I’ve Been Critical Thinking…

Oh dear, has it really happened? Can it be that learning about this whole Web 2.0 and in particular blogging that I have to start thinking critically about people are saying on this topic. I was reading a response in David Warlick’s blog where David replies to a comment from David Thornburg. David T had added a comment to one of David W’s blogs. It was interesting reading the reply. The thing that hit me in the face is that these two pretty insightful men had extremely differing views on WEB 2.0 (and even if there is a thing called Web 2.0!). If these academics can’t even agree - where does that leave me??
The more I read the more confused and confuddled I get. It’s not just about the technology but more importantly it is about how we, as educators, use the technology. Even as I write that it feels wrong. WEb 2.0 isn’t about us as educators using technology and then teaching it. It is an organic process that is happening to our students, to us, to our parents. It is happening all around us, all of the time. We have to break through the (dare I mention it) “sage on the stage” mentality and into the flat world. This seems fine in theory but with colleagues that aren’t comfortable with “playing” with software to learn how to use it and use it efficiently in their own classroom. Surprisingly it’s not always the older colleagues either. I guess I don’t help the situation by providing “how to” guides and talking about all the great stuff that can be achieved with Web 2.0 but I find that they switch off to the great stuff because they “don’t know how to do it” with the technology.
Anyway way off track with the real reason for this post. The more I read the more I realize that blogging isn’t just about writing but it’s also about reading. Now I know that this may seem obvious to those who have been doing this for awhile, but I truly did think it was all about the writing. I mean this makes sense right. I write, I type, I post it online. But then I realized I had been doing more reading than writing. To be able to have an opinion, I need to have read what is going on in the fields I want to write on. How can I bring this realization into a classroom???
Here is a goal for me: Find a selection of children’s blogs that my kids will find interesting and motivating. Get the children to read them and have conversations about what they have read. Really try and get them excited about reading other people’s ideas and promote the idea that they too can publish their own ideas.
Wish me luck….