Teaching in Turbulent Times.
Web 2.0 is one of the most prominent business models for information systems available today. It brings together technology and social networks, and the interactivity that creates business value. Like business even education can also benefits from it.However, today the ability of educators to use , create content and communicate on the web is limited by complexity and sophistication of the range of web 2.0 tools available. Some of the challenges teachers face in using web 2.0 tools are
- Most of teachers find web 2.0 tools confusing and frieghtening
- Many tools exists and teachers do not have time nor expertise to discover, identify and use best tools to meet their specific teaching needs. ( Maths teacher needs different tools that the one who teacher social studies)
- Most students are well versed with web tools and communication. They use and communicate easily and openly using web 2.0 tools.
- There is a technology gap between teachers and students and it is growing .
- These web 2.0 tools have pedagogical value and contribution to make towards enhancing teaching and learning experience.
- web 2.0 tools enable sharing, communication and knowledge discovery that teachers can use to provide more motivating , engaging, experimental relevant and collaborative environment for students.
With this mind, One can find out that there is a need for
- understanding web 2.0 's potential to be used in education
- developing a pedagogy for integrating web 2.0 tools into teaching and learning process
I am currently working towards this end.