Thing # 5

What does School 2.0 mean to me? First and foremost, it means I need to get on the ball. I will be going into my third year of teaching. During my first year, technology was encouraged, but not emphasized. Last year, there was much more of an emphasis on it, especially the WEB 2.0 aspect, of which I was really not understanding of. I know that this year there will be an even greater emphasis put on the interactive, collaborative, social-learning technologies that are so prevalent in society. I am very thankful I am taking this course; it is pointing me in the right direction. When I envision School 2.0, I see a busy, active, talkative classroom with students working together and working globally at the same time. The teacher still plays a pivotal role, but not as a dictator but rather as a facilitator. Students are more accountable for their learning, as much of it is self-directed. It is dynamic, opening up worlds for many whom would never experience much beyond their own backyards. I do, however, think that it could be easy to lose the personal connectedness to students. Much of the interaction might be through cyberspace rather than personal space. Nothing takes the place of seeing the awe and interest in a student's eyes as you read a gripping tale of suspense to a room full of 9-year-olds. I feel I must preserve those precious moments.

As for the future, I believe there will need to be a stronger collaboration with industry and business to help serve public education. Learning with technology will require substantial funding to provide classrooms and teachers with the tools to do it well. Funding will be critical, and new partnerships will need to be forged, innovative ideas explored, and a shift in thinking about how things are done will need to occur. This is a natural place to put the engineering design process into effect. The question is: How will school systems equip themselves with the technology and other resources needed to effectively educate our children in light of the new information age? We need to imagine all kinds of possibilities, put our heads together to plan, implement our best plans, and reflect on what has taken place to see where we can improve. Sound simple? I believe it will be a huge challenge, but one that has to be undertaken.