I just finished reading Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools by Gwen Solomon and Lynne Schrum. The first chapter emphasizes the changes in technology as it interfaces with the world's populous and students today. It goes into detail to highlight the changes and uses of technology and the Internet in today's business world and in its global collaboration.The second chapter focuses on the 21st century student, children raised on technology toys, SIMS, computer games, social networks and virtual worlds. It explains how the technology has affected the way they approach learning. It has changed the way they process and collaborate with other children to create projects or solve problems together. Gwen and Lynne explain the need for the schools to evolve to match the learning style of these Net generation students. Changes that would require more technology in the schools and perhaps the use of open source curriculum.
Many countries are creating their own open source curriculum and updating its history and government sections to include global economics and world history. China is refocusing their history textbooks, moving away from the study of "wars, dynasties and revolutions to economics, technology, social customs and globalization". Other countries are ahead of the United States in transforming their educational systems to meet the new global and technologically driven world in which we now live.
The chapters that followed featured the web 2.0 tools and open source curriculum being utilized by today's students and teachers around the globe. Emphasis is given to web 2.0 tools that are providing modules for classroom and school use. Class Blogmeister (http://classblogmeister.com/) and Gaggle Blog (http://www.gaggle.net/) are two such blogs. Animoto, a music video application provides a 6 months free classroom version. Wiki services such as Peanut Butter Wiki (http://www.pbwiki.com/) make it possible for schools to password protect their wikis. Video editing can be done easily enough with sites such as: Jumpcut (http://www.jumpcut.com/), Eyespot (http://www.eyespot.com/) and VideoEgg (http://www.videoegg.com/).
Web 2.0 management tools are used to present student work through eportfolios and open source desk top publishing tools such as: ELGG (http://www.elgg.org/), Google Documents/Notebook, ZoHo.com and Moodle.
Open Source Educational Software is already being used in different areas of the world and it is being created and sponsored by governments and non-profit organizations. The Seeing Math Project (http://seeingmath.concord.org/resources.html), and Curriki (http://www.curriki.org/) are both open source repositories for educational content that include tools, materials and curriculum. The book mentions more web 2.0 tools and covers important issues relating to the use of open source curriculum (technology literacy training, legal requirements, copyright and intellectual property, and system issues).
