A Self-Directed Future

I think that the future of learning is self-directed, as enabled by web 2.0 (and beyond) technology. This may seem like a threat to contemporary (outdated?) educational systems, but it doesn't have to be. If our job as teachers is (and has always been) to best prepare our students for their probable futures, then there's no reason why we shouldn't be doing that job to the best of our abilities at all times, regardless of technology-based cultural shifts.

Indeed, some of the things that we say we like to foster in students today include creativity, critical thinking, independent thought, collaboration, etc. These are lifelong learning skills: skills that are, perhaps, best and most relevantly taught through the use of Web 2.0 technology. They are skills that are not necessarily well taught in the environment of an outcomes-based, standardized testing education system.

To serve our students best, we need to adapt our pedagogy, and learn and teach Web 2.0 tools. This statement, I'm sure, will prompt a lot of "yeah, buts" from a lot of teachers: "yeah, but I don't have time to learn it," "yeah, but there's a curriculum to follow," "yeah, but there's no money for technology," etc., etc. Of course we have to make due with what we have, but the even bigger "of course," as far as I'm concerned, is the "of course we have to advocate for meaningful staff learning time, of course we have to integrate use of these technologies into the curriculum, and of course we need to pressure Boards for the tools that will shape our students' futures." If we don't do these things, I'm not sure we're doing our jobs well...