Web 2.0

I found the RSS an interesting resource.  I can see how this could benefit a teacher because we’re always looking for outside resources to suplement what we do and what we have in the classroom.  It gets quite overwhelming sometimes trying to search through everything just a search will bring up.  I liked cool cat’s blog about “Beware of the Ants of Annoyance” because I feel swarmed quite often.  The picture she included just added so much because I often feel like millions of little ants are biting at me.  She said that one teacher said that all the endless paperwork is her swarm while another one said that the AYP stress is hers.  I know how they both feel.  I don’t mind paperwork at all, but when it’s combined with the stress from AYP, it seems like every new little thing becomes another swarm of ants, no matter how good the idea/strategy might be.  I think the AYP swarm bothers me the most because I feel that the gifted and smart learners get “left out in the cold” so to speak where AYP is concerned.  Everyone feels like they already know enough to make and, in some cases, exceed, AYP expectation.  The gifted and smart kids get the task of teaching the other kids who may struggle to meet those same expectations.  While I agree that teaching a concept is the best way to really “learn” it, and while I agree that kids need to learn to appreciate and respect  every different  kind of learner, I think that what we need to have the brighter/faster learning kids do is teach each other…stretch BEYOND AYP expectations.  I do not feel that there is enough freedom for the kids or the teachers to encourage these kids to learn more.  In some cases, these same kids need to slow down and learn some of the basics, but once they’ve got them, they should be able to go on.  If we had the money, equipment, training, and freedom to incorporate some of this more innovative computer “stuff” we’re learning in web 2.0, it might be a start anyway.

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