Mrs. Raffetto’s Ruminations

Web 2.0’s chapter 9 talked about how in order for teachers to most effectively incorporate web 2.0 tools in their classrooms, schools would need to make some changes. Man, ain’t that the truth! Reading this book has made me realize all the great things we could do with our students using web 2.0 and that it is so much more than taking our kids on the Internet for research. But something that has always frustrated me when ever a great idea pops into my head is the lack of resources in the schools. For example, I know I want to have my students keep portfolios. Most recently, I fell in love with the idea of ePortfolios. But many of the teachers I know gave me a “good luck” look because they knew the schools don’t have enough computers to ensure that I will get them frequently enough so my kids can update their portfolios. And even though we can’t imagine any child who does not get online when they go home from school, the book confirmed that almost 40% of households in the U.S. still don’t have Internet access (Solomon & Schrum, 2007, p. 187).  So there is a good chance my great ideas will never come to full fruition because of the lack of resources in the school.

Another great point the book made is how schools absolutely need to consult with the teachers before purchasing new software programs. I can’t tell you how mnay times I’ve been in a school and seen the software the distrct has bought just lying on a shelf unopened! The book touched on this a quoted a teacher as saying the software just didn’t fit her students (Solomon & Schurm, 2007, p. 182).  That is exactly what I was told.  This sort of thing goes right back to what David Tyack and Larry Cuban said in their book, Tinkering Toward Utopia (1995), a reform of public education must start within the schools, mainly with the teachers, to produce a reform that works.  A full integration of web 2.0 into our classrooms is a necessary and vital reform that will never work unless the teachers come on board and the schools look to them to make the changes.

How great would it be if our students didn’t have to carry all those textbooks or if the schools didn’t have to spend all that money on them! And how wonderful would it be if teachers and students could access the school’s shared drive from home so those that did have Internet could continue to work on things at home! And how fabulous would it be if the federal government would pass one of those laws it so loves to make that would help get high speed Internet into those rural areas just like it did for the telephone! Web 2.0 is changing the world everyday and public education cannot drop the ball on our students.  With the dynamic web, we will never catch up if we don’t make it happen now.