Web 2.0 Chapter 4 Discussion

1. Communicate or illustrate two key points from the chapter(s).

One key point that I took away from reading Ch. 4 was the fact that schools today need to change to keep up with the changing labor market.  Our society is in desperate need of employees in the STEM fields including science, technology, engineering, and math.  In order to accomplish this our educational system needs to have pedagogical methods that will help develop skills that are necessary in these fields.  One way to facilitate this process is using new web 2.0 tools to bring out teamwork, critical thinking, and communication skills while working on our projects.  An example of a school that took this new approach to learning was at Napa New Tech High School.  They saw over 40% of their students upon graduation entering the critical STEM career fields.  Just think what would happen to our shortage of professionals if all school districts enacted curriculum based on these new technologies that are available!

The second major point that I took away from Ch. 4 is the number of resources that are available to teachers to perform unique and engaging projects with students.  Instead of writing in traditional journals or writing boring research papers have the students write a blog on a topic they have researched or are interested in.  Students will be more motivated because they realize they are sharing information to the world instead of keeping it locked up inside the classroom.  Another useful tool is classroom wiki pages that facilitate collaboration among the students.  Classroom homework, notes, and podcasts can be loaded onto the wiki and teachers can ask students to work together on a project outside of the classroom.  Podcasting is another option available to teachers and allows students to listen to classroom discussions via their Ipod.  This is an excellent tool for students who miss class due to sports activities or family vacations.  Digital Storytelling through Flickr is another tool that can be used by educators.  Students can use this technology to create projects that have a story telling aspect along with pictures to reach all learning styles. 

2.  How can you incorporate these key points to the business education classroom?

I will try to incorporate several of these technologies into my classroom.  One idea that I really would like to try would be to have a class blog.  My responsibility would be to go around the community and ask business owners what problems they are facing in their business?  I would then take that information and pose the problem to the class and ask for any suggestions they might have.  A new problem would be posted every Monday.  I would then ask them along with the problem what strategies they used to solve the problem and if there was more than one way to solve the problem at hand.  I would also ask what they learned trying to solve the problem?  Students will be given two days to respond to the questions and pose their solutions.  Students would be encouraged to reply to other student’s posts to help solve the problem as a class.  On Friday, I would go over the solutions the students posed on the blog and would have the class vote on the ones that are most feasible.  Then I would have the class send a business letter to the owner of the local business offering some suggestions that the class came up with for that problem.  This will engage the students in the community and tie in things we are learning in the classroom to authentic real world business problems. 

3. How can you connect these key points to the business environment?

Since I generally think like an entrepreneur most of the time I have thought of some creative ways to implement these technologies into business.  One thought I had would be to have a company put on a contest in which they accept digital storytelling projects of customers who have had wonderful experiences with their products.  These digital storytelling projects could include pictures of the customer using the product, voice-over that explains to others why this is one of their favorite products, and music that they feel matches the product.  These projects can be submitted to the company and the best projects will win some type of prize.  Then the company can use these personalized digital storyboards on their website or commercials for testimonials and advertising material.  This would build credibility and give the customer “Real Reason to Believe” in the product’s offering when they see the stories of pleased customers.