To be honest, the 6 NETS-S
standards for students are often overlooked. It seems as though these 6
simple standards are overshadowed by the state-tested language arts, math, and
science standards. This week, we spent a great amount of time looking at
communicating, collaborating, and publishing with Web 2.0 tools.
To me, there are innumerable ways that the use of Web 2.0 tools can meet the standards if teachers are willing to go outside of the textbooks and traditional ways of education. I spent the majority of my time reading the profiles for “technology literate” students in grades K-2. Profile #1, “Illustrate and communicate original ideas and stories using digital tools and media-rich resources” was one that came to mind with my 2nd grade language arts classroom right now. Students are working on a book reflection/recommendation project. They are concept mapping and LOVING it! It’s been awesome to see them communicating with one another, working as trouble-shooters for each other, and being so proud of their published piece! Going through the profiles, I noticed that this one activity also covers profiles #7, 8, and 9.
The first four standards in and of themselves don’t require the use of technology. Great teachers have been helping students be creative, communicate and collaborate, research and interact with information, and become critical thinkers and problem solvers for years. Why use technology now? It’s not because of the tool, but rather because of the future of our students. John Dewey once said, “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” The jobs our students will have, the tools that will be available to them, and the technological expectations that will be set before them require them to know how to communicate, collaborate, and present using Web 2.0 tools and a variety of other technology. Why wouldn’t we help them navigate these skills now?
Is there a reason students can’t do group work on a blog instead of on a poster? Do science fair projects have to be done on a tri-fold board or could a Prezi meet the same learning objectives? Wouldn’t a traditional book report work on S’more or Glogster instead of composition paper and graphic organizers? The possibilities are endless. Students are only limited by their teachers comfort zones. Our students are willing to take more risks now than ever before. How can we help them?
To me, there are innumerable ways that the use of Web 2.0 tools can meet the standards if teachers are willing to go outside of the textbooks and traditional ways of education. I spent the majority of my time reading the profiles for “technology literate” students in grades K-2. Profile #1, “Illustrate and communicate original ideas and stories using digital tools and media-rich resources” was one that came to mind with my 2nd grade language arts classroom right now. Students are working on a book reflection/recommendation project. They are concept mapping and LOVING it! It’s been awesome to see them communicating with one another, working as trouble-shooters for each other, and being so proud of their published piece! Going through the profiles, I noticed that this one activity also covers profiles #7, 8, and 9.
The first four standards in and of themselves don’t require the use of technology. Great teachers have been helping students be creative, communicate and collaborate, research and interact with information, and become critical thinkers and problem solvers for years. Why use technology now? It’s not because of the tool, but rather because of the future of our students. John Dewey once said, “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” The jobs our students will have, the tools that will be available to them, and the technological expectations that will be set before them require them to know how to communicate, collaborate, and present using Web 2.0 tools and a variety of other technology. Why wouldn’t we help them navigate these skills now?
Is there a reason students can’t do group work on a blog instead of on a poster? Do science fair projects have to be done on a tri-fold board or could a Prezi meet the same learning objectives? Wouldn’t a traditional book report work on S’more or Glogster instead of composition paper and graphic organizers? The possibilities are endless. Students are only limited by their teachers comfort zones. Our students are willing to take more risks now than ever before. How can we help them?
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