Setting the Stage Reflection
While completing the 5 readings that were in the Setting the Stage assignment I started seeing the various benefits and challenges that we as educators will face in the era of web 2.0. If I feel overwhelmed by the “tidal wave of information” I am sure that at least some of my students will feel the same way. I already use wikis for some of my students’ group assignments and discussions so I have seen the value of incorporating them into the learning process as well as the downside: not every student has the same level/quality of access at home, what happens to the project when the wiki doesn’t work, my parents won’t let me have the computer on during a thunderstorm, etc. One thing that I have noticed in just the past three years of using wikis is that I have to give fewer students instruction on how to use the wiki. Even some students who have never used a wiki before figure out how to use it intuitively.
One of the other things that spoke to me was the description of lurking. I clearly need to do a lot of lurking to feel more comfortable with the blogging stuff. Heck, I still look at my fingers when I type; typing takes a long time for me. I’ll just read for a while, thank you very much.
Finally, I plan to pull my students further into web 2.0 by keeping a quote from “It’s a Flat World, After All” in my mind: “Finish your homework—people in China and India are starving for your job.”
I absolutely agree that if I'm overwhelmed with the amount of technology and information, then some of my students are too. However, I'm also a little worried that some of my students are not only NOT overwhelmed, but they are surpassing my understanding and grasp of it. That's either scary or maybe a little reasurring for what the future may hold for these students being raised with this much technology.
ReplyDeleteI have only used a wiki a little in another class. I have never incorporated it in my classroom. I may have to investigate how to do that during this upcoming school year.:) Cynthia
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