e-learning 2.0 - how Web technologies are shaping education

The ReadWriteWeb… the first thing I’ve read in days that doesn’t sound like something coined by someone who’s had way too much coffee. It’s great. ClearConciseRelevant. As a teacher and parent I can state categorically that children are egocentric creatures. Sure, their intrigue with all things “shiny” will drawn them into VLEs (Virtual Learning Environments). But I think tools that allow them to create their own materials…Blogs, Wikis, and something called Manila etc… will captivate and motivate.

Teachers at a grammar school in Scotland take their students on an annual trip to Paris and Normandy and the kids publish a travel blog using TypePad. (Makes me wonder if they get the weekly lecture about using the copier too much. Maybe using technology will be cost effective and we can get those trips to Paris scheduled.) This image is of teachers’tv, which appears to be the go to place to see innovative applications for web 2.0 in education.

The author then addresses concerns that educators are “in danger of being undermined by the recently proposed Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA). This legislation attempts to address the moral panic over sites like MySpace and the perceived ‘dangers’ they pose to children.” Yes, the quotes around dangers are his. Yes, I understand the legislation uses a backhoe when a scalpel would have been more appropriate. Steve, as a parent and grandparent, if the school assigns students to use public sites like MySpace and, as a result, one student is harmed, would that be an acceptable cost? Look at the realities. A crime ring sprang up to hit celebrities who had tweeted they were away from home. Maybe they don’t get Dateline in the UK and he hasn’t seen all the online child predators stopping by for ice tea and handcuffs. It’s a valid danger and a concern educators need to share. Maybe web 2.0 is the perfect platform for educating children and putting the child predators where they belong. Seriously, it would be an opportunity to be proactive and make web 2.0 in the classroom part of the solution.

I’m off to watch a conference on Moodle that’s occurring this weekend in Austrailia and to make an avatar for second life. Now that’s a sentence I never thought I’d write and a far cry from usual Saturday. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, after inserting an image in your blog haven’t you done enough for one day?