Chapter 1:
Since much of this information is new to me, and I do not use the vast amount of technology out there in my classroom, I was amazed at the statistics that supported the fact that I really need to get up to speed and begin using it with my students.   For instance, on p. 2 it states that a 2007 study stated that 64% of teens who use the Internet should be considered "content creators."  Wow!  I need to get myself trained so that my students can begin to use the web 2.0 tools to write and communicate with each other. The author describes how many different types of industries - political groups, publishers, live news stations-  are using Web 2.0 tools and how it has totally changed how we receive, edit and send information.  This is the world our students will be working in and educators need to learn, teach and use these tools in all their classes.

 

The author suggested that as teachers we need to use it ourselves with our colleagues to understand how, when, why, etc...to use the technology with our students.  These are the tools mentioned in this chapter that I can see using in my classroom and have begun to play with to date:

• Wikis
• Weblogs
• Social Bookmaking
• Twitter
• An education social networking site
• audio/video casting (later!)

I also noted the suggestions regarding safety issues and will definitely include the information on p. 14 about teaching appropriate feedback from students if they encounter inappropriate material.