The Read/Write Web - Will Richardson

It seems like just yesterday I was playing the "Oregon Trail" on the early Apple with the black screen and green text/graphics using a floppy disk!! The birth of the Web was 1989 and here we are in 2009 with what seems like unlimited possibilities: limitless: colors, graphics, fonts, videos, games, publishing, networking, organizing, etc...

Richardson made an important point, "...this new Read/Write Web promises to transform much of how we teach and learn as well." There isn't even a slot for the FLOPPY disk! Yikes! I embrace this change, but I worry about my colleagues who have been ingrained in the traditional methods of teaching and fear changing to a more student-centered and technological classroom.

The following excerpt is SO important for those "AFRAID" of Web 2.0 and what it has to offer and truly highlights the change that has and is taking place.

..."But, as is often the case, education has been slow to adapt to these new tools and potentials. In other areas of our lives, however, we can see some of these transformations happening right now, right in front of our eyes... At this writing, we're in the midst of the "YouTube Campaign," as some have called it. Every major candidate for president has made extensive use of blogs and video and podcasts throughout the campaign. Each has a MySpace page, attempting to take advantage of the power of social networking, and the voting public has had more ways of engaging in the conversation around issues than ever before. Each is using the web to connect to their very passionate supporters, allowing them to invest their own time and creativity and, in many cases, money in the cause. The very model of how we run campaigns and "do" politics is changing right in front of us, driven by these technologies that allow us to connect and collaborate more easily than before."

I was reminded of the fact that technology has allowed us to make our lives more transparent and this is what many are afraid of. However, if we do not take some responsibility in educating students in the appropriate uses, who will? They will simply "plug in" at home or some other place and open the doors of vulnerability that we block in school. It comes down to schools having two options: 1) block, or 2) role model and teach students the skills needed to make better use of the Web and how to respond to distasteful situations. To me, an educator, the choice seems very obvious. Are we not day-by-day preparing students for the rigors of life? These are the Millenials - they are the technology generation...are we really going to deny them the right to be educated in their own world?

With that being said, privacy for students should be a number one concern for teachers and parents. It is an area that should be well planned between teacher, parent, and student. Teachers can teach students ways to remain anonymous and ways to publish their work on the Web while providing only limited information. This chapter is an important intro into exploring ways to bring a Web 2.0 application such as blogging into the classroom appropriately and with students' safety considered.