Thing 2: Thoughts About Web 2.0
Today’s students are definitely immersed in a digital world. I have only two look at my two daughters (Kelsey who just finished her freshman year at ‘Iolani and Elisa who just finished her freshman year at Western Oregon University) to see that reality in my own home.
My kids constantly multitask (although yesterday on Oprah I learned that according to brain science, the idea of multitasking is actually a myth) when sitting at their computers at home: sending IM messages, talking on Skype, watching a video, writing a history paper, shopping on the web all at the same time. In addition, although they don’t have the much coveted I-phone, they do use their cell phones in a myriad of ways that I have not even begun to touch:
- a camera
- a calendar
- to text message
- to play games
- and yes, every once in awhile, to speak to another person
This concept of the interactive web, however, has been all new for me. It seems to shift power into the hands of individuals rather than to keep it in mainstream institutions such as schools, newspapers, and the government. It does this by providing the tools to actively collaborate and workin real time on content that really matters and issues that affect the heart. So the challenge is to teach students how to channel that power and their digital fingers/minds into productive outcomes.
Where to begin? Sometimes I see clarity … but most times I just feel a bit overwhelmed at all that is available. As the weeks progress, I hope that the vision becomes clearer, and that practically speaking, I will be able to start by taking one small step. Still … where do I begin? A web blog, a wiki, google documents, classroom 2.0 … these are all still swimming around in my head.
