"Web 2.0 is an umbrella term used to describe the new generation of web-based communications and hosted services, such as social networking, wikis, blogs and podcasts".
There are 3 beneficial factors to Web 2.0, termed 'Es' of Web 2.0, as follows:
Enjoyable and exciting
Students enjoy being able to show off their work to others and give and receive feedback with others.
Energises learning
When working together with IT, exchanging ideas etc. students learn from each other and the computer in a fun environment adding a buzz to their work.
Emancipatory
Using technology, students will find information not readily available in the classroom.
Student teachers need to keep an open mind and try new things, not just with technology but all aspects of education. They also need to appreciate the potential of various technology resources.
However the good always has to come with the bad, internet safety. Internet safety is a growing concern in society these days, with cyber bullying, fraud, hacking etc., but most schools filter Web 2.0 to protect pupils. Education on internet safety should be mandatory in every technology classroom and a cross curriculum priority for other courses as well, since technology is utilised in every subject at school. In order to teach children about internet safety, you first need to teach them about respect, not only for communication but for everything e.g. environment, classroom, friends, peers, staff, families, communities, belongings etc., this can be done through multiple activities.
Another down fall with technology in the education system is that there is not always enough resources for every student therefore students are usually put into groups to share a laptop or other resource, however this could be beneficial in other ways such as social awareness. There is also the reliability of the equipment e.g. the internet, this could be hard for teachers to use for lesson plans or for them to allow students to use for their lessons. It could be seen as creating more work for teachers, as they would need to have a back up plan in case the equipment did let them down, however over time and getting use to technology in the classroom, teachers will find it second nature and rely on it quite regularly.
Web 2.0 opens up a whole other dimension to communicating which is the 'heart of the education process'. Education still hasn't fully embraced the Web 2.0's resources such as wikis, which are fantastic reources that can be easily used for educative purposes.
We (as teachers) need to ensure we are teaching students using new knowledge we have acquired rather then utilising how we were taught in school. The biggest thing affecting pedagogical thoughts is the personal experiences teachers have, therefore we need to push past our past experiences and focus more on our new knowledge about the education system.
I like this quote from the chapter " Given the integration of technologies into our daily lives, experiential learning through and with technology from the early years needs to be part of the provision for pupils in our schools". I agree with this enormously, I previously thought that more inclusion of technology in the curriculum would therefore mean that students would be spending more time indoors and with technology rather then playing in the playground and interacting with friends in 'the real world' rather than virtually. I now realise that as technology is so rapidly advancing there is a lot of children out there that know a lot more about technology than I do and would be able to teach me a lot about it therefore I need to learn as much as I can about it to use in my classroom and keep up to date with my students. Technology in the classroom both for teaching about and with, is essential!
References:
Younie, S., Leask, M., & Burden, K. (2015). Teaching and Learning with ICT in the Primary School (2nd ed.). Abingdon, Oxon & New York, NY: Routledge.
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