Developing+Web+2.0+Skills

=Developing Web 2.0 Skills=  It feels appropriate to begin a wiki-based discussion by focusing on instruction in the use of Web 2.0 tools. In his article "Social Networking Technologies in Education" (2009), Dallas McPheeters argues that after the use of a technology tool becomes "ubiquitous," and users become highly familiar with it, the technology will be at it's most useful. "The real shifts occur not with the introduction of new technologies but with their large scale adoption," so teachers should be leading the adoption of these technologies to prepare students to innovate new uses for them (para. 3).  One solution to the controversy about social networking in schools is to use tools inspired by social networking and adapted for educational use. The site www.edu.glogster.com enables students to create graphic glogs. Edu.glogster.com is a mirror site of the public glogster.com, which is a popular social networking tool. By bringing this technology into the classroom, teachers can show students how to put it to real use to communicate, to persuade, and to share their learning with others. Students who use glogster.com for social purposes will only get more practice in a valuable skill: the use of graphics to enhance communication.

As new technologies such as wikis, social networking sites, and glogging emerge, users will go through a period of familiarizing themselves with the technology. They may be too distracted by learning and enjoying the newness of the technology that they are not ready to focus on innovating new uses for it. After the technology becomes very familiar, users will begin to think in it's "language" and innovate new uses for it. Web 2.0 and social networking technology are at an exciting stage of development, in which teachers have the opportunity to shape the use of these technologies. Teachers may contribute by familiarizing students with the technology until it becomes ingrained in their thoughts about communication, and by providing learning opportunities in which students must use the technologies in a new way.

Discussion Question:
 What educationally based social networking and Web 2.0 tools are available for safe use in the classroom? How can the adoption of these tools enhance 21st Century skills and even the continuing development of new technologies?