Thing 1-B

I was introduced to wikispace during my first semester at AHS. I had been out of the classroom for a year and a half; I had maintained a much used website for my students previously. In just that short break from teaching, Web 2.0 had changed… well, everything. The media specialist set up spaces for my astronomy classes and we used the sites frequently. I mostly used it to post guided web assignments with web addresses (so they wouldn’t have to worry about typos in the address bar!). We didn’t get very interactive with it, but it was an introduction for me. Most of my training encouraged teachers to guide students very carefully to the information they were to find, to prevent inappropriate websites from appearing. It makes me nervous to turn my students loose with a general assignment, but I had some success with one I tried last spring, so I’m feeling a little braver to let the students to the discovering.
In the past, I had students create a web page as a presentation method for a project in Ecology. Students usually enjoyed the project thoroughly and were glad to gain some experience in technology as well as learn about human impact on the environment. The web pages weren’t much more than a poster that had a web address, but, again, that was in the dark ages. I’m a bit intimidated by all the new tools at there, and daunted by things like computer accessibility for my classes and time teaching them how to use a tool (if they don’t know already). I am surprised how students can use technology all the time –iTunes, facebook, MySpace- and yet not be able to find a simple bit of information quickly. But if I can choose one or two ideas to use in the semester, or maybe add something new every unit or two, the task might not seem so daunting. I like to everything right now, so I get overwhelmed! I liked the idea about the team built study guides mentioned in Warlick’s article. I think developing a wikispace for each class will be a good place to start and, as I see what the students are comfortable with and able to do, and I can find a direction for our journey as we use these new tools.
I would like to use Web 2.0 tools because today’s students are accustomed to such dynamic interactions online. My students in the past generally appreciated the website I maintained, but it was very much a window shopping experience- get on, find the vocabulary words, find the notes, find the new project. With Web 2.0, we can communicate with each other- students can interact and help each other with their understanding of the course. I taught an online biology course and I’ve taken several online classes- it’s amazing how you really can connect with people you never see face to face. so the experience could really enhance what happens in the classroom, too. (Oh, and for what it’s worth, my husband and I met online- pre- eHarmony, at that! You should have heard what my students back then thought! :)