Reaction to John Thompson's article "Is Educaton 1.0 Ready for 2.0 Students?"

     In addressing the question posed by Thompson in his given article, a whole slough of questions and thoughts came to mind. I find it difficult sorting through what topics and issues to address. For instance there is a difference between applications and implications of using the Web 2.0 premise in an elementary school, as compared to using in University. For me the fundamental question that arises "What is the purpose of education?", is it to provide persons with the skill sets to be able to take functional roles within society? If that is the case what is the blossoming role for the Web 2.0 in society? Will it grow into a way to effectively conduct and manage businesses/the workplace? These questions (some maybe more relevant than others) and more filtered through my mind while reading this document. There are a couple questions which I will ask.

     

     How high is the value of face to face interaction between teachers, students, and peers? Is the medium of using the web to read and write through the web going to enrich those relationships or take away from it? I think that there is no denying that Web 2.0 should be implemented into the classroom at some levels. It is clear that through each rising generation that our youth become more and more entrenched into the digital world. I find it interesting how we as educators (or future educators) always see and discuss the need to conform and teach to the changes within the rising generation. Is there a risk to complying to much to this idea? For example, I have heard many times that the attention spans of children are getting shorter and that we need to plan appropriately for them. Do we need to plan appropriately, or do we need to help them develop longer attention spans? What is the appropriate response to the trends within the rising generation? Similarly we need to find an appropriate response to the change in how students today exchange information. The challenge for the teacher is to find appropriate uses for exchange of information outside of the 1.0 medium. 

     

     So what is the most appropriate use of this exchange of information? I do not think it wise to completely make obsolete the face to face interaction between the teacher and student. I believe regular that face to face interaction creates a bond between the teacher and student that cannot be replaced (I realize that this is not necessarily what this article is suggesting). In a classroom I do not think it unreasonable to have students share information and even hand in occasional assignments through the medium of Web 2.0. However I do think that assignments should also be handed in by hand. There are any other wonderful possibilities and capabilities  of the thought of on-line exchange of information. Through programs like Google Docs and Google Calenders Student agendas and newsletters could eventually be made obsolete, once all students and homes assuredly had on-line capabilities. I feel that it is important for us to find a balance between using technology too much as a medium of exchange or, too little. 

     

     I could go on for much longer, but to wrap it up I want to address the conclusion of Thompson's article. He refers to keeping up with the times and being willing to experiment with different business models. We must find the best way to run our education system. We need to look to the future and prepare our students for a future where much information will be exchanged through digital means. We need to make sure that when they leave the "educational business model" that the want be shocked when they enter into the business models of the world. We need to make sure that they have both the digital and personal skills it takes to be successful.

Read Thompson's article here