How Web 2.0 is Changing Education

Add together my years as a student with my years as a teacher and I’ve been in a classroom for thirty-five years. Without a doubt, I can say that teaching and learning have changed over the last thirty-five years. I remember the excitement of my teachers and classmates when dry erase boards were mounted in the classrooms and the way my senior classmates and I bragged about being the first students at our school to take typing on a desktop computer as opposed to a type writer.

In college I conducted research on microfiche and searched for books in a library comprised of at least four buildings spread across the university campus.  It wasn’t until my senior year in a journalism class that I was introduced to the Nexis Lexis. What a novel concept this electronic database seemed to me at the time.

When I accepted my first teaching job in 1994, the world of information technology was moving faster than I could keep up. Now I teach in a classroom with a laptop cart humming in the corner, a digital document reader, microphone, iPods, iPads, flip cameras, HD digital camcorders and an airliner at arms length.

Just last year, my students and I skyped a student from Egypt and heard first-hand how recent political and social events had affected her life. And last week students at my school traveled around campus with their smart phones completing a digital scavenger hunt that included hidden QR codes and links to information about the medieval world. What a juxtaposition of ideas that was!

According to the textbook authors of WEB 2.0: New Tools, New Schools, American schools need to change quickly to keep up with the progress that the rest of the world is making. If our world is shrinking, then our students will be competing with, communicating with, and working alongside people from other nations. The medium for all three activities is technology, especially technology like Web 2.0 that bridges the gaps almost immediately.

So what are some challenges that schools face in making a focus on 21^st Century learning a reality? I hate to say it, but money is a huge obstacle for some schools. I’m fortunate to work in a school supported well by property owners. But I often worry about the students just 20-30 minutes north of me in Birmingham City. Will the children of West End and Ensley, for example, have the same educational opportunities that my children have?  And what about the students who go home to places not equipped with a browser, internet connectivity or an electronic device that accesses Web 2.0? Should teachers assume all students can continue Web-based learning outside of the school building?

The authors of our text emphasize bridging the gap between how students live and how they learn, suggesting that all students go home to houses wired and filled with Wiis, DSs, and the like. We must also think of the bridge that needs to be made on the other side to students who are not as equipped with technology.

The lack of resources shouldn't slow us down. We have to be deliberate, however, in building in practical solutions to ensure all students have access to 21st Century learning tools.

We must also not forget to encourage life-long learning practices. Being afraid that students will not be able to compete adequately with others from progressive nations should not change our objective to only skill-based learning. If the world is changing, students need to learn how to adapt. They need to be masters of finding, evaluating, and using information effectively, creatively, and ethically. In a nutshell, they need to learn HOW to learn.  

Finally, I agree with Ken Robinson who shared in his TED talk that “education is supposed to take us into the future we cannot grasp.” If we don’t know what that future looks like, then we must take risks with our students and allow them to take risks as well. They must be set free to explore and create. We cannot be afraid of new ideas, especially those generated by students. It’s okay if learning is messy and mistakes are made along the way, even if it's the teacher making some of the mistakes. That’s how real knowledge is obtained.