Review: Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools
If I were a school administrator who needed to introduce my staff to Web 2.0 or 21st literacy skills, I would buy this book for each person on my staff. It is a well-written, easily understandable resource that could apply to teachers at all levels, as well as to administrators and trainers.
The authors, Gwen Solomon and Lynne Schrum, each have an impressive background. Solomon is director of techLEARNING.com and she has, in the past, been a senior analyst in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology, as well as holding several other tech posts. Schrum is a professor and coordinator of elementary and secondary education at George Mason University. She has had several other relevant posts in the past, including that of president of the International Society for Technology in Education and she is currently the editor of the Journal of Research on Technology in Education.
This book begins with a brief overview of what is Web 2.0 and the differences between Web 1.0 and 2.0. It also discusses briefly the way schools and education have changed over the years. The authors indicate that technology can impact increasing levels of learning. One interesting insight (for which they credit Miguel Guhlin) is that “disruptive technologies [like MySpace and others] are the greatest threat to the powerful who have traditionally controlled the means of publication…and that includes our schools” (5). The implication here is that being able to use the new technologies in Web 2.0 actually gives the user power.
This review will break down the book by chapter because the chapters are so different. Chapter One, titled “new world, new web, new skills,” refers to many of the same ideas popularized by Thomas Friedman in his book The World is Flat. Three important points are:
- educators around the world now rival those in the U.S.
- students need to know these skills to succeed in life
- students cannot master these skills unless their teachers are well-trained
The authors specifically encourage educators to teach these 21st century skills in order to help our students to be global citizens.
Chapter Two, titled “students and learning,” deals with Pensky’s concept of “digital immigrants,” however they acknowledge that some teens are not computer savvy and that some adults are. They detail how much more wired our culture is today than just a few years ago. One of the most interesting concepts of the book is that our young people today are the “consumption generation.” They use an example of a student who goes into the computer lab, and before the teacher can begin to instruct, the student has changed the screensaver, the icons, the color and font—all to personalize them. They make a valid argument that this personalization or consumption is what draws young people to technology.
This quote really sums up this chapter:
Rather than delivering information from textbooks and teachers’ resources, the new approach harnesses the technologies that students use outside of school to engage them in finding and analyzing the resources themselves. (39)
Unlike so many books that deal only with the technology, this book really to gets the heart of teaching as they challenge teachers:
The tools students use may change where and how they get information but only educators can make sure that students learn how to process and use that information wisely. (42)
Chapter Three, “new tools,” suggests that with the abundance and high quality of open source ware, schools should be able to save much money –compared to the cost of all the software they had to buy a few years ago. They suggest that, in the future, computers should be able to mine data from each student and help to create a detailed learning plan specifically for each student.
Chapter Four, called “new tools in schools,” is full of possible lesson plans. There are simply too many to list. They do have plans to publish, in the future, another book which would include a practical guide to web 2.0—that apparently would give more specifics on teaching. I will buy that book when it is published.
Chapter Five, “professional development,” details some of the problems that occur with people brought in from the outside to instruct; they come in for one afternoon then leave with no chance for follow- up. The authors recommend professional learning communities where teachers have a chance to learn what they are truly interested in and then they can teach others.
Chapter Six, “leadership and new tools,” suggests that administrators “must facilitate a shared vision for technology… and mobilize staff and …community” toward meeting that vision (127). The one drawback of this book is that it gets quite technical here, discussing the advantages of Linux for school districts. This chapter might be more appropriate to the tech person in a school district
Chapter Seven is about “online safety and security” and stresses that districts, parents, and teachers have an obligation to address these issues. They also indicate there are no easy solutions. Chapter Eight deals with “systemic issues,” such as ELL and ESL training, special needs students, equity, etc. The authors’ biases show here—because they seem to support technology as a balm for all ills, however, they do offer support for their ideas. Chapter Nine, entitled “new schools,” is a compilation of information including polls and surveys, software, the possibility that textbooks will become obsolete, and the potential for change that our schools will be dealing with in the future.
Chapter Ten is full of one to two page tutorials on some of the applications the authors suggest teachers to begin with. The last 50 or so pages are full of references, appendices, school standards, and much other helpful information.
The authors have included, in a very readable format, the basic information a teacher would need in order to get started using Web 2.0 tools. The applications are all education-based and the authors justify each concept with specific details and much proof. For anyone who does not deem themselves an expert on Web 2.0, this book would be a wonderful resource!
Great job here, Judy! You should have included the video as part of your review here. I like your thoughts on this book, and your review/video does make me think I ought to look into getting a copy of this book.