Reading Reflection, CH 11

 

Chapter 11 again showed us how easy technology has made it to “flatten” the world, that is, to knock down barriers and bring the global community right to your living room, classroom, or computer/mobile device of your choice.

The first links I made between this chapter and the first 2 we read were the suggested uses of web 2.0 technology. While the term web 2.0 is often tossed around, it is taken for granted that we know what it means. Chapter 2 did a nice job of breaking it down for me basically saying that web 1.0 was a one way communication flow (like reading a book or watching TV) content was posted to the web, and then we, the audience, retrieved it and viewed it with no medium for feedback. Web 2.0 now means 2 way communication in which we can now provide instantaneous feedback through email, blogging, instant messaging, attaching files, posting links, videos, files, RSS feeds ETC ETC instead of just reading published info.

Back to Chapter 11, in Bonk’s description of web 2.0 technologies he reflects back to the days of keeping journals and diaries. In essence, these were blogs, they captured and reflected on daily life, often times even providing historians insight to the period and culture. The main difference being, journals were and are often seen by only the author(or a few close family and friends) and rarely by others…

Let’s take it a step further, remember back in the days of school having a pen-pal from another country?! Now you have advanced to collaborating, reflecting and learning through your journals and letters from a peer from another part of the country of a different culture. However, you still did it with your teacher’s guidance, under your teacher’s terms, during school hours, using school resources, and often times it was the same pen-pal for the entire unit.

What I got from the first part of Chapter 11 is that Blogging is the natural evolution of diary keeping and pen-pal writing. Now, your diaries are kept online for others to view anytime, from anywhere, while offering feedback utilizing web 2.0 technologies. Essentially, it’s like having the entire world as as pen-pal without classroom limitations!!

The Chapter goes on to discuss the incorporation of Facebook and other Social networking sites into learning. While I chuckled (being a 20 something that had one of the first few Facebook accounts in 2005 that required a college ID to sign into) at first about having to read about Facebook in a text book (especially one citing changes made in 2007 to the site…when was this book written again?) I can respect the angle Bonk was taking on explaining globalization and the boom of web technology. I found it fascinating that Facebook applications became so popular, so fast that Stanford offered a course on how to create them!! I can agree too with Bonk however that these applications were overwhelming and often too confusing (or risky!) to install and am glad they have been simplified.

To wrap up, the final third of the chapter focuses on language learning and online tutoring/open source language learning alternatives. Starting with Livemocha, Bonk builds a resource list of websites, or, learning comminutes (sort of like Facebook but”All dressed up for an interview”) more focused on concentrating on language acquisition. For length purposes I will not list all of them, however note the differences. Some sites offer online podcasts and videos, while other actually put you in contact (weather it be via Email or Skype) with a tutor willing to teach you the nuances of speaking a new language for essentially free. Bonk’s take is that American education on world language is often fact memorization, and I can agree seeing most of our Spanish and French classes being taught Via worksheets. Bonk suggests that technology has again flattened the world allowing ample opportunity to practice the language with native speakers utilizing, often real-time, conversations.

Look out Rosetta Stone!

photo courtesy: http://edtechtools.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/the-world-is-open.jpg