Chapter 10: What it all Means
I remember back in 2005-2006, I was finishing up my Masters in Ed/Reading, and in articles having to do with reading on the intgernet, I remember thinking that this was somehow going to change how we teach "reading" in the future.  Yes...much of the foundation of reading (phonemes, graphems, phonics, linguistics) is static, but accessing this information and teachin will and has changed as a result of Web 2.0 tools.

The author explains how more and more content will come on-line.  Content will be also be created collaborativley on-line.  Since so much can be written on the web, consumers will need to be editors as well as writers.  And so, users (thus our students) need to be taught publishing skills ("We must teach and model the ways in which ideas and products can be brought on-line.").

I liked how the author refered to these changes as the "Big Shifts", and then categorized them by the following: 1) open content 2) lots of teachers 24/7 learning 3) Constructivist Theory to in its purist form 4) End of Lectures...lots of conversations 5) where to find the answer is often more important than the answer  6) now more than ever readers need to be critical consumers 7) Web is new portfolio 8) writing is now mulitple technologies...not just text 9) The finished project is equal to the old "test" in regards to assessment and 10) and finally it's not a completion of a project as in the past, but rather a continuing conversation.

This is going to take time.  Most of our students are versed in these technologies in their lives outside of school, and because we as teachers haven't all made that switch in the classroom, there will be learning curve on both teachers and students.  But if it accomplishes all that this book professesss to, than it can only be a win-win. 

Personally, it's about me becoming comfortable enough using all we learned about and then using these tools for collaboration with my colleagues.  After this, I will introduce Web 2.0 tools in babysteps with my students.  I am assuming that the next class assignement will accomplish just this.