Thing #5 Not a Rant - but close to it!

School 2.0 is more than a paradigm shift, according to what these articles say. It's more of a catastropic upheaval of the learning process that "mature" teachers learned in education courses and have taught for decades. That in itself can be fearful; some teachers will have to be pushed or carried kicking and cussing into this Read/Write Web of 2.0 that not only encourages, but demands, students to be contributors and active participants. One of my first graduate courses in the mid 80's was about the computer in education. Ten years later I took my first distance learning class for my masters plus prepared all papers (including my thesis) on computer. I look back at events then and am amazed at how far we've (I've!) come and how much has changed since then—by quantum leaps!

How does this affect schools? How does it NOT affect every person in education! Teachers must take the lead in making those "to" and "from" moves (Hargadon's "Web 2.0 Is the Future of Education") that are crucial to change. Collaboration between school, home and community will need to be not only encouraged, but directed and modeled. In low socio-economic areas students are less apt to have access to technology - how is that going to be addressed? And how can schools invite the community to be a partner with them? Many questions, and the answers aren't always immediately forthcoming. Administrators and staff must prepare for and embrace the changes. If they move in slow increments (baby steps instead of charging into the future) the students will be the ones who are unprepared and will lose the opportunities that are open to others.