People have been talking about Web 2.0 and how it has changed everything in our lives with all the facilities it offers to its users.
On the other hand,some people think that there is nothing new in Web 2.0.All the facilities have already been in our lives for a long time. We’re labelling music and bills and when we do it now, it’s called tagging. We go out, meet new people, talk and hang out with friends. We are being social when we do it on internet. Isn’t it social networking?And most of us have had diaries at some time in our lives. Isn’t it called blogging when we do it online? So there may not be a real innovation that radically changes everything. The point is that lots of people have been a part of Web 2.0 and we’re all involved in it globally. We all have our facebook accounts or we have been using youtube, posting comments and ideas. It maybe a great change but it may also look like going from explorer 6 to 7 for some people.
I still believe in how everything is different with Web 2.0 because it has given us the opportunity to contribute,participate, create, resort,collaborate and tell our digital stories. It lies at the very heart of the collaborative work and its results are the reflection of so many users.It may not be an innovation because it’s based on already existing technologies.But it’s simply a revolution. Revolution in education.

A research was done for Sesame Street and it’s concluded that children do not watch T.V. continuously but in bursts. In on of the experiments, children were put in a room full of toys and other group was put in a room without the toys. As it was expected,the children in the room with toys distracted by the toys and could not watch T.V. They watched only 47% of it whereas the other group watched 87% of it.After that, students were tested for how much they remember from what they watch and surprisingly, the results were just the same. Although the children were distracted by the toys, they were able to choose the most informative part of it.What does this research tell us about our digital students? Sometimes we complain about our students not paying attention to our lessons. That means it is not our students who are not paying attention to our lessons, but it is their choices not to pay.

British Council has been looking for teachers to run a blog for around a month on the website. The teacher would keep a blog which can be focused on an area of special interest and comment on other content and discussions on the site. In order to attend, participants should:
* have at least 5 years’ experience as an EL teacher (any sector, any level, any country)
* be able to raise issues for discussion that have wide appeal
* be active on the Teaching English site (e.g. running their own blog, adding comments to articles, etc.)
* be familiar with, and accept, Teaching English House Rules
* have good written English and be able to write in a non-academic, simple, clear style that is readily accessible to teachers
* be able to spare up to 4 hours a week over a period of 4-6 weeks
you are expected to write a blog entry about any topic in less than 200 words. The selection panel will be looking for organised, accessible and informed writing in areas of interest to a global audience. They will also be looking for writing that reflects real experience. so if you want to take part, please have a look at the link.Don’t forget to include a brief paragraph about yourself and your teaching experience. I’ve already sent mine.You can read my writing task below.

Our students have radically changed due to our advancing technology. They are no longer the students that our education system was designed for. Today’s learners are online, interactive, collaborative and networked. They all have Facebook and Myspace accounts. They are accustomed to hypertexts, music on their ipods, phones in their hands, laptops in their bags and sending and receiving e-mails everyday. They are no longer only consumers of knowledge. They are also the producers of it. They have new ideas; they need to tell their e-stories. They write blogs and complete online information everyday. They speak a new language that we’re not used to, using words such as blogging, wikis, podcasting, bookmarking, feeding items etc. Classrooms are no longer the only place for them to experience learning. They have already explored new ways how to improve themselves.
What should we do about it? We can start revising how and what we teach. This doesn’t mean changing everything or giving up what works. Our curriculum should include reading, writing, thinking skills and other traditional content. We can also include technology in our curriculum because technology is the future. It promotes student-centered learning. It’s evolving, motivating and authentic. All of which leads to their autonomy. How can we make the most of these new tools? How can we use technology to create a new and an e-based environment in our schools for our online students? What do you think?