CHAPTER 9 (THE FUTURE OF THE K-12 SCHOOL SYSTEM)

              In chapter nine, we continue to read about web 2.0 tools. We know that web 2.0 tools, have changed the way schools and business alike operate and communicate, however, now we have the question concerning what to do w/ these tools for future instruction and learning? Mark Presnky (2001) asserts that this current generation of students is no longer the students that the U.S. educational system was designed to teach and that teachers must learn how to communicate in a language and style that their students can understand (p.1). While I do not completely agree with Prensky’s observation, I respect it because different regions have different methods of operating their school systems.  In my area, students are still learning in an older manner, with little to no real technology integration outside of the library computer or overhead in the classroom. Some schools are introducing interacting games, however,  I have not observed any new technology integration in the since of web 2.0 tools .Promethean boards are being used, instead of overheads in some cases, so that is a step up. Rather than gradually introducing these new methods, we have some schools that want to introduce it all at once, which is not only overwhelming, but does not demonstrate a balance. As convenient as technology is, we still need web 1.0 tools such as basic search engines. Should 1.0 and 2.0 not complement each other? Why does not have to overpower the other?

                

              At the current point, I felt a strong identification with the paragraph on brainstorming about schools and web 2.0. Since enrolling in this graduate program, I’ve had to do much brainstorming for my project planning and via blackboard and now Moodle, we reflect on others work, and apply it to the education system, by comparing it to present, past, and future. Each assignment that we have done has required a significant amount of brainstorming. There is one organization called School 2.0, that has developed a brainstorming tool to help individuals brainstorm about the future stake of schools, and that’s kind of what I do in this web 2.0 class that I am taking.  With iPads and smartphones being introduced into classrooms, e-books, and the like, physical libraries may soon be a think of the past (w/ the exception of select research).  Promethean boards in many schools now take the pace of overhead projectors. With web TV, you can teach a geography course by using Google earth or Bing maps.  With tools like Vcamso and Skype, we can now teacher at a distance learning level live, thus to some extent being able to interact with students.  If technology does continue to advance, I see public K-12 schools taking a route similar to the university with physical campuses [in the K-12 school system] offering homeschooling formats, thus eliminating the homeschoolers need to purchase curriculums. I also see K-12 hybrid formats in physical campuses in the system.

 NETS*T STANDARD

V. Productivity and Professional Practice

Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice.

Teachers:

A.      Use technology resources to engage in ongoing professional development and lifelong learning.

B.      Continually evaluate and reflect on professional practice to make informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support of student learning.

C.      Apply technology to increase productivity

D.      Use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community in order to nurture student learning.