Teachers



Diagram by David Warlick - http://davidwarlick.com/images/school1to2_part2-20080102-072853.jpg

Why should educators be using web 2.0 tools in their classroom practices?
Web 2.0 (the new Interactive World Wide Web) is transforming the manner in which people all over the world are interacting, communicating and collaborating. In the last two years, we have witnessed an explosion of new information and knowledge available to anyone with an Internet connection. As educators, we cannot ignore the fact that our students are consumers, distributors, remixers, and creators of content from and to the Internet. They need models and guidance from trusted adults as they interact with others and with information. **Below are some of the reasons I believe educators should be the trailblazers of these tools:**

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 * **Audience -** An authentic audience provides a sense of purpose for the students. Knowing that someone other than just one teacher is reviewing and appreciating their educational products motivates students to provide best quality products.
 * **Relevance** - Whether we like it or not, our students are active on the Internet. This is their world which they navigate seamlessly between face-to-face, cell phones, and online communication. To make learning relevant, their educators should be taking advantage of these media to make learning relevant to this generation of young learners.
 * **Appropriate Conduct** - As our students relate to each other digitally, we should be providing them with opportunities to develop communication skills that are appropriate. It is too easy to hide behind a faceless persona when using a computer as a medium between two people. We need to be teaching accountability for improper behaviour and conduct. As we increasingly are communicating over digital media, we need more than ever to be reminded to appreciate the humanity and dignity of the person on the other side of the computer screen.
 * **Global Citizenship** - Most of our schools and homes now have the infrastructure to support ongoing communication and relationships with people beyond our borders. Being able to communicate effectively between cultures has never been so important. Our students require these important 21st century skills as it will be more than likely they will have to collaborate at a distance with their future colleagues and peers.
 * **Improved Teaching Skills** - In a recent survey I conducted with educators from around the world, 85% of the survey respondents stated that access to online social networking tools had a direct impact on their teaching abilities.
 * **Learning Gains** - In the same survey, educators were asked if their access to an online social network impacted their students' learning gains - 79% responded positively. As we all know, there is no magic bullet to ensure high learning gains by our students. There is simply no replacement for good teachers. Nearly 80% of these educators believed access to web 2.0 tools through a social network had a positive impact on the learning gains of their students. This should be reason enough to explore social networks for educators.
 * **Anchoring and Filtering** - With the chaotic deluge of information that is now available and increasing at an exponential rate, educators need to address the skills of anchoring and filtering. Anchoring is the skill of keeping focus on the task at hand. Filtering is the skill of discerning which information is critical, relevant, and appropriate to the task at hand.
 * **Evaluation and Authentication** - This access to a never-ending supply of information now requires students to critically evaluate and authenticate facts and information. Without being familiar with effective search techniques, educators will not be effectively preparing students for these important skills.
 * **O****pportunities to Collaborate** - Web 2.0 tools and environments provide opportunities for students and teachers to collaborate easily and effectively. Important peer review skills can learned as students have easy access to each others' work.
 * **Transparency and Openness** - Just as students are able to effectively collaborate with ease using these tools, so can teachers collaborate with other teachers to share best practices and become even more effective educators. The tools and environments of web 2.0 facilitate transparency and openness by displaying our content to a global audience who can provide feedback as well as take our products and knowledge to an even deeper level.
 * I would like to acknowledge that many of the ideas expressed here are synthesized from both my experiences and my readings from the following books: [|Knowing Knowledge] (by George Siemens) and [|Wikinomics] (by Don Tapscott, and Anthony Williams).