Catchy title, no? Hehehe… It is with great pleasure that I direct your attention to Podcast2.0, a welcome newcomer to the conversation on educational technology. Rest assured, the lunacy you may consider to be reflected in the above title is purely my own, and NOT that of the illustrious Steve Whitaker and Roger Geyer, hosts of Podcast2.0 (their lunacy has more to do with… oops, there I go again, wanting to tell tales out of school ;->).
I just finished listening to their first show and I’d like to chime in (at length) with a couple of thoughts. Early on in the podcast, Roger suggests that there’s a general sense that the implications of web2.0 are “huge,” albeit elusive. Steve then goes on to bring up the “tipping point” question: Are these web2.0 tools like most educational technologies of the past, or will they be different? That is, can web2.0 technologies be leveraged to significantly enhance learning in the classroom? Many folks, myself included, are very excited about what’s appearing on the edtech horizon. As Roger and Steve mention, the buzz words include “participatory,” “2-way web,” “multilateral collaboration,” and “student generated content.” But has anyone stopped to consider the fact that the concepts behind these terms are in conflict with fundamental process of conventional schooling? Or that when O’Reilly says that web2.0 is “an attitude, not a technology,” he’s pointing to a premise that has the potential to revolutionize the way citizens become educated?
I believe that when learners truly begin to adopt this “web2.0 attitude,” and when they truly begin “participating” in their own learning, and developing “2-way” relationships with other participants, and generating content that is meaningful to them as individuals, they just might realize that they have little need for the mandated coercion that is their common experience in school. Then, when they find out that they don’t really need to go to “school” to get in to college, or to be successful and happy in life… oooh baby, look out! The monolithic system of bloated bureaucracy that is today’s public education may be rendered obsolete. (The cynical me says, “Like THAT would ever happen!”).
I tend not to think of the tipping point in terms of whether web2.0 technology can be leveraged to enhance learning in classrooms, but rather whether administrators, politicians, businessmen, and even teachers, can relinquish control to a grassroots force driven by an open source attitude and a share-alike style.
Technorati Tags: web2.0, education, edtech
