Thing # 5

I thought that the article Web 2.0: A Guide for Educators did a great job of expressing their belief in using Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.  They are correct in saying that if we as professional educators do not use the tools that are at our fingertips, our children of the future can fall behind.

"And for education not to step up and maximize these resources for teaching, learning, and driving innovation is to risk becoming marginalized as a viable influence in helping to shape the 21st century."  This sentence says it all.  Our world is rapidly changing and it is in part because of the use of Web 2.0 tools.  We are 'shaping the 21st century' everytime we get on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and many other Web 2.0 tools, and who's to say we can't use these resources educationally?

I also enjoyed the video at the bottom the Thing #5's page.  It did a great job in showing how different using pencil and paper is as to using technology.  Being digital is faster, easier, and it is much more versatile than pencil and paper.  It is so much easier to share your ideas with other people (in our case teachers) and get really help you in your future career.

In my opinion, School 2.0 means using the same basic concepts as Web 2.0 (blogs, chats, Twitter, etc) and applying them in the classroom setting.  Whether you are trying to communicate more effectively with parents or trying to get higher participation in your classroom, using School 2.0 resources can be extremely effective.  I believe that in the future, schools everywhere will be using these resources.  Some things are already being used in the classroom, but I think that they will take over completely before long, making a highly technologically-based and interactive classroom.