[LM_NET] Web 2.0

[Laura Brooks <BrooksLa@NORTHVILLE.K12.MI.US>]

Hi,

I've been following this thread with interest because I've been trying
to "sell" wikis and blogs to a district that won't even allow its
elementary students e-mail accounts (we had them until one student send
an unsavory message to the President and the Secret Service graced us
with their presence). Our tech director had never heard of Gaggle, a
teacher monitored, filtered e-mail and blogging environment for K-12;
no, they gave all the kids Groupwise accounts and then wondered why
there was a problem! This is due to the fact that we have no technology
leadership for our schools; we have no educational tech liaison at the
administrative level. With shrinking budgets, this may be the case for
many of us, so I agree with Joyce; we must be(come) technology leaders.

Perhaps, we need to remind our administrators of tech standards; in MI,
fifth graders are expected to know blogging and soon, we'll be testing
them on their tech skills. If we can talk of standardized tests and
"leaving children behind", our administrators will eventually take
notice. Our district's elementary media specialists will be using this
rhetoric when we present the case for web 2.0 to our principals. What
are the tech standards in your state? Perhaps we need to become involved
at this level as well?

I remember my advisor at Drexel told us as she was leading a discussion
amongst those of us taking our media practicum that "We have no business
reading to students." At first I thought she had lost it, but I now see
the wisdom in that radical assertion.

Best,

Laura

Laura Brooks
Library Media Teacher
Amerman Elementary School
Northville, MI
brooksla@northville.k12.mi.us

"Unless someone like you cares a whole lot,
nothing is going to get better. It's not."
 -The Lorax, Dr. Seuss

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