"The changing demographics of the student population and the more consumer/client-centered culture in today's society have provided a climate where the use of student-centered learning is thriving" (O’Neill & McMahon, 2005). But, what exactly is student-centered learning, and how do we create it in our classrooms? Student-centered learning seems to mirror the Montessori philosophy in that the learner decides what he or she wants to learn and how he or she is going to go about learning it. Today, Web 2.0 tools and Learning 2.0 are all around us. How will we incorporate it into our classrooms? We, as teachers, are failing our students who are actually surpassing us in learning with Web 2.0 tools. Teaching and learning must, therefore, become more collaborative. Teachers need to let go of the teaching methods they remember from their youth and look to the future seeing that it is a whole new ball game. It is amazing, not to mention embarrassing, that education ranked 55th out of 55 industries in the U.S. for IT intensiveness in the workplace (Learning to Change, 2008).
So, how do we take learning to the next level? How do we create Learning 2.0 classrooms? Do we need to train teachers? Do we need funding for our schools to reach the 21st century? Do we need to educate our school boards and secretaries of education? Yes, Yes, and YES! All of these are necessary. An inordinate amount of information is out there – for free! We need the time and resources as educators to access it. We also need to be able to access these sites from school to bring the technology to the forefront of the classroom. Could it be possible that all this technology is less expensive than photocopies, workbooks, and textbooks? I would venture to say it is possible! Each child could have a laptop, his or her portal to the world, for about $500.00. That’s less than what some schools charge as their registration fee or comprehensive fee. This is DOABLE!
I teach 4th and 5th grade mathematics. I am constantly thinking, “How do I make this learning 2.0?” I admit, I struggle with this and have not gotten my hands around it. RSS feeds and Twitter have helped me lately to see what’s out there. The book Web 2.0: new tools, new schools offers open source resources for me to use, such as Seeing Math, Shodor Software, and StarLogo (p. 73). Compiling and “filing’ all of the information is a somewhat daunting task. But having the information come to me through RSS feeds is a step in the right direction. I am teaching place value currently to my fourth graders. Of course, this is supposed to be a review of material learned in third grade, but many do not own the information yet. Today, I have been on iTunes and YouTube to find resources to use in my classroom to help my students understand this concept. Anyone have any additional resources???
In California, the California School Library Association is beginning a nine-week program for new teacher professional development. What a great idea! read article in The Journal
FETC virtual conference (Free) Oct. 22 click here
floyda007. (2008, May 15). Learning to Change-Changing to Learn [Video File]. Retrieved September 9, 2009, from YouTube Web site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tahTKdEUAPk
O’Neill, G. & McMahon, T. (2005). Student-centered learning: What does it mean for students and lecturers?. All Ireland Society for Higher Education Readings. Retrieved September 10, 2009, from http://www.aishe.org/readings/2005- 1/oneill-mcmahon-Tues_19th_Oct_SCL.html
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