The nice thing about blogging is that it's okay to take a hiatus from posting to read other people's posts. The people that I have been reading have provided me with insights into a plethora of topics that I might not have otherwise stumbled upon. I thank the blogosphere for that opportunity and I hope to contribute back in some small way. It is so exciting to be involved in learning during this time of incredible change and shift and I am doing everything that I can to keep up.Something dawned on me over the Thanksgiving feast with my family and I have been thinking about it for the last few days. The power of connectivity that Web 2.0 provides is contained somewhat to those in education. This is just my opinion so correct me if I'm wrong, but aside from knowing the terminology (blog, twitter, wiki, etc...) not many people in my family understand the potential nor do they get as excited about the possibilities. I have many different occupations represented in my family and I found myself trying to justify the uses of these tools. It made me wonder if my massage therapist brother understands the impact that connecting with potential clients using WEB 2.0 tools would have on his business.
I guess I am wondering if these epiphanies that I have had over the last 2 years could be shared with a different demographic. For instance, having a parent workshop at school to introduce social networking, social bookmarks and blogging. It might give them an advantage when helping their kids with schoolwork.
My mom has gotten on twitter lately, but for her it's just a way of keeping in touch with me, she enjoys reading the family blog that I keep and viewing the pictures I put on Flickr, but it is a big step for her to branch out and use those tools in other ways like sharing her own pictures with her friends.
I do know that there are many, many blogs out there on any topic you can think of, but I still wonder if most people still use them as static, informational sites. For me, and other like- minded people I speak to, its the communication and the connectivity that is important.
Just thinking out loud.
4 comments:
I find it interesting that you feel the exposure is limited to education. That has not been my experience, as virtually all the teachers I work with on a daily basis have no clue beyond perhaps Facebook and MySpace, etc, and they most certainly are not involved. I think it is an age and location criteria. My kids are aware, and many students are as well. I think it will grow over time and we can all do our part to promote the dialogue. I am teaching my students how to blog and communicate in Forums, etc., as they are from a rural district with dial up and have not been participants. They will be soon, and will be interested as it is truly an amazing phenomenon! We can change the world with this and I think we will..or perhaps we already have..
I guess I am lucky to work in a school where the push is in this direction in all of our classrooms. We have had a great technology teacher, Patrick, who has lead the way. His blog is at www.chalkdust101.blogspot .com.
I love the fact that you said we can change the world- it puts things into perspective and explains why those in the know try so hard to keep up with things.
Thanks for the comment.
It's leaders like you who will communicate with parents the importance of the change that is happening around us. Who will find the teachers and parents, to convince your community of the importance of the changing landscape of information, making connections and collaborating with people around the world. The fact is that to 'change the world', we need to be working in concert with many people around us.
What's exciting is that we can't change the world on our own, so creating teams to do so is key. And leaders such as you are the ones creating the right teams for change.
Thanks for being out there and sharing. I look forward to reading your blog in the future.
Thanks Alex-
I hope to continue this blog in that vain- and I happen to be lucky enough to work in a very progressive school district.
Post a Comment