David Warlick contrasts web 2.0 from 1.0 as “A layer of content that comes out of conversation rather than authority.” This statement is interesting when applied to the nuances of Internet browsing, but is mind-blowing when considered from a communications standpoint. In demonstrating the progression of information gathering on the web, Warlick forms the argument that the ability to reach an audience is more important than the ability to present reputable findings. This presents the challenge for educators to embrace the wealth of information at their fingertips while ensuring that their students are able to analyze sources and validate credibility.
Wikipedia has long stood as the scapegoat for misinformation and lack of authority. I have been in countless classes where citations for papers and presentations are discussed and the teacher asks, “Is Wikipedia a reputable source?” with a tone that suggests that the site has all of the credibility of a scribble on a cocktail napkin. I’m not saying that Wikipedia does not have countless pages of misinformation and bias, but we as educators must understand what it is and the influence that it has over the concept of learning. Wikipedia is an amazing resource, the boundaries of learning are limitless, and the most interesting part is that the authoritative word is never final. The label that Wikipedia lacks credibility is incorrect because it promotes its lack of authority with the cautionary messages that Warlick displayed.
Warlick asks the audience if our classrooms are flat, and if so, how do we drive teaching and learning in an era where we are teaching to an unpredictable future in a new information landscape? The answer lies in resources like Wikipedia where the venue promotes dialogue from it users rather than positioning them as observers. Learning in the new information landscape means students must be able to navigate the web in terms of evaluating, analyzing, and forming their own opinions. These are the “habits of literacy” that Warlick insists teachers must promote. I feel that teaching students to think critically requires them to question sources, especially ones that make up the accepted authority.
The idea of having students create trailers for Othello is an amazing way for students to personalize their opinions of the critical aspects of the drama. In creating the trailer, students had to consider the audience as receptors of this information. They also had to create the emotional climate that they wanted to convey to their audience. In performing a video assignment, students could consider the information they present as marketable, making them consider their viewers in a way that writing a standard essay would have failed to do.
I love the idea of looking at learning as an activity that we all take place in rather than as a law that is recited from the mouth of an authoritarian teacher from stone tablets. Breaking the model of teacher to student information transmission shows students that teachers not only promote, but also practice the habits of literacy and learning. While the methods of learning may be be redefined as technology evolves and information gathering refines itself, the habits of literacy are the elements of critical thinking that must be instilled in our students.
I agree that we need to think of learning as an interactive activity rather than an activity based on trying to act as sponge-like as possible while information is fed to you. Instead of clinging to the past, we should accept that this new way of gathering information is not a passing fad - it is the new reality. Teachers need to embrace this reality and learn how to utilize it effectively so that we can keep up with students that are increasingly more web-literate than we are.
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