Week 1 - Blog Posting #1 - Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is more than just and idea, it’s a revolution. It has changed the way we communicate. I recently came across the Blog on 90’s superstar MC Hammer, and the old idea of “You can’t touch this…” is long gone! Hammer has now become the spokesperson for you can and should touch this when it comes to Web 2.0 tools. He describes how many of the Web 2.0 technologies such as Twitter, can help companies market their brand better. He speaks of the urgency of why this should be done, because if you don’t do it someone else will!

Twitter can also be a powerful tool for teachers as well. Just as Hammer speaks of marketing your brand using Twitter, to teachers the classroom is our brand. Our students are on Twitter, Facebook, and many other social networks, so why not us as well? I came across an article called 6 Examples of Using Twitter in the Classroom. This is a great, comprehensive look at articles and blogs on how twitter can be useful in the classroom. Many of them focus on the use of Twitter in higher education, while one speaks about the use of Twitter in high school (you may have seen it on the Full Sail Blog). Many of Twitter’s uses in college classes include a way to organize questions from classes that sometimes number over 100 students. The video on high school students speaks about the DIG ME program in a local Minneapolis high school. They said they use social media to accomplish two goals, one to catch the attention of students and increasing their participation. We know they enjoy using this social media for recreation, so why not bring that excitement into education. The second is preparing them for tomorrows new media landscape. The use of social media will continue to have a growing impact on our society. Students who are prepared for this will be able to better adapt to the real world. We see this through the MC Hammer talk on social media that we need to prepare our students to be a part of the ever changing world of technology. A lot of people want to say that education is changing, but it is not education, the world around us is changing and education must adapt in order to prepare our students!