SCHOOL LEARNING GOES WEB 2.0

http://www.rareplay.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=147&cntnt01returnid=32&news_category_id=1

Learning today has to gone past the traditional approach of blackboard/whitebaords or project presentations taking place within the walls of the classroom. The merging of technological tools and education will only result in efficient social learning, bring in greater innovation and creativity - much needed in the 21^st century environment.

The site does well in showing that Web 2.0 is gradually having an impact in schools as teachers and students begin to explore the potential of social networking, blogs, shared online features and wikis. It was interesting to note that the article stated how teachers are begining to catch up with this advacement in technology and reach the potential of thier students who have been brought up with messenging, podcasts and socialisng online.

THE PLAY

The site shows how web 2.0 has been effective in finally implementing "social constrivism" in the classroom.  The authors makes a valid point declaring that while previously students have shown reluctance to express thier thoughts publicly, thanks to the rise of the social web, today teachers and students can create and publish thier own content.

The article provides the different examples of various web 2.0 programs which can be well utalised in the classroom:

1. Schoopy builds communities around schools by connecting to students, teachers and parents. Teachers usually create an account for their school; after which, parents and students register to gain personalized educational resources.

2. . Haiku, a learning management system, encourages teachers to create a public Website for their classes, manage content, list assignments and announcements, track grades, and interact via blogs, wikis and forum.

3.Groupvine is designed to bring group members together (clubs, specific chapters/subjects, project group, etc.) to keep track of projects, events, gather feedback/comments and collaborate with others on projects

4.  CollegeRuled lets users create their class schedule with message boards for each class schedule allowing students a platform to discuss assignments with classmates or work group, ask questions and share their personal views

The article successfully allocates a selected few of relevant sites in which are highly useful in combining education and technology. All sites consequently allow room for "constructive" education, giving all students some form of input.