Thing 23

I am glad to have had the opportunity to participate in this program. With a decent amount of background on the Web 2.0 tools, I found the technical side of the course to be fairly simple. The implications their use, however, are not so simple.

The video in Thing 23 really got me thinking. All of the gadgets and tools that are available that use the XML code are still just tools. We still have to make good decisions about content, about learning styles, about assessment and evaluation, and about instruction. We still have to remember that on the other side of the code there are actual people reading (hopefully) and responding (even more hopefully) to what we put "out there." It comes with a great deal of new responsibility - we must protect students from inappropriate content, but we also have to acknowledge that we will be consumed by the technology if we don't get out in front of it. By that I mean that, while we don't necessarily have to be early adopters and "lead the charge", we have to be aware of what is going on in the Flat World and prepare our students for the challenges that await them.

My views have not changed - I entered the course because I felt that we were falling behind in our use and knowledge of these tools, and I still believe that is true. I have a better understanding of the big picture thanks to this experience, and I still have some thinking to do about what I have learned. My participation in this course has strengthened my resolve on some level to continue to fight the fight, to try to convince those in a position of leadership to support these sorts of advancements in education, to take risks, and to provide our students with the opportunities that we ought to provide them.