Web+2.0+-+Chapter+2

Chapter 2 discusses students and learning. Today's generation of learners is unlike any others because of their high exposure to technology. So much of their daily lives involves technology and will continue to increase as they get older. In effect, technology is a critical and effective tool to engage today's learners.

Constructivism, project-based learning, and connectivism are three learning/teaching theories that can effectively integrate technology. Constructivism would encourage students to use web tools to research and create products. Project-based learning could allow students to use web 2.0 tools to communicate and collaborate with world outside the classroom. Connectivism views technology as a valuable tool that enables students to make connections in thier learning.

These three theories combined have very valuable purposes and outcomes. The challenge is to find opportunities for students to participate in these in-depth learning experiences while still incorporating enough assessment measures to meet testing requirements.

It is imperative that we find as many opportunities to integrate technology as we can because it evokes a powerful response from student learning. Furthermore, technology is going to be a very large and crucial part of our students' futures in the way of employment, communication, etc.

=Comments:= I agree that the integration of technology is a "powerful" method of engaging students in the learning process. Engaging every student on a daily basis is a challenge for teachers but one that we must address in order to ensure that students are actively involved in learning. After doing many learning walks across classrooms in our district, I believe that student engagement needs to be an area of focus for us and the integration of technology could greatly enhance engagement levels across our schools. (Margie)