BLOG POST #1: Chapter 1 in the Richardson Textbook.

My first official blog post is in response to Will Richardson’s book, “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classroom.”

In 1989, thanks to Tim Berners-Lee and his “grand vision for the Internet… and development of the World Wide Web,” and the many collaborators to follow, the “New World Wide Web” has changed the way we live today (p 1-2).  Today people “publish their thoughts, respond to others, post pictures, share files, and otherwise contribute to the explosion of content available” on the Internet (p. 2). 

The great thing about the Internet is that it has opened the world up to previously unimaginable possibilities.  Today’s students can facilitate their own learning and get an abundance of information literally from the palm of their hand, with hand-held devices.  For better or worse, the world has become a much smaller place and our young people are free to explore and learn about whatever strikes their fancy.

Unfortunately, with the ever-expanding technological advances of the 21^st century, in my experience, it has been extremely hard for schools to keep up with the students continued and evolving thirst for technology.  None-the-less, school districts and teachers continue to push on, “despite the relative newness of…Weblogs, wikis, RSS, and the rest to enhance student learning in safe, productive, effective ways” (p. 14).   Finding new, innovative and creative ways to use the resources available to enhance our students learning experience is paramount, and to the students of today, the key seems to be the use of technology.

References: 

Richardson, W. (2010) Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin

References: Richardson, W. (2010) Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin