Part II Reflection

There were so many Web 2.0 tools that were discussed in part II of Leading 21st Century Schools: Harnessing Technology for Engagement and Achievement, it's exhilarating to know that if ever I do venture into elementary or high school level teaching, these tools are there to help inspire, inform and engage our digital natives. At the moment, I primarily work with digital immigrants so it's hard to dive right into the core of online learning and teaching. But I looked at these tools in a way that made me think about how I could get my non-technological students on the level of being able to use these tools efficiently. Considering all the tools mentioned, I do have a select few that I think my students would greatly benefit from.

One of the tools is a WebQuest. I think this can be a great tool for any level of computer and Internet users. For beginners, it can teach the fundamentals of basic Internet usage (i.e. search engines, research resources, accuracy of data) and for other levels, it can optimize and hone the skills that they've already acquired. It also helps that there are ready-made WebQuests available for teachers to pick from instead of having to create these from scratch.

The other tools I thought appropriate for my students were for writing. I think that when students are able to write about their discoveries, how it makes them feel, what excited them about class or the content, and have them share this with the Internet community, it develops a self-awareness of their experience and progress. This self-awareness can serve as the spark that ignites their interest in online learning. Sharing these experiences can be done with blogs, which are my personal favorite, microblogs such as Twitter, or the tool I was not aware of, electronic pen pals. Whatever the tool, collaboration, communication and creation are among the skills that are constantly being instilled in our students today, so we must continue to feed into the ever-evolving society of  our digital natives.