Why Web 2.0?

Abundance of Technology

Although I was not born into a “digital world,” I was introduced to technology at a young age (Sheneman, 2010).  Since being introduced to the personal computer and later the Internet, technology has continued to grow and change in the way that it has impacted my personal, educational and professional life.  A day does not pass without some form (and usually many forms) of technology being used.   I have always expressed a great deal of interest and curiosity when it came to technology and so I have always believed that the “try and see” approach is best when learning new things in this area.  Although I have taken a few computer courses throughout my High School and University career, they usually covered topics that I had already explored on my own.  I do not fear computers and would rather press buttons and figure it out then track down someone who can show it to me.  It is this desire to learn and explore which has allowed me to gain the knowledge that I have thus far and will continue to drive my exploration of further tools in the near and far future.

Prior to beginning this course (Exploration of Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers), I believed that I was a tech savvy individual.  Unfortunately, this is the first time that a course I am taking is covering material, specifically Web 2.0 that I had very little knowledge of.  It has put me outside of my comfort zone and has sent me on a whirlwind learning experience that exhilarates and inspires me to improve myself as a teacher and a learner.  In the first six weeks of classes, I have learned more regarding technology and its integration into the classroom than I could have ever imagined.  Although I had never heard the term “Web 2.0” previously, I have used and explored some of the tools in a personal manner, but never saw the connection to my professional life or to my students in the classroom.

Web 2.0

DreamBox

I currently teach in a grade 2 classroom in a small elementary school in Fort McMurray.  This is where I began my teaching career only three years ago.  Outside of the classroom, I have piloted the use of DreamBox (an online, educational Math program) and I also participate as the lead teacher in my school for training other teachers to use the new Individualized Educational Program Tool (IEPT), sit on a committee of Science Leaders hoping to improve science education partly through the integration of technology and am the “unofficial” technology assistant in the school, assisting other teachers with the technology currently in their classrooms.

Science

This year, the district has also given us professional development time to form Professional Learning Groups and design our own goals to explore throughout the year.  My Professional Learning Group has decided to focus on technology (such as e-mail, developing classroom web pages, Promethean Boards, curriculum aligned websites, blogging, etc.) and we have a mixture of teachers who are new to technology as well as a few that are more advanced in their skills.  Although many of these aspects of my career introduce me to new and foreign online concepts, my previous experiences with exploring and pressing buttons, allows me to feel comfortable learning new programs, techniques etc. to use both inside and outside of the classroom.


Although I consider myself an experienced user of technological hardware and general program or Internet usage, my experiences with Web 2.0 put me on a different level.  I feel comfortable exploring various Web 2.0 tools but do not generally know the implications of their usage or how they can be applied to my personal, professional and classroom lives.  Therefore, I would consider myself to be an intermediate user of Web 2.0 and hope to improve in this area throughout the course of this inquiry.

I have spent some time briefly exploring many of the Web 2.0 tools that I have recently been introduced to.  There are so many that I find useful and advantageous to my personal, professional and teaching and learning life that was hard to decide which tools to specifically explore.  In the end, I had to choose tools that would help to meet my goals and help to answer the following questions throughout my exploration: 

1.  How can Web 2.0 tools be used to grow and expand my Professional Learning Network outside of my school environment?

2.     How can Web 2.0 tools be used to better organize the enormous amounts of information that I am exposed to on a daily basis?

3.     How can I integrate the use of Web 2.0 tools into the classroom setting at a primary level?

4.     How can I share the uses and possibilities of these technologies with other teachers in a way that inspires them to use in their classrooms?

References:

Sheneman, L. (2010). Digital storytelling: how to get the best results. School Library Monthly, XXVII(1), 40-41. Retrieved October 1, 2011, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2131214271).