Reflections on Session 2... message to my students.

I know that you’re all aware that an incredible number of new technologies are included under the Web 2.0 umbrella. Truly, it’d be impossible for me to include all of them in this course. In your postings, several commented that the technologies were “always changing” and, for that reason alone, learning about technologies can be “frustrating”. Also some of you commented that you were “skeptical” about Twitter. Believe me, I understand. But, let me address those issues now… and also reflect some on what’s ahead.

My goal for this course is NOT to transform each of you into a Web 2.0 authority… I’m not even close to that myself. I don’t even expect that each of you will be jumping for joy at the introduction of each new technology. My goal is simply to give you a brief introduction about some of the most prevalent technologies for classroom use. My hope is that you will be jumping for joy over a few of them and then become comfortable with using them on a regular basis. In short, this course is about overview, rather than saturation. At the end of the course, there will be an evaluation that I will take very seriously in adapting this course for future students.

Specifically concerning Twitter, I hope that you read all the associated links that I provided on Blackboard and, even more so, on our class wiki. Those generally talked about ways that Twitter could be used in the classroom. To be honest, I had never used it before, but found it fun when you all jumped in… the discussions branched off in several directions. Also, I saw the distinct advantage of being restricted to 140 characters. Students often tend to add unnecessary verbiage to their writings. Clarity and succinctness are qualities of good writing.

However, if you didn’t like Twitter, that’s fine with me. We’ll have several other methods of discussions, this semester. There was no requirement to discuss anything on the pre-semester experiences page of our class wiki, yet that’s just what a lot of you did. Wikis are certainly good avenues for discussions. Later, we’ll be using LinkedIn for discussions and, this week, Classroom 2.0 will offer another means of discussion. And now, I’m using blogging to share my reflections! At the end of the semester, you decide which you like the best.


Now, Angie pointed out that Twitter was blocked at her school. So I did a search and found out that there’s free twitter-like software that you can download and use like Twitter. Actually, there are other choices of similar software, but I picked this one to share, as it seemed to have the most recommendations. If anyone is interested it’s called Snitter and can be downloaded from the following site:

http://getsnitter.com

Don’t know if everyone noticed, but several of you used the comment sections below the postings on our class wikis. The comment section can be used in at least two ways. First you can use it to leave comments or questions that you wouldn’t really want to keep on the wiki page itself. Second, someone who hasn’t been given permission to write on the wiki could post a comment there. Well, Kari posted a comment that she wanted to share some neat things that she’s doing. So, I created another page on our class wiki and called it Hot Topics. You can use that page to post want you’re already doing with technology, in your classroom. Or you can also use it for posting questions. No requirements associated with this, but check it out. You can either get there from a link on our homepage or go directly from this link: Hot Topics

So, now, onto this week… We will be working with Classroom 2.0. I do love this site and hope that you will find it useful. Mona, A.J., and Christopher have already joined. So go on Blackboard and please read all the instructions carefully.

Have a great week! Keep in touch! You each are doing a great job! I’m very pleased with how everyone is responding.