Introductory Blog

Hello readers, and welcome to my blog for EDES 501 class assignments. If you’re not in this class and wandered in by accident, just sit back and enjoy all the analysis of Web 2.0 technology and how it relates to teaching and learning. If you were pointedly Googling my name to dig up some dirt – jackpot! You’ll be getting a personal tour of my (crowded) brain. And if you are by some chance holding a burger or other delicious snack, I recommend holding it away from the screen as I am four and a half months pregnant and prone to eating whatever is closest.

I’ve been online since 1994 and have never really logged off the computer since. When talking with dinner guests, I often find it difficult to have a conversation without pulling up a website or program. I am a pretty comfortable user of technology and Web 2.0 tools, but there’s always more to learn and always better ways to use the technology. I believe we’re only getting started in understanding how powerful 2.0 tools can be in the classroom. I also believe that with all the cool stuff that’s out there, nobody can know everything. So I don’t get too stressed when I haven’t heard of something (Gimp?) or am trying out a new tool (Blogger!) because I know I’ll pick it up as I go along. Usually a new tool/site only has my attention for a short time, and if I don’t like it, get frustrated by it because it’s not user-friendly enough, or just can’t see the point in it, then I move along to something else. But if I like the tool, it becomes part of my daily repertoire. So I appreciate that this class is making me take an extended, close look at many of the tools out there.

Some questions I am pondering thus far:

1.) What are the impacts of digital social networks on personal (physical) relationships, if any? Can youth today interpret body language as well as previous generations? Are they comfortable in situations where they have to interact person-to-person? Are cultural norms about eye contact, personal space, spoken conversation, etc. being transferred or is this something we’ll be adding to the curriculum in a few years?

2.) Do people/students today feel more isolated or more connected to their peer groups and communities than in the past? Are online social networks re-defining how we perceive community? Are they blurring the distinction between the roles of “teacher” and “student” and is this as bad of a thing as the media and some educators believe?

3.) I use a lot of Google “products” because, not only are they free, they are easy to use and work well with each other. If Goggle suddenly decided to charge for its services, what would happen? Would I pay? Could schools afford to pay? What are the implications of becoming overly-reliant on one technology or platform?

4.) Why do people like Twitter and will I ever?

5.) As a future Teacher-Librarian, what do I think about Google Books and what does it mean for school libraries?

6.) Blogs extend learning by involving the larger community and making learning more ‘real-world.’ How does my district as a general, overall whole feel about classroom/student/teacher blogs, who is using them in our district, and how are they using them?

7.) How can I be an educational and social leader for promoting Web 2.0 both inside and outside the classroom?

8.) What is Web 3.0?

9.) Is my searchable, online persona appropriate for an educator?

10.) What about the digital divide? How does it affect rural/northern students? The have-not school districts? The students and teachers who do not have a computer at home or access outside of school hours? As a teacher, how can I minimize the effects of the digital divide?

In addition to all these questions, I am seeking to discover my online ‘voice,’ the one that sounds like the inside of my head and reads like butter for the reader(s).

Mmmmm, butter. Time for another snack!