jim. I enjoyed the article and made a copy for my principal this afternoon for his weekend reading pleasure. We had a nice conversation with the topic being sending the article anonymously to the technology boss in the county. My principal is on the side of moving forward and encourages me to do so.
My district is a good combination of Hargadon’s idealistic view and O’Hagen’s pessimistic view. I live the dichotomy every day. Many teachers have left the district because of limitations on the technology that we are permitted to use in the classroom. No wikis, no blogs, no web 2.0 at all. No streaming video! They even blocked TeacherTube for a while! The reasoning of the powers that be is that the high school students will abuse the system and no one will be able to keep up with them. Also, the cost of bandwidth makes it prohibitive. My district is proud of being 24th out of 24 districts in the state on spending, but 5th in student achievement. Maybe a little short-sighted?
In a way, it will be an evolution because the change will take time, but in a way, I believe it will be a revolution. By the shear power of numbers, the tech blockers will be overwhelmed by requests to move forward with technology. Teachers will lead the way by first wikiing and blogging between themselves, then finding ways to get around the roadblocks until it becomes a force for change.
Sarah