Thing #5

     In my opinion, School 2.0 means an exciting new way for students and educators to learn!  We are in the "age of technology."  Like it or not, technology is here to stay.  As a teacher who has grown up with technology for the better part of my life, I openly grasp at the chance to use all of these School 2.0 and Web 2.0 tools in my classroom.  I cannot wait for my county to catch up economically so that these tools can be more beneficial. 
     School 2.0 means major changes to schools of the future.  According to a 2008 article by the NEA, computer and technology access is way behind in the United States.  One statistic says that, "The state of Maryland, for example, reports that, on average, only 10 percent of classrooms in the state have five or more computers." (Technology in Schools: The Ongoing Challenge).  Schools have to make sure that students and teachers have the tools they need to be able to truly use these Web 2.0 tools to their greatest benefit. 
     One interesting thing I learned through reading these perspectives was from http://www.teachers2.0.com/ .  On this site a teacher posts podcasts about current School 2.0 tools.  What I love about this site is that she not only posts about new tools, but also gives lesson plan ideas, reviews, and technology tips.  My favorite post from this site is when the teacher talks about how teachers interested in the game World of Warcraft are working on ways to use it in the classroom.  Now, I don't play WOW, but a lot of my friends do.  I see the benefits of using a video game to teach students because it meets them at a place where there is high interest. 
     Another interesting thing I learned from reading the perspectives was Tech and Learning.  Here the author talks about how a first grade teacher is using Facebook as a tool in her classroom.  We constantly hear about the negatives surrounding educators and these social networking sites.  Rather than focus on the negatives, this site points out all of the ways Facebook benefits this teacher.  For example, the teacher celebrates student work on this site in a quick, efficient manner.  Facebook (and social network sites like it) are here to stay, so rather than looking at all of the ways it can go wrong, educators should be looking at ways to use it safely.