Thing #5 - What does School 2.0 mean to me.

School 2.0 is an exciting and innovative approach to teaching students in the 21st century. Students no longer have the need or desire to memorize meaningless facts and data when all they have to do is merely type in a word or two into Google or Wikipedia and get the info that they need. Unfortunately, so many teachers use what they are most comfortable with and are ok with telling their students that they computer illiterate. In my world we don't accept students responses to "I can't do this" or "This is too hard" we expect them to take the concepts that are being taught, learn and apply them and have mastery of these concepts on a test. So how do you get teachers to step out of their comfort zone and their little box and go forth and learn new things. I thought that by other teachers sharing and showing the great benefits of using School 2.0 tools that other teachers might be driven to want to learn, not so, many responded, "I just don't have the time to learn all that new stuff". So when training is provided and the teachers are given some time you have a small group of teachers that will embrace the training and try out these new tools and when things don't work sucessfully the very first time in the classroom, they don't want to try again. The answer? Many districts across the nation have spent millions of dollars in equipment, technology facilitators and trainers, staff development, incentives and yet bottom line it is the educator that must WANT to make the change and must WANT to do what is best for the students, they must WANT to be proactive and progressive. If each campus administrator expected the staff to move towards becoming a 2.0 School and set up a plan of action with serious expectations and accountability then, and only then, would the classroom change and become a more content producing, student centered classroom with real world application and a desire for a lifetime of learning. As educators we have a double standard, we are not willing to learn and stretch our ownselves, yet that is what we expect of our students.
Walk through any classroom and ask yourself, "How are we meeting the needs of our students to be interested and to embrace what they are learning, to be expressive and to provide opportunities for contribution, and how are we meeting the needs of these students to be ready for the workplace? With over 500 new tools to be utilized in the classroom it should never be a question of do I want to use these new tools, but rather what new tools should I teach today!
New Literacies - Is it Essential or Enrichment, I invite you to respond.