Sep 17 2008
Teachers shun web 2.0
Interesting info from the UK. This came from a colleague from the Access & General Education Curriculum Centre.
I suspect that a lot of teachers don’t have access to the hardware that they need to access these web 2.0 technologies in their classrooms. This is always an issue for us in Gen Ed.
Teachers shun web 2.0
4 September 2008
Poor training and security fears are stopping teachers from using YouTube, Wikipedia and Facebook in the classroom, says a survey on web 2.0 technologies
Fewer than a fifth of teachers used the online reference source Wikipedia as a classroom resource, 5% used video site YouTube and even general information websites were only used by 14% of teachers, according to research commissioned by ntl:Telewest Business.
1,500 teachers, parents and secondary school pupils from across the UK were interviewed by LM Research for the survey.
John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of Teachers, told GC News: “Whereas web 2.0 tools engage children in a number of positive respects, it is essential that teachers are given sufficient professional development time in their school day with which to upgrade their skills.”
On the merits of web 2.0 services, the survey found that teachers are divided. Half said they felt such websites added value to education, but the remainder said they were a distraction without academic benefits.
Parents were more enthusiastic, with 66% saying that web 2.0 tools were useful in engaging and teaching their children.
The survey also found that:
• 20% of teachers felt they didn’t know enough about web 2.0 applications to use them in lessons;
• 25% of teachers worried about the security implications of web 2.0 with regard to student privacy;
• 54% of 13-18 year olds use YouTube in their spare time;
• 44% of children felt that Wikipedia would be useful at school – but only 20% of teachers use it as a resource in the classroom.
Source: Kable’s Government Computing
Publication date: 04/09/2008
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Hi Kate,
What strikes me as interesting is that all the parents I know tell me how much more interested in learning their children are if they use websites, movie making tools, etc to create their own story. They are learning this way now… imagine what the TAFE student will be like in ten years, or less.
I love that access to creating this kind of media is becoming more common place and I marvel at the power these young people could have with the right guidance. Perhaps we need some more guidance with the security and privacy issues so we are confident enough to pass that knowledge on.
I wonder how many teachers have seen this with their own kids?