When Will They Learn?

I had a great discussion with Fiance’ over breakfast about current technology issues we’re dealing with at our places of employment.  He is an IT guy for a university, so although he isn’t an educator himself, he supports technology in his department.  He explained that the IT department is investigating the use of (edupunks, cover your ears) Microsoft’s SharePoint.  I’m not familiar with the software, so he sweetly explained how the tools would allow for collaboration between staff members and eventually students. 

My mind jumped from one “ah-ha!” to another:

1. I may not know this software, but I know what it does.  I’m familiar with sharing documents and collaborating on web-based platforms.
2. # 1 is exactly what I want my students to learn!  I can’t possibly teach them every program or tool, but with enough exposure, they’ll develop networking common sense.  They may not know exactly how to use a new tool, but they’ll tap prior knowledge of similar tools to figure it out.
3. OMG.  I’m not exposing my students to these tools.  My district does not currently allow it.  Who will teach them how to use these educational networking tools appropriately and effectively? 

Educational networking tools are blocked in my district, so if the current 8th graders are using them at all, it’s probably for pure entertainment.  Not a bad place to start, but what will they do in 5 years when their college professor asks them to respond to/create a blog or create a multi-media presentation rather than write a paper?   Will the college professors teach the freshmen how to use the tools?  If not, when will they learn?

 Question:  Does your K-12 district have a systemic technology curriculum plan?  Does the K-5 curriculum properly prepare your students for the next step?  If you work in higher education, do you feel students are entering college with “educational networking common sense”?

Baby Steps

Keeping an Eye on the Prize

I’ve spent the last month gathering as much information as possible about Web2.0 and educational networking.  I’m on Twitter practically everyday, usually just to “listen” and check out the great links that people post.  I read approximately 15-20 blog posts a day.  I came to a stark realization last night while watching a video from Susan Young on Dean Shareski’s site. 

I haven’t taken much time to organize and synthesize my newly found information.  I’m crazy about the possibilities Web2.0 tools have for me and my students but I haven’t taken the time to create very much.  As I’ve mentioned before, I’m trying stir up excitement in the 5th grade students about the possibilties, but unfortunately, it’s unusable enthusiasm.  Educational networking tools are prohibited for student use in my district.  Just because I can’t use the tools with my students doesn’t mean I can’t create samples of what I would/will do with the tools. 

 Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo’s suggestions, I checked out Bookr, an online slideshow site.   Users can pull images from Flickr and create a simple slideshow.  I think it would be perfect for young students…especially as an introduction to online collaboration.  Thanks…more trials to come!