Setting the Stage

I began teaching in the early 80’s.  I recall that we had one typewriter in our department that all the science teachers shared.  That being the case, I wrote almost all of the papers I handed out to my students by hand.  The only Xerox machine was in the main office so we copied all of our handouts on a ditto machine.  (I wonder how many of you have no idea what a ditto machine is.)  I must admit that I loved the smell of those freshly printed papers!  I also enjoyed using different colored carbons to make my handouts more visually appealing.  One downside to using a ditto machine was that the original document only made so many copies, so every year it had to be rewritten.  Grade computation was also done manually.  I can remember how frustrating it would be when I would lose track of which assignment I was on and have to start counting the numbers all over again.  Lesson planning was simpler back then in a way because there were not as many easily-accessed resources from which to glean ideas.  My planning usually involved a trip to the local library after exhausting the textbook.  Ah, the good old days! 
 

Teaching has certainly changed.  Computers and the Internet have definitely made lesson planning, document creation and grading much more efficient.  Over the years, I have developed good computer skills, but I have only slowly incorporated the Internet.  The first time I heard a lecture on Web 2.0, I felt instantly overwhelmed.  Although I am comfortable with e-mail and online research, I have shied away from the many other uses of the web.  I do not have a Facebook account, and before this class did not have a blog or a Twitter account (which I have not really figured out how to use yet).  But I took this class to “get with it” and try to allay my fear of social networking.  I am still not getting a Facebook account, though!

As I reflected on the readings, I came to the conclusion that Web 2.0, as overwhelming as it seems to me, is a necessary component of education today.  I am sure my students are much more versed in web technology than I am and I do see the need for me to “catch up.”  Web 2.0 is here to stay and I know I need to keep abreast of and use the new tools, otherwise, in the words of our textbook: it “would be unfair to students growing up in the 21^st century.”  Thomas Friedman says it even more emphatically in his “It’s a Flat World, After All” article: “This is the beginning of a crisis that won’t remain quiet for long.”  I especially liked the reading “A New Challenge for Science Education Leaders: Developing a 21^st Century Workforce.”  It was a very informative, practical article that succinctly summarized the 21^st century skills our students will need and the ways we can help them achieve those in the science classroom.