My private and rather pointless obsession with the internet finally found a purpose in the study of educational technology. The wonderful thing about being a language teacher is that everything is an opportunity for learning and teaching, and the web is the most abundant, self-perpetuating font there is.
What makes current technologies the next step in the evolution of our species – at least to my mind – is that it is such a participative medium. Web 2.0 is not for consumers but for participants. My colleague and visionary rock star of educational technology, Henrick Borger, introduced me to the eloquent and touching video The Machine is Us/ing Us. This was a turning point in the way I see the web, education and life @ large. His e-vangelism went further than talk, and is also demonstrated in the collaborative resources he has started for our college: a general e-learning social network, a social bookmarking site on e-learning and most recently a wiki for new teacher orientation.
These resources are priceless, and demonstrate the potential of Web 2.0: they are constantly, organically evolving, and they continue to evolve as long as collaborators participate. Resources like these are a priceless resource, especially at a small college in a rustic area this one. Most of all this is more than a parting gift to the college: it is a legacy that can have an exponential impact.
1 comment:
Marie, your writing style is superb, even in a post such as this which, for a non educator like myself, is to be honest of very little interest and yet your wording and style make it very readable.
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