Thanks to my reliance on RSS, I came across a good article titled, Web 2.0: What does the future hold for schools?

From the statistics that my blog provider collects, I realise that my readers rarely click on links I make available. So here’s are some of the best bits:

“Web 1.0 was largely a ‘push’ operation, taking already existing content and posting it online,” said Bower. “Web 2.0 is driven by ‘pull,’ not push. … Kids can create their own content and interact.”

But, he added: “The question is, are we inventing a new way for students to learn using this technology?”

Bower, who’s also a neurobiologist at the University of Texas, said the way we learn hasn’t really changed over the years; what has changed has been the medium for this instruction.

We tend to learn best through hands-on experiences, he explained–by trying things ourselves and taking ownership of our own learning, rather than passively receiving information from another source. But until the internet came along, we haven’t had a scalable way to deliver this kind of experience to every student.

Before the internet, Bower said, the two most important developments from an educational perspective were the invention of the printing press and the creation of a university system. But both of these developments were “push” operations, he said–meaning they pushed information out to students, rather than letting students experience learning for themselves.

Reality bites… but we can bite back:

Much of the rest of the discussion focused on how to overcome resistance to this paradigm shift in education, which is notorious for its aversion to change.

One session participant, a district technology director, said she’s had trouble integrating Web 2.0 technologies in her schools, because it’s often hard to convince administrators and teachers of their value. How do you get this buy-in from stakeholders, she asked?

“When an administrator says, ‘Show me the proof,’ just point at the current state of schools,” Bower said. “If we’re not engaging these kids, they’re not learning.”

“We’ve been saddled with bad technology to teach for the last 500 years, with predictable consequences,” Bower said. But now, with Web 2.0 tools, “we finally have a technology that will let us better match our learning process” with what goes on in schools.