When I was in first grade, I remember playing on a an old Mac computer. We would all wait to get on the computer because we all happened to be addicted to Oregon Trail. Today's school children are not playing Oregon trail on an old Mac but are instead communicating with students around the world and have a wealth of knowledge at the fingertips. However, along with the available knowledge they also are faced with a wealth of distractions an inappropriate websites. Kristen Alloway of the New Jersey Star Ledger does a great job of detailing the conflict facing educators and handling technology in the classroom in her article, Students Discovering Online Collaboration.
My personal opinion is that technology and web 2.0 gives students an excellent opportunity if used correctly to collaborate online with others around the world. This information sharing that can be done by a student in class communicating with a student in a classroom in another country can be extremely beneficial in exposing school children to another culture and learning about the world around them. When I was a child and a student we had pen pals, now children can get even better experiences through online collaboration.
Therefore, online collaboration presents many wonderful opportunities but the dangers it presents must also be accounted for. Children can access websites that are inappropriate and instead of using the computers for educational purposes many times they will use them for their non-intended purpose.
Until next week!
JC
I agree with you. web 2.0 is a great opportunity for students. We should use it well :)
ReplyDeleteOh how I miss the days of oregon trail. It's crazy to think that 1st graders today are getting involved with online collaboration...some of them prolly know more about web 2.0 than their parents.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely an area that our educational system does not address at the earliest levels as it ought to.
ReplyDeleteOregon Trail!!!! i loved that game as well, and i agree with drew i think it's so cool to think about little kids being able to connect with each other through collaboration tools. i can only imagine the amount of culture and information they get on a daily basis. i wonder if there's a way to measure if they are using the knowledge in their classrooms?
ReplyDeletei'm sure they won't appreciate it until their older though..
I was lied to. Someone promised me that college was nothing more than playing Oregon Trail for 4 years. Well I'm still waiting...
ReplyDeleteJust some senseless banter since I totally agree with your perspective and have nothing to add except to say that I concur.