Thing #5

      The first article I chose to read was "Web 2.0 A Guide for Educators." The article pointed out an important fact: "The web has replaced libraries, classrooms, bookstores, and paper." Thousands of books are now available online, so there is no need for printed books and therefore no need for bookstores and libraries. Anything can be typed and on the internet and made public for everyone to see which eliminates the need for paper. The article also pointed out that the internet has made a shift from passive to active. It has become a place for people to interact and share their thoughts. It reported that 55% of people age 12-17 use social networking sites to communicate with others.
     The other article I chose to read was The Horizons Report. I thought it was interesting how it has become so simple for anyone to capture, edit, and share videos online. Video sharing sites continue to grow at some of the most prodigious rates on the internet. Video sharing can be both negative and positive. It was also interesting to learn that a new phone for every six people on the planet is manufactured each year. Most of these phones come with mobile broadband capabilities. This means that even poeple who do not have computers can have access to the internet through their mobile phone, putting the internet in even more hands.
   "School 2.0" means to me that technology is playing an increasingly important role in learning. It means that I will have to educate myself on the new technology in order to keep up with my peers and compete in the workforce. For schools of the future, technology will be almost impossible to escape. Almost every aspect of learning will have something to do with technology. As stated in the article, the internet is replacing libraries, books, and classrooms so these things will soon become nonexistent to kids in the future.