Big Shifts

One of the “big shifts” written by Will Richardson is “Many, Many teachers and 24/7 Learning.”  This is defined as a major change in education due in large part to the internet and the Web 2.0 technologies that exist today.  Teachers today have far more access to other teachers and content area experts from around the world because of technology.  A teacher can be more collaborative with these people and bring them into their classrooms for students to gain knowledge from.  Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis, video conferences, Skype all contribute to a teacher’s ability to communicate with experts and colleagues from around the world.  This collaboration cannot only benefit the students, but the teacher can interact with other teaching professionals to share and learn from.  Teachers also have access to many sources because of the Web.  There is endless amount of information available on the Web and today’s web tools allow for a collaborative learning environment.

A teacher has to be affected by these changes in the Web.  They are not doing their students justice if they just stick with the textbook and fail to bring in outside resources.  The Web will only continue to grow and be more massive with the amount of resources and information available that educators can use to complement their curriculums.  Teachers can start small and begin to bring these Web resources and technologies into their classrooms and watch how they develop into collaborative teaching and learning environments.  They must realize that this information in always available (24/7) and is being accessed by millions each day.