session 1

Session One: What is the Read/Write Web?

In this introductory session, participants will read three articles that articulate how the web is changing with new tools that allow users to interact with each other and build learning communities. These articles will also start to explain the implications that these technologies can have for teaching and learning in the classroom. As an activity, participants will explore different blogs and online publications focused on the changing web and its impact on education.



Readings

* Teaching & Learning with the Read/Write Web
This article by Wesley Fryer explains how the web is changing and how the new read/write web tools can impact teaching and learning in the classroom.
* Tech Tools for Learning
This article by Will Richardson defines some of the Read/Write Web tools such as blogs, podcasts, and streaming videos and gives tips for how to integrate these tools into the classroom.
* From Web 2.0 to School 2.0
This article provides a great overview of the Web 2.0 tools and touches on some of the important safety issues to consider when integrating Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.

Optional Video: The Machine is Us/ing Us
This video overview of Web 2.0 was produced by Michael Wesch, a professor at Kansas State University and a cultural anthropologist and media ecologist exploring the impacts of new media on human interaction. The video was released in February of 2007 and was viewed more than 3 million times in less than a year.



Activities

1. The following Blogs are maintained by people or organizations that are dedicated to integrating the Read/Write Web and new technology tools in education. Explore the content in some these blogs and online publications to learn more about how the web is changing and how these changes can impact teaching and learning in the classroom. As you read, examine how the content is organized and take the time to read some of the comments that other people make in response to the bloggers' initial posts. Notice how the authors often include hyperlinks in their texts and think about how this form of writing differs from traditional journaling.
*The Fischbowl: Karl Fisch
*Learning.Now : Andy Carvin
* Moving at the Speed of Creativity: Wes Fryer
* 2 Cents Worth: David Warlick
* Teach42.com by Steve Dembo
* The Tech Savvy Educator
* Weblogg-ed: Will Richardson


2. As you are exposed to the various Read/Write web tools throughout this workshop, you should be thinking about how you can incorporate these tools to both strengthen and widen the learning communities in your schools and districts. To assist you in this process, use the following planning template to plan the integration of some of these tools. Begin filling out Part I by deciding on the lesson or unit you will focus on and the standards that this lesson or unit will address. (The National Educational Technology Standards for Students were revised in 2007 to include skills that can be easily addressed using Web 2.0 technolgies. Visit them here.



Discussion

1. Share your initial ideas about how you want to incorporate some of the tools mentioned in this week's readings in your classrooms or schools and share some of the basic information about the lesson or unit you will be working on throughout this workshop.
2. Make sure to respond to at least one other message posted by a colleague in the discussion board.

additional resources

Optional Reading

* Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age
* Educating the Net Generation
* K12 Online Conference: Agenda
* Back to School with the Class of Wen 2.0: Part 1
* Adam Sutcliffe: Web Tools I Use