I
had the opportunity to discuss about web 2.0 tools with some of my colleagues
and I was sadly disappointed hearing them say not knowing about them. At some
point they thought it was email and after I mentioned how the communication and
collaboration among the members could be developed they said" no".
They have not use it and wasn't in their short future plans. I did try two
different groups of teachers from different grade level and I've got a similar
answer. They heard the term wiki and blog but never used it to develop or
collaborate least to communicate and shared ideas. One of them remember a
training related to collaboration site called "My Big Campus" but
never access the site after the training. When I touched the subject on
Social Networks a couple mentioned "Facebook" but not as a sharing
and learning tool but as a social media to stay in touch with friends and
family. I even asked if they have used such applications with their students in
the classroom and the answer was the same, "no". They don't
know about web 2.0 tools, the benefits that could bring to their students
achievements and the lack of interest is alarming.
My
conclusion on this subject is simple. Since there is not a required need to use
and implement technologies to communicate and collaborate our school staff
doesn't take advantage of the different web 2.0 tools available on the
web. The steps to get there are taking place. During the next year every
teacher need to have a web site to share school information, classroom
assignments, activities and resources to the parents and students. This could
be the starting point for a technology revolution, the integration and use of
web 2.0 tools within our district that bring our educators together, to share
and learn from each other while improving their technology expertise.
I
had the opportunity to attend several of the web conference during the courses
and I found a place where my colleagues had similar doubts and issues while
doing the assignments. Our moderators were always there with words of
encouragement and motivation that somehow alleviate the burden by giving us the
extra push needed to complete our work successfully. It was a place to look for
resources and ideas and see what other students perspectives were on the
topics. I got answers to my questions and most of the time got information that
I was not considering. This was the missing portion of the regular face to face
classes which not only allowed me to meet my Professors but some of my
colleagues during the course of the masters degree.
The
activities related to the classes were always focusing on theory and practice.
I found this necessary and useful to understand and practice the skill of the
subject. This complete some of my expectations on technology that I wanted
to learn when I thought about this
degree format. Certainly I've got more knowledge, tools and experiences that I
could apply in my classroom. A bonus was all the leadership skills that let me
understand how complex are the processes of running a school during these days
and the constant pressure Principals faced during the day to day operation.
