I am having the time of my life this summer, selling a home and moving to a new place. Oh yeah, 2008, The Summer of Love. In the midst of all the 1 million arrangements to be made, I got an email asking me to present to incoming teachers all the great things that we will be providing, technologically speaking, this upcoming year. As I happily took a break from packing, and started to prepare a list of the wonderful world of Web 2.0 and beyond, with lovely links to curriculum and classroom uses, it occurred to me just how many of those strategies am I actually using in my real, busy, and very authentic life?
So here is my quick check-list of relevancy:
Did I use the Internet?
And how!! From changing my address, to researching home provider options, to listing my home, to booking a moving company, to emailing my poor friends about all this, the list is endless.
Did I Podcast, Blog, or Wiki?
Well, I’m blogging now anyway.
Did I use Digital Media?
Yup, got some pictures of my house out there for all the world to see.
Did I use a social network?
Yeah, the old-fashioned kind, my first-life, physical friends, to help pack, sort, lift, tote and have a w(h)ine. Couldn’t do this without them.
Google Docs?
All those Googlers out there will be happy to know I did!
The point is, it’s not whether the New Tools are relevant. I couldn’t have done any of the above without critical thinking, analysis, PROBLEM SOLVING, research, and, oh yeah, the Internet. We need to keep it real, and give the kids authentic tasks. Actually, this would make a great, cross-curricular assignment. “You are a Moving Consultant, faced with limited budget and an impossible task…..”
Barb
Keywords: tools, Web 2.0 relevancy