Learning 2.0 Blog #2

If incorporating Web 2.0 to teach and learn, how can one go about being a 21st Century educator or learner when many of the tools are from the past and many educators a resistant to change? In the video from BJ Nesbitt, "A Vision of Students Today" (2007) he states that students will be engaging technologies in a collaborative, inquire-based learning environment with teachers who are willing and able to use technology's power to assist them in transforming knowledge and skills into products, solutions and new information. Learning by doing is the key to a successful 21st century digital learner and doing what they love such as gaming, email, instant messaging, blogging and podcasts can become an effective tool in teaching. The willing and able teachers will need the necessary tools and the ability to use them in order to produce a positive learning environment. Web 2.0 can give these willing teachers those tools for today's success.
How effective are today's curriculum? Many students will tell you they are bored and disengaged in activities. The very tools that are used by kids today such as ipods, cell phones for instant messaging, and internet for blogging are banned from many schools, however they are the very tools that teach them how to communicate, read, write and be creative. In order to enrich and engage the student, teachers are going to have to adopt this new age collaboration, Web 2.0. and paying attention to what students are using, doing and playing with can lead teachers to incorporate the same technologies for learning in the classroom.
Teaching through technology can engage the student, tap into their creative mind and refresh how to think and feel about education and learning. Teachers and parents can join forces with the new generation of technology and education to expand the student’s creative side and provide more control over their future learning goals. The use of Web 2.0 technologies such as wiki's, blogs, podcasts and others can evoke a learn by doing that teach how to think, create, evaluate. Digital learning needs to be engaged in the classroom as well as in the marketplace. The future of technology is not static nor will it wait for those to catch up to it. Developing virtual classrooms where students can collaborate on projects will stimulate the digital learner. Incorporating technology such as Web 2.0 is essential to keeping up with future trends.

References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S07YGkSrug
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVr5pokOVG0