Technology+Leadership+Book+Summary



//Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful **Web Tools** for Classrooms// by Will Richardson

Will Richardson is a well-known advocate for the use of technology, specifically Web 2.0 tools, in education. I follow him on Twitter (willrich45) and subscribe to his blog ([|www.weblogg-ed.com]), so I was very interested to see how he put all those tools together in a single volume. Specifically, I was curious to read how he justifies their implementation in the classroom curriculum in an age where digital immigrants still make policy and digital natives demand creative methods of learning that reach far beyond the classroom walls.

He begins by describing the transition from the World Wide Web to the Read/Write Web. In a few short years, the Internet has gone from being a world programmed by few, yet consumed by many, to being a space where //anyone// can create content. “We are no longer limited to being independent readers or consumers of information; as we’ll see, we can also be collaborators in the creation of large storehouses of information. In the process, we can learn much about our world and ourselves. In almost every area of life, the Read/Write Web is changing our relationship to technology and rewriting the age-old paradigms of how things work.” (Richardson, 2009)

Adults do not realistically have a context for these changes that, for them, have taken place in the blink of an eye, while “today’s students, of almost any age, are far ahead of their teachers in computer literacy. They prefer to access subject information on the Internet, where it is more abundant, more accessible, and more up-to-date” (National Educational Technology Plan, 2005). It only makes sense, then, for educators to take advantage of today’s students’ fearlessness concerning technology. Additionally, it is critical for educators to prepare students for a future where technology will affect every aspect of life, be it education, business, government, or society.

At each step, Richardson addresses the powerful ways in which Web 2.0 tools can be leveraged to empower learning. Just as importantly, he takes the time to discuss the issues inherent in any major educational shift as well as the particular issues of logistics and student safety. He gives educators the tools they need to properly prepare not only the students, but also the teachers and administrators involved, so that they feel comfortable, or at least knowledgeable, about the process.

The components of the teacher’s “toolbox” that Richardson introduces are “a mix of those that publish, those that manage information, and those that share content in new collaborative ways.” (Richardson, 2009). These tools include: wikis, weblogs, RSS feeds and aggregators, social bookmarking, online photo galleries, audio and video casting, Twitter, and social networking sites such as Facebook and Ning.

Throughout the book, Richardson clearly subscribes to the premise that, until the educator has experienced each of these tools, he or she will never find the courage to implement them in their curriculum. Therefore, he provides a wealth of resources and walks the reader through creating accounts and experimenting with the technology. It is a powerful experience, to be sure, and one that quickly increases the user’s comfort level.

In the final chapter, he sums up by saying that “the classroom of the Read/Write Web is one of seamless transfer of information; of collaborative, individualized learning; and of active participation by all members of the class. It is marked by the continuous process of creating and sharing content with wide audiences. In many ways, these technologies are demanding that we reexamine the way we think about content and curriculum.” (Richardson, 2009)

He goes on to describe ten “Big Shifts” in how best to teach students, shifts like open content, 24/7 learning, and the social, collaborative construction of meaningful knowledge. He makes no bones about the challenges these shifts present. “Finally, teachers who use the tools of the Read/Write Web need to be //change agents.// The ideas will not be easily embraced or readily supported at first because of the transparency they create.” (Richardson, 2009).The only way around it is to use the tools he has provided to be the “change agent” that redefines instruction to meet the challenges, and the enormous rewards, of the Read/Write Web.