Becta says Web 2.0 motivates schoolkids Over half of teachers in UK schools believe that Web 2.0 apps should be used in lessons, even though the majority of them have never used such resources in the classroom. Blighty’s education technology agency, Becta, spoke to 2,600 students aged 11 to 16 studying in 27 schools between August 2007 and May this year, many of …
On the one hand we have the ideal: schools will educate children, providing them with the ability to live fulfilled and worthy lives. To be able to contribute to society and understand the world in which they live.
On the other hand we need someone to look after the little wretches while their parents are at work. Preferable as cheaply as possible and without inconveniencing their minders, sorry "teachers".
On the gripping hand (look it up) we have a large number of people who work in schools. They want an easy life. Preferably with as little contact as possible with the kids - certainly not to the point where their academic inadequacies (the teachers: not the kids') get exposed. To achieve this they should be allowed to focus on nice, easy, entertaining topics, rather than ones which are required in real-world situations.
Now consider this initiative: educate / mind / entertain ?
As a programmer currently working for a college, I suspect the kind of social networking apps that would be used as teaching resources are much more likely to be custom built inhouse sites based on open source software such as Moodle and Elgg...
...I seriously doubt any teachers are using facebook or myspace for teaching purposes.
Given that nothing mentioned in the article is actually a useful educational resource, is web 2.0 just being used as some sort of magic fairy dust to be sprinkled on mediocre web-based resources to suddenly make them wonderful? Anyone are to give an example of these wonderful new javascript-enhanced websites that will revolutionise education?
The whole thing seems totally devoid of content. Pointing to a bunch of educationally worthless social networks as an example of how great web 2.0 is seems baffling, even beyond BECTAs usual borderline competent, several-years-behind ramblings.
Becta has issued guidelines that all schools have acces to a VLE (virtual Learning enviroment) - which is basically a very web 2.0 learning platform - many allowing mybook/facespace style profiles, blogging,etc
And most school techs will tell you this has been coming for years, with lots of schools already using the opensource Moodle platform.
...so why is this news?
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