Carol_Schreiber_Web20


 * As educators and budding administrators, your job is to consider the use of these Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. There are clearly some educational benefits, but there may also be constraints in their use...for instance, some or even many of them may be blocked in your school division. What do you think? Is it possible to open up the classroom to these kinds of collaborative tools? If so, how? H ow might Web 2.0 tools change the constraints on student learning that the author seem to see in place in contemporary classrooms. Also note whether you think this constraint applies to your particular class or specialty. **

I always feel like I am in the middle when it comes to conversations like the one stated above. As an ITRT, of course I am all for using Web 2.0 tools in the classroom, but their are definitely some constraints and I feel like far too often teachers are being blamed when it is the administration's fault. Sorry to sound so blunt, but the administration make it hard on the teachers to become more capable of utilizing technology in the ways it should be used. There are several reasons I feel this way. The first being that the majority of the staff in central office (specialists, directors, and human resource personnel) are not capable of even created a simple PowerPoint, let alone capable of understanding myspace, facebook, proper use of cell phones, digital story telling, screencasting, etc. If we want to change the way school systems are run, we have to start at the top. If central office isn't communicating in this fashion or training their building administrators, then building administrators can not encourage and support their faculty. If building administrators can not encourage and support their staff, then the teachers can not support the students. I also always feel like I am starting from the bottom and trying to work my way up. Where this might be acceptable in the process of building a house, it is not in terms of support from the chain of commands in education. Administration also fudges SOQ's, so that they can keep themselves in current positions instead of hiring the amount of technology support required by the federal government.Teachers do not have budget lines, therefore they can not purchase the equipment that they need to utilize Web 2.0 tools. If building administrators are not trained on how and what is needed, they will not purchase what is needed for the teachers to be successful.

On a more positive not, I definitely think using Web 2.0 tools is possible even with undereducated administrators and blocked websites and programs. One great way is to allow students to tell stories digitally. Animoto is a fabulous website that allows students to create 30 seconds digital stories, longer if you pay, and it is not blocked. If it is blocked in other districts, students can do the same type thing using Windows Movie Maker, or iMovie and then upload to a site like Teacher Tube, which I haven't know to be blocked anywhere. Another great tool for elementary students is PowerPoint. It is basic, but allows creativity, collaboration, and research to take place while mastering an SOL. The students can then upload their PowerPoints to www.slideshare.com, and allow their friends, parents, and other relatives to go online and see their work. Even if students don't have personal email, both of these activities can be loaded online easily by a teacher, but still show who the real creator was by text, imagery, and even voice! Even though we have not fully decided whether or not to give elementary students email addresses, there are some pretty safe ones out there that filter messages for inappropriate words, pictures, and content. Emails through places like gaggle.net provide these filters free of charge and could be a great way to open up communication and start teaching about netiquette and safety.

Overall, I think we have leaps and bounds to still go, but we are moving forward. Teachers are doing a marvelous job working with what they have, sometime being only one PC in their room, and trying to become more acclimated and understanding of the generational gaps between themselves and their students. The are seeking ways to increase their knowledge and reaching out to their students in ways they never thought possible. So if we, as a whole, continue to believe and encourage ourselves, we will see change. We will make successful students that become successful citizens.