I have always shied away from making absolute lists of resources. They are dated a few months after they are penned. I much prefer the enigmatic, socially tagged nature of a delicious account. Why take one person’s word for it, when you can see exactly how many people have found a resource to be a good one?
But…
More and more I am coming to realize that most people are not looking for this. They do not want a searchable database of thousands of Web 2.0 offerings. Instead, they want a well organized document that makes the connections from technology to pedagogy for them. Most teachers are not trying to find a new way of mashing up two web pages so that it gives off a split screen effect (if anyone knows of something, let me know). Most teachers would say that is pretty geeky. And each and every one of them would be right.
I have made peace with my idiosyncratic geek status in the education world. I don’t want to be defined by it, but I am still proud of it. I think it is about time that I stop trying to make others like me, though.
Our model of success should not be to see how many people we can get to be WebHeads. Our model should start somewhere more along the lines of Step by Step: Building a 2.0 Classroom. Or prehaps, as simple as a series of documents. Something that could exist as paper, that could still have value in the analog world.
So, about a month ago I started working on such a document. The document is supposed to be an introduction to the essential tools and resources needed for creating an authentic learning environment online. It is not perfect, and it is not finished. When I started sharing the early version on Starting from Scratch, quite a few people contacted me wanting to know if they could use it. Please use it, upload it, change it, but keep me a part of the conversation.
- What should be there that isn’t?
- What can be eliminated as inessential?
- Can this document be used for other purposes?
- How can it be refined?
- What is the next step for teachers when they have the document?
- Is it enough to get people started?
If you missed the link to the document above: 101-resources-ver-2.pdf
Please let me know what you think.
Ben,
I never got around to thanking you for putting this list together. The more I bang my head into the wall regarding trying to figure out what teachers will use to help themselves design authentic lessons, the more I realize that lists like this one are invaluable to have on hand.
Thanks again!