Week 1: Reading/Videos Reflection

Readings

Please read the two articles listed below and view the videos. You should post your thoughts and reflections AS YOU READ in the W1 Reading Forum. This is the heart of the interactive portion of the course and you need to be very active in this section. You do not need to wait until you have completed all of the reading to post. Post frequently as you read and engage with all of your peers throughout the week. AT A MINUMUM, you must post one original post and respond to four posts over four different days. You are encouraged to write single posts that synthesize ideas from multiple peer posts and your own thoughts. This will make this easier for everyone to read as the posts will be more meaningful and reflect deeper thought. Below are the readings and videos for week 1.

Alexander, B. (2006). Web 2.0: A new wave of innovation for teaching and learning?
https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM0621.pdf
Hew, K. & Cheung, W. (2012). Use of web 2.0 technologies in K-12 and higher education: The search for evidence-based practice. Educational Research Review: 9, 47-64.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2012.08.001

Library Tip

A digital object identifier (DOI) can be used to cite and link to electronic documents. A DOI is guaranteed never to change, so you can use it to link permanently to electronic documents.

1.         To find a document using a DOI
2.         Copy the DOI of the document you want to open. For example, 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.03.031.
3.      Open the following DOI site in your browser:
4.      http://proxy.tamuc.edu:8446
5.      Enter the entire DOI in the text box provided, and then click Go.

Videos

Web 2.0…The Machine is Us/ing Us: http://youtu.be/6gmP4nk0EOE
Not on the Test: http://youtu.be/8dAujuqCo7s
Did You Know?: http://youtu.be/6ILQrUrEWe8
A Vision of K-12 Students Today: http://youtu.be/_A-ZVCjfWf8

Academia 2.0: http://youtu.be/vZ1jFaXgTnw

My Video Reflection

Very infromative videos! What makes me sad is that these videos were out there for almost a decade, and I just watched them :(

Web 2.0…The Machine is Us/ing Us: I would say this was the most inspirational video I've ever seen on Youtube so far. The Machine is Us video briefly tells the transformation of the web overtime. Web 2.0 is all about people sharing and collaborating, and this helps web evolving even faster. This video clearly illustrates the differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. As far as I understand, Web 1.0 was more read-only format, while Web 2.0 is read-write, and focus on communities, and has user generated content. I especially liked its closing, what is next? Actually its been almost eight years that this video was uploaded, where actually are we now?

Not on the Test:This song describes how I feel about testing. Luckily none of the classes I teach have state's standardized tests, but its not right when I see teachers are encouraged(forced) to prepare students for state testings. I know its not teachers' fault, a lot of time teachers are not allowed to teach anything else but standards for testing, even teachers have to spend their after schools ( and sometime Saturdays) for tutorials. I do not think this helps students to gain 21st century learning skills. Educational system needs serious change about state testings. I wish it will not take decades for this change.

Did You Know?: This video gives message to us that we are depending to the internet and technology more than before. Mobile technology will rule in next decades. Day after day, new technologies are being introduced, mobile phones become better and smarter, and with the rapid advancement of technology the possibilities are endless. Honestly this technology/digital age is pretty astounding, but scary for some reasons like data and identity security etc.

A Vision of K-12 Students Today: I really like this video. It was posted back in 2007, we are in now 2015, and most of our classrooms haven't changed that much. Studies show that using technology tools in classrooms can engage and motivate students more profoundly. Because of technology, we live in a global village now, people from different parts of the world are interconnected through the use of technology. We have to prepare our kids for a more competitive world. There are some teachers do not want to step out of their comfort zone and incorporate technology into their classes, however some teachers are pushed to use technology into instruction without receiving adequate training.

Academia 2.0:I completely agree that our Education System, especially elementary and secondary sections is slow to adapt new technologies into classrooms. For many teachers, lack of their experiences with new technology give them challenge. In order to incorporate technology into instruction successfully, at the beginning, teachers must be given time to learn and understand the tool, and should be able to teach/train their students.

My Reading Reflection

After reading the two articles, I realized that I had very little information about web 2.0 tools and its importance in learning. Very informative articles. I never heard the term "folksonomy" before, and author explained it very well in the article. I see now collaborating, tagging, folksonomy and social bookmarking can be a good tool in my education. I need to find ways to use these technologies in my classes.
I really enjoyed reading Hew and Cheung's research. They included research finding results of different web 2.0 tools researches. This article made me realized that I need to focus more on these wonderful tools. I would like to incorporate twitter, blogs, and virtual worlds more in my instructions.