Web 2.0: Social Media and Beyond

My understanding of the term Web 2.0: Second generation of the internet. This generation is far more interactive, full of different media, and advertising.  I asked my friend, a computer science major, described it simply as the internet that we know today with YouTube, all the social media, and Google etc. I want to discuss a few ways to evolve the classroom through the use of the web and technologies.

The further I investigate the role of technology in schools and in the classroom the more I appreciate it.  The use of social media in the school setting certainly is a controversial issue and I admittedly was a skeptic even though I knew we were to use it in our class.  My reservation for applying it in a high school setting is naturally fear of different forms of abuse.  For this I look forward to learning some of the different models schools have used to incorporate social media like Facebook and Twitter so that kids interact in positive and thoughtful ways.

Eric Sheninger, a pioneer of incorporating social media in schools, describes it as coming up to speed with the times and most importantly with our children and students.  Essentially, this form of communication appeals to our students in a time when schools are becoming more and more disconnected with their students.  Further, social media is free form of communication that takes very little time and allows for teachers and administrators to reach students,parents and their communities quickly and often.  As I watched a presentation Sheninger  gave at a teaching summit I thought to myself that by tweeting and posting ideas, events and updates online for the public to read it also potentially spreads positive messages among school districts.  Social media connects people; my thought is that if one principal is posting new learning ideas and positive messages about their school then I am lead to believe that those messages, along with the embrace of technology,  will spread to other school districts and their constituents.  Let's think of it as inadvertently thinking collaboratively: schools building on each other's ideas just by participating.

Another concept I am familiarizing myself with is the 'reverse classroom model.'  If you ever find yourself wanting more time to discuss topics, continue an experiment or practice a few more math problems this may be a useful model for you.  The teacher is to videotape themselves delivering lesson and upload it to either iTunes or her teacher website and assign the lesson for homework and the following class the lesson will be practice or discussed in class.  First thing I thought when I heard of this was replacing the textbook chapter reading with the online lesson.  I see it that by creating a 20-30 minute lesson for students to watch for homework is not only a more effective delivery system in that the teacher creates the message and not relying on a textbook, but it will likely take less time than reading and be more engaging for students.  

It's exciting for me to learn about this subject.  Effectively engaging students is central to my developing theory of pedagogy, harnessing technology seems to be the future of connecting with our students.