Week Five- The Textbook to Guide Us Away From Tradtional Textbooks

I have to admit, I was shocked that there was a required textbook for this class. All of my electives for my degree have been technology classes, and this was the first one that had a textbook. I did not look into it much but guessed that it must be something like a web 2.0 guide for dummies- exactly what I needed! Well, that is certainly not the case. This course has taught me that if I am having difficulty using a web 2.0 tool, I should try e-mailing someone or googling it first. This is very different for me! I feel that this textbook is a good bridge for those of us that are not ready to dive into the web 2.0 world and simply begin playing around with the tools.

I have learned a lot so far from this book. I really felt that the explanation and graphic comparing cooperation and collaboration were helpful. I had been hearing the terms PLC, PLN, and CoP a bit and found their definitions and examples helpful. I particularly liked the point about diversity within these groups; it has made me very thankful for the different people on my grade level team this year. It can be frustrating having differing points of view and approaches, but we are starting to get somewhere! I remember learning about the stages of collaboration before, but it is entirely different to think about it in an online context! I have also been enjoying the suggested tools in the book. Many of them I have already heard of, but the descriptions that the authors offer are very helpful to me.

Two things have stood out the most to me so far though. First is the discussion of relationships. It truly is different to build a relationship online and have the trust to collaborate. I am glad that the book addressed this and gave some tips, especially since I am a person who always tries to communicate in person instead of over e-mail or the phone. Knowing that I am not alone in wondering how to collaborate online is helpful in-itself! I also liked the reminder that web 2.0 tools should serve learning. I always need to keep in mind that I should be showing my students how to use the tools while teaching them content. I can often get caught up in teaching my students the tips and tricks of tools instead of teaching them the content and letting them work out the tools on their own- they are very capable of this!

Overall, our textbook is a guide. I like that it offers suggestions and encouragement to make it a hands-on resource.  I feel that the discussion in it is helpful as educators make the huge switch of integrating technology for students to be successful in their futures while simultaneously adjusting to new standards, grading systems and evaluation procedures. The discussion about why and how is very helpful and motivating to me!