Cool! I really embraced the concept of School 2.0. As a district, I think we are starting to move towards more technology based communication. It seems that more and more of our conversations are happening via e-mail. That does not mean that we still don't send home information the old fashion way, on paper. But when we e-mail a question we can get a response fairly quickly. If I going to be out of the office my students like to receive an e-mail letting them know this ahead of time. I've also noticed that over the last several years we have been trying to keep as much information on the computer as possible. Evaluations are completed on the computer and sent electronically. We are looking into the idea of putting the school news letter on the website. This way only people who were interested in it could view it. This would save tons of paper because some people just throw it away anyways.
Teachers are beginning to develop their own classroom websites. On these websites they can post homework, classroom news and upcoming events. In school 2.0 I liked the fact that parents were able to download assignments and keep track of what their child needs to be doing. I also like the idea of students being able to comment on a topic on a teachers blog. This would really help the student who doesn't feel comfortable sharing in a large class.
I also liked the idea of having the whole community involved with learning. If the community was aware of a specific need they might be able to arrange to make that happen. Somebody always knows somebody who can do what we need. I liked the idea of having a virtual classroom. Just think of all the possibilities.
I am concerned however that not all teachers would embrace the concept of School 2.0. Not everyone is technology based. Therefore I'm not sure that districts would have enough resources to fully train and mandate teachers to incorporate technology into the curriculum. Right now I think that we are getting better and better with exploring opportunities for learning. But we still have a long way to go.
2 comments:
I agree with your assessment of our district and use of technology. I see us moving in the 2.0 direction (web sites, pod casts, ELMO, Google, online courses, etc) and know there are some teachers out there who are comfortable or even what to tackle this overwhelming overhaul. I hate to see us abandon all that works and go overboard. Just like whole language and phonics, there needs to be a balance between 2.0 and our current education model.
I agree that it would be difficult to get everyone on board with School 2.0. I know that now it is even difficult to get some school staff to respond to emails. I think we are moving a good direction, but that it is important not to move too quickly so we don't leave anyone behind.
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