Why Web 2.0 and Education?
As I reflected upon my previous entry, I realized that the case for Web 2.0 in general education may not be developed yet. So, I thought of two ideas for why Web 2.0 is important to education :
1. It can be a way to connect what happens in school to the rest of students' lives. This will, hopefully, make learning more meaningful to students.
2. Using the tools of Web 2.0 in the classroom is a form of "information literacy" (Yes, I know that is a problematic phrase. I just thought of this on the bus ride to school today so this is not a refined idea). As students will eventually be out in the real world, they need to learn to use these technologies in meaningful ways.
Anyone else have thoughts about the tools of Web 2.0 in general (or art) education?
Comments
I came across this site as I was doing some research on Web 2.0 for another class.
*Web 2.0 Backpack*
The author, Josh Catone, provides an extensive list for students (and teachers) of free services on the web that make studying and going to school much easier now than it was only a few years ago. It is broken up into different academic necessities (office functions, graphic organizers, note-taking, collaboration, bookmarking, calendars, etc…)
Here is the link http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/web_20_backpack_web_apps_for_students.php
Posted by: jan | September 20, 2007 2:21 AM
I just started reading the blog written by the son of the man who developed Macintosh. What he has to say is really interesting. I like the fact that the interface he is working with is so simple. The point is that you should not have to think about how to open a program or file, it should happen fluidly and not interrupt your process of working and thinking. You might want to check it out here: http://humanized.com/enso/launcher/fingertips.php
I think a lot of the problem with computers in the classroom has to do with interface design. The ways in which we interact with the information at hand is in some ways controlled by the tools we have for viewing and manipulating it. If the design is counterintuitive then there are going to be problems. Students tend to deal with these flow issues better because their habituated to the process more. But if they had a more natural and intuitive way of working, how might their work improve. I recommend watching the demo videos on the Enso site and considering how a small change in the way that we access our information might alter the way that we think about and approach the learning process.
Posted by: katie | September 26, 2007 4:38 AM