I am listening to a web 2.0 webinar being hosted by Vicki Davis and she just said something really interesting. She said that she would not have teachers use web 2.0 tools with their kids just to use web 2.0 tools. What a great statement. The same could be true for anything. Would you use crayons just to make sure you are using crayons? No. You would use crayons when crayons are needed and when crayons help achieve a goal or objective.
I was recently asked by a principal to create a scope and sequence of tech lessons for our computer labs. She asked me to do this because our classified lab assistants are going to be asked to “teach” classes to help cover teacher prep and they need help with this endeavor.
There are several things I see wrong with this. While I think there needs to be some amount of basic tech training I think this can be done in the context of a lesson and can also be modeled by the teacher during everyday instruction. During the webinar Vicki brought up the thought of using Atomic Learning as a means for students to learn the basics – what a thought.
I am having a hard time putting this into words but Web 2.0 tools and technology in general should be embedded within instruction to help support and extend learning. I would love to hear what others have to say about this. How is technology being “taught” in your school and district? Is it isolated? Is it embedded? A combination?
