Notes and Original Ideas

Ideas generated from or by reading the Blogs, Wikis and Podcast work of Will Richardson and canversations withing the school board. It is interesting to note that in the last little while there have been teachers embracing the use of Web 2.0 and we are also being asked about the Creative Commons copyrighting.

The internet is and has been a transformative technology and now it is evolving to its next iteraction it has not happened overnight but is gaining in awareness through the profile of social networking:

a) There are incredible opportunities and we need to enable students to truly work in these spaces. My personal fear is that the movement into these spaces will reduce time spent in natural spaces and therefore our connection with the natural world at a time when this connection is of paramount importance. Perhaps the natural world could one of the focussed uses of this powerful transformative technology.

b) Education is out of touch with the learning spaces. Studnents are making much of their relevant learning in spaces that educators know nothing of...This increases the Digital Divide between institutions and society.

c) Present forms of filtering are in effective and costly. Opportunities for educators to become conversant with 21st century literacy are being missed and counterrevolutionary movements are being made.

d) Safety is of utmost importance but it needs to be transportable beyond the walls of the institution both virtual and tangible walls. If we take a restrictive approach will this enable the transferance of shills and attitudes to navigate and use tools efficiently.

e) Web 2.0 applications are easy but, the degree of sophistication of users makes them so. We have reached a point in the use of GUI operating systems that the dificulty that may exist is long gone.

f) Hyperlinking and hypermedia is very important and educators should be writing in hyperlinks and promoting 21 st century literacy especially when we consider audience and the global voice that those in the blogoshere have.

g) A blog can also be used as a homebase on the web and a place to bring in information to using RSS.