ISTE 2011 Leadership for Rethinking Web 2.0 and Mobility in Education: Protect? Preserve? Progress?

Keith Krueger from Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and Lucy Gray discussed about the status of Web 2.0 applications and mobile devices as a threat to schools, something that needs to be integrated into the existing school program, or a basis for school transformation.

Web 2.0 tools in the classroom brings up three areas, namely: Protect, Preserve, and Progress. In the area of Protect, there is a concern on how to protect children from harmful content from the Web. In the area of Preserve, this focuses on integrating Web 2.0 applications with the curriculum and pedagogy. In the area of Progress, schools need to change in order to become compatible with a changed world.

How do we make the learning environment truly engaging and forward thinking when it comes to the use of Web 2.0 in classroom instruction and student engagement? How can we ensure that guidelines and expectations set in the proper use of Web 2.0 technology is not merely improved by simply adding on to what is already there? District and campus administrators need to sit down and discuss the regulations that need to be in place to provide students with opportunities to use technology effectively and efficiently.

District administrators identify wasting time or distraction as the number one problem should Web 2.0 technology be used in daily classroom instruction and student learning. On the other hand, social networking is the top Web 2.0 technology tool that districts do not allow full access from schools.

Below are some Tips for Building Blocks:
*Understand the educational potential of web 2.0
*Improve personal productivity with web 2.0
*Understand role of leaders
*Use web 2.0 to transform teaching and learning