Web 2.0 in the classroom

From the site http://weblogg-ed.com/, I came across a debate about “Will Web 2.0 be an Integral Part of Education?” which was part of a forum on the Britannica Blog website. I chose to look at this article because as a future teacher, I feel that it is necessary to know where technology and technological advancements stand as far as classroom use and integration. I chose one of the forum participants to focus my post on this week because he seems to have taken a positive approach when talking about integrating technology in the classroom and the future of the educational system as a whole. In his post (http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/10/moving-toward-web-20-in-k-12-education/) Steve Hargadon gives many reasons why incorporating technology in the classroom is not only helpful, but will eventually be necessary. He says that “Web 2.0 will be a significant part of the future of learning.” I would have to agree with this statement because of all the advancements in computers and the internet that have created a new type of student that lives in a digital world. He says that not only are students part of an “audience” in the classroom and on the web, part are also participants and contributors to the wealth of information in the public domain. It allows for creativity to flow more independently and gives the students the ability to not only interact with each other, but with others around the world, on topics that they are passionate about or have an interest in. The web has become a way to communicate openly and is not as one-sided as it used to be, with students having access to more open software and applications than ever before. With advancements in the creation of blogs and web pages like myspace and facebook, anyone can create a personal portfolio online and can publish it to the World Wide Web. In the past, one would have had to have extensive knowledge of HTML and web page design in order to do these things.
The structure of the educational system is also changing because most of the students are more technologically savvy than their teachers. In order to create a better learning environment, I feel that it is the responsibility of the teachers to keep up with technology in order to produce students that can not only function successfully in a digital world, but so that the teachers themselves can continue to expand their knowledge of new and innovative ways of teaching. Hargadon lists many reasons why Web 2.0 in the classroom is a good idea. They are engagement, authenticity, participation, openness and access to information, collaboration, creativity, passionate interest and personal expression, discussion, asynchronous contribution, proactivity, and finally critical thinking. In his experience, he feels that all of these ideas not only promote productive individuals, but also promote self-awareness and motivation within the learning environment. Although I am not yet a teacher myself, I would have to agree with his list of reasons why Web 2.0 in the classroom is an important tool. As a future English teacher, I hope to be able to engage my students in creative, collaborative and authentic ways. I think that by using the web and allowing my students the freedom to explore ideas and opinions other than those discussed inside my classroom will allow them to become more open and more critical thinkers. I want my students to be able to express themselves freely, and for some shy students, that may be quite hard to do in a class with 30 others. The web (blogging and webpages) allows these students to open up without fear of rejection because they could ultimately do these things anonymously. I think that Web 2.0 is not something to be feared, but is something that we as educators need to see as an opportunity to enhance the educational experience for not only our students but for ourselves as well.