In-forming

From a 2.0 to 3.0 world... Are we ready? Can we change our classrooms to shift with these changes?

As a pre-service teacher, I know that I want to use the internet as much as possible in the classroom because it has such a vast array of information. My main concern is that I need to teach positive sources and help students realize what websites are not great sources of information. Everyone today is using the internet for multiple reasons, so we should teach students to be fluent in this new, everchanging, growing text that they can even contribute to.

Thomas Friedman's Flattener #9 in his book The World is Flat is In-forming (Google, Yahoo!, MSN Web Search). His discussion of "in-forming" is valuable for us to reflect upon when thinking about future classrooms. According to Friedman...

In-forming is...

"...the ability to build and deploy your own personal supply chain--a supply chain of information, knowledge, and entertainment" (179).

"...about self-collaboration--becoming your own self-directed and self-empowered researcher, editor, and selector of entertainment, without having to go to the library or movie theatre or through network television" (179).

"...seeking like-minded people and communities" (179).

Students need to become their own teachers. They need to teach themselves how they learn, and they need to learn how to master the biggest informational source on the planet: the Internet. Search engines are essential tools that students will need to master in order to become successful participants of this world. Everything is online now from applications to information, store hours to government documents, book reviews to blogs. If we can encourage as much in-forming, as Friedman talks about, in our classrooms, our students can learn how to become powerful editors, researchers, and learners. If we want active learning, we need to get students to use the internet for school purposes. With so much valuable information posted on the internet now, we need to guide our students to these pathways so they can become knowledgeable growing young adults.