Careful about assumptions!

I often hear teachers talk about the "kids today" and how computer savvy they are; it seems like whenever there's a teacher that needs some tech. assistance, there's a capable student willing to help. In my experience, however, there are just as many kids incapable of performing what might now be considered basic computer skills, and when you narrow the field to capable Web 2.0 students, the numbers drop again.

I think that teachers group all students as capable for a couple of reasons: the idea that there's always a student who can help might lead to the assumption that all students can help; teachers make assumptions about the ubiquitous technological capacities of students based on a small -- and willing -- sample set. The assumption that all students have glowing computer skills also lets teachers off the hook: "I don't need to teach them anything about computers: they know it all."

While it's fair to say that most students are capable of setting up a Facebook account and doing a Google search, I think that we need to take responsibility, as teachers, for expanding and refining the Web 2.0 skill sets that will lead these kids to successful futures.

More studies, such as the revealing, recent PEW Survey, may help us to get a handle on just what Web 2.0 tools most kids use and don't use, and thus let us make better choices -- and fewer assumptions -- about what we need to teach and what we don't.

Facebook and Democracy

In his 1986 essay "Ultimate Discourse," E.L. Doctorow asserts that "fiction is democratic, it reasserts the authority of the single mind to make and remake the world." These days, one could replace the word "fiction" with "Web 2.0" and still have a statement just as true.

One of the many great things about the 2-way nature of Web 2.0 is that it is democratic: it gives voice to individuals, and, if a lot of individuals voice the same thing, their collective voices can bring about real-world change.

In his article "Facebook and Democracy," Shilo Davis writes about the Canadian public's online response to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's recent prorogation of parliament, but in both the article's title and content there is a larger issue implied.

The "Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament" Facebook group has over 200,000 members -- the biggest Facebook group in Cananda, and, as Davis points out, is "the quickest large-scale grassroots political mobilization in Canadian history."

Despite this, some may give less credit to a Facebook group than a pen-and-paper petition. They shouldn't. The CAPP has allowed diverse people in diverse places the ability to coordinate offline events: there are upcoming rallies planned for more than 50 cities and towns. No paper petition -- or one-way Web 1.0 e-mail campaign for that matter -- could ever have coordinated this result this quickly, and without any cost (well, it might cost the Harper government in the end...).

While critics may call social networking for change "slacktivism," there's no denying that Facebook and other Web 2.0 tools allow for the public airing of an individual's (or group's) private thoughts, and that real change may happen as a result. Not a bad definition of democracy, huh?

Phone Book

Check out the future of interactive education for kids:

Learning to Change!

Web 2.0 and Student Engagement

In "Anti-Teaching: Confronting the Crisis of Significance", Kansas State University's Michael Wesch makes the argument that today's students often don't feel that the things they are learning is school are significant; they thus disengage easily.

Perhaps this is because education systems often deliver outdated stuff via outdated methods. We need to deliver curricular content & methodology that is relevant to today's learners in order to reengage them.

Teaching Web 2.0 delivers on both counts -- through Web 2.0 education, students are learning what they will need to know in order to be proficient in their future work, and learning in the way that future education & communication will most likely be delivered & implemented. Today's lifelong learner needs a level of technological proficiency that yesterday's did not.

Check out one way that Web 2.0 is being applied in order to engage and prepare students by watching this short video: Twitter in the Classroom, and try it yourself!

Bloom's Taxonomy: Web 2.0

Here's a great PDF of Bloom's Taxonomy with Web 2.0 skills aligned, from ICTeaching.

WatchKnow

New Educational video website available: WatchKnow.org

This is a wiki-style, fully searchable / contributable database of internet-available educational videos, tagged by age appropriateness.

For an introductory video, click here.

To access the site, click here.

Thanks,
Ross.