While I feel that Web 2.0 technologies have a promising future, I do not feel it has a place in education; both K-12 and above. Personally, I would use them at home to browse news sources and celebrity gossip. I would not, however, depend on them for lecture material. I don't believe that they are a genuine, academic source, no matter what the content. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, however, for now, I am sticking to a no-Web 2.0 zone for my classroom.
I would be flat-out lying if I told you I've never spent a couple hours (or more) poking around Wikipedia or that it was the first source I clicked on after Googling something. It is highly entertaining and, for the most part, informational. Notice I said informational, not educational or factual, simply because it is not. I ran an experiment once on Wikipedia: I located a somewhat popular subject and tacked on two sentences to the "History" section. I had no reference for that information and basically made it up right there on the spot. I checked the site periodically for a few days and I still check it every now and again. It is still there, completely false and nonsensical. I've seen first hand the way facts can be manipulated on Wikipedia and as a result, it will not ever be used in my classroom.
Over the past week I have created a teacher website using TeacherWeb.com. I didn't pay for the entire subscription so I am limited to the free 30-day trial but I have really enjoyed using the web as a means to connect to my students and their families. I found that I could easily update parents through the main page announcements, keep children aware of my weekly schedule, and keep upcoming events on the calendar. I will most definitely be using this website, or one like it, to create a web page for my classes in the future. Not only will my students be technologically advanced in the future, so will their parents. I find that having a website is the single best way to keep an open line of communication between all three parties, students, teachers, and parents.
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