education

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Thursday, June 23, 2011

Article #2 Breathing Fire Into Web2.0

Breathing Fire Into Web 2.0
The article "Breathing Fire Into Web 2.0" was written to educate and pursued teachers and administrators to apply new technology to their schools. They write " walking into a typical school these days is like going into a time machine back to the old days. (Hardman). They are stating that the schools today are failing to relate to today's kids technological experiences in the real world. They found a school in Hong Kong that is doing a Great job utilizing web 2.0 to teach and educate the students in and out of the classroom. They used a web service known as myDragonNet. MyDragonNet was originally made to be a calendar and organizer for the teachers and school. After doing research with the students, they redesigned it a little and made it now a full fledge educational device. The teachers now post all their resources, homework, videos, schedules, and much more on myDragonNet for the students, parents, other teachers, and the administration to view and use.
They are using the information that they found to educate schools on how useful and important that technology can be for the students. Quote, " it seems like we are educating our youth for the past rather than the future." (Hardman) They are wanting this article to be used as a guide to schools on ways to use technology in their own classrooms, and to continue to find new ways to do so.
I am wanting to do something like myDragonNet in my own p.e classroom. It would be nice to advocate for an entire school wide service like this, but if that is not available I am planning on having some sort of blog, note board, or web page for my class to use. I will put videos, homework, test, information, and schedules up for the kids, parents, other teachers, and administrators to view and use.
In conclusion this article is to be used as a tool to lay down a foundation for a schools web 2.0 uses. To inspire schools to look towards the future and not on the past. That schools need to do their best to educate and prepare our youth for the future and not hold them back in the past. Teach to them on their level. By setting up a service that can be used on web 2.0 sites. Communicating to each other, doing homework, and researching on sites like myDragonNet.
Nets-s
This article is informing and persuading schools to adopt a myDragonNet like web user to their curriculum. By doing this they are covering all six sections of the nets-s. Having students use something like this will allow them to experience safe web usage. This will show them how creative they can be with technology. it covers it all. They get to experience technology that they will be using in the work force in years to come.

Reference: Hardman, Justin, and David Carpenter. Breathing Fire Into Web 2.0. N.p., 2007. Web. 23 June 2011.

4 comments:

  1. I definitely agree with the point of view with this article saying when students go to school it is like they are taking steps into the past. Schools are not using much technology in their classrooms and I feel that students are constantly being disengaged. The program MyDragon.net seems to be a very good program that will not only engage the students but also allow the parents and administration to know exactly what is going and the students can be constantly updated with information. I also like your idea of implementing that program into your own class. Using sites such as moodle (cougar courses) is very helpful by putting all the information into one place such as the web page you mentioned you wanted to make for your class. However, how much would it cost to have these programs implemented into schools? I know it sounds great to have all this Web 2.0 technology in schools but how can schools pay for it? I know of one school who got rid of technology programs because it was too costly. It would be great to have this technology in classes because like you said before we need to prepare our students for the future.

    - Michael Corle

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  2. Tony,

    I agree that we need to apply new technology to our schools. Technology is such a huge part of nearly every profession, and college students are required to use it. So, why are we so often not teaching it to our students? My guess is that it comes down to money. However, I believe that we need to make technology a priority.

    MyDragonNet, the web service used in Hong Kong, sounds like a very beneficial program. It seems to be a great resource for students, teachers, and parents. The high schools in my district use SchoolLoop. I am at the elementary school level, so I do not know much about this program. However, it is my understanding that teachers, students, and parents can access grades from it. I am not sure why the elementary schools are not using the program. I think it would be beneficial to us as well.

    That is great that you want to use something like MyDragonNet in your P.E. classes. I think it would help the students and the parents to become more excited about P.E. as a class that they can benefit and learn from.

    Lynne Dudas

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  3. I actually can't believe it has taken our school district this long to realize the benefits or student interactions with internet and web 2.0 tools. As adults we know how helpful these technological advances are so why wouldn't we want our students to do the same in their lives? I am actually not suprised that Hong Kong is already using tools like MyDragonNet in their education plans. The Chinese have been ahead of the game for a long time when it comes to technology and education. I think the U.S. needs to step it up a notch and realize how important it is that we provide as much as we can to our future generations.

    I'm glad to hear your plans for your P.E. class will involve more than just physical activities. By using web 2.0 i can see you will include more informational resources to test and quiz on. Not all students are physically equipped, and I find it a bit unfair to grade just on physical qualities like most P.E. teachers.

    --Aaron Katzen

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  4. In the past two decades (even longer than that), technology proponents have been trying to infuse technology in schools. Originally they had a naive idea: purchase technology and train teachers to use it in their teaching. This approach was not effective. People gradually realized that education is a system. Teaching, learning, curriculum, assessment, school culture, and now technology all needs to be considered as an organic whole. One cannot change one thing (here--technology) without changing other components in the education system.

    So I guess learning from Hong Kong's experience is useful; however, we should consider the specific context and culture of US schools.

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