Web 2.0 Chapter 2 Discussion

A. After reading Chapter 2 in Web 2.0 I realized just how big the Internet movement has become.  Of all American households 83% owned a personal computer at home, 73% had Internet access, and 60% had high speed access.  Just recently the age group of 13-24 now spend more time online than watching television.  In fact, this phenomenon has even reached our preschool children with over 35% of kids that age are using the Internet in some capacity.  Not only is the Internet available at homes across the United States but over 99% of public schools had access to the Internet as well.  To educators this means a great expansion in how we are able to reach our students in education.  Today’s Internet technologies are interactive and allow users to contribute to others, find information, and put together projects simultaneously.  As teachers we now have the option of customizing students homework and project assignments to match the student’s interests or ways of learning.  In fact, the schools that implement technology and the Internet the most have seen substantial academic improvement in their students. 

The second key point mentioned in this chapter was how there is less emphasis placed on memorization today with the advent of technology and the Internet.  Today’s students now need to learn how to synthesize different sources of information and produce a tangible product or service from it.  In order to enact these changes in society the commonly referred to Bloom’s taxonomy was changed to adapt to the new environment.  The six new stages include remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.  Many technological advances in our society involve the higher order thinking skills evident in Bloom’s taxonomy.  Therefore, it is very beneficial to have students working with this new technology to formulate new ideas and create new products while evaluating the quality of the information they receive.  Many times these higher order thinking skills can be demonstrated in either constructivism or project based learning.  These projects allow the student to construct new ideas based on current and past ideas to solve real world problems.  The technology that is available will enable more of these types of project especially those that deal with collaboration.  All students need to learn about the technologies that are available because many of them can be used in any career they choose to pursue. 

B. I will incorporate Internet use into my classroom as well as all the other technological improvements that we have in society.  For group projects I would like to have students research a particular subject matter on the Internet, interview an expert using Skype, collaborate on the project using a class wiki page, and make a movie or podcast to demonstrate what they have learned to the rest of the class.  The projects that I want my students to work on will be authentic assignments in which they will be paired with business leaders in the community.  This will benefit both the business owners and the students.  The students will value their work as important and therefore become engaged in the learning activities that I will let them select from.  This is the customization generation and therefore as a teacher I want to allow as much flexibility and creativity as possible by giving the students options on what projects they are required to participate in.

C. The business environment is directly impacted by these technological changes in our society.  They will need to have employees in the future who will have the skills that are necessary to use this technology to reach new customers through new mediums in a cheaper manner.  Employees of businesses will need to have a wealth of information on where to find the appropriate information and then use the tools that are available to create lasting and worthwhile products and services to serve the customer better.  With feedback that is available on blogs and wiki’s customers are better able to communicate what they like and dislike about a company or product.  Podcasts can be used for church sermons, lessons in school, and directions to assemble products.  Skype will most likely replace many face-to-face business meetings in the future due to the high costs and time committments that they pose to companies.  Companies who work with local school districts on projects will be able to communicate to both educators and students what they are looking for in this new economy.