1: The Read/Write Web

The big idea in this book is what Douglas Rushkoff calls the "society of authorship." The Internet has evolved into a digital printing press, suddenly providing virtually everybody with the opportunity to publish their own material and share it globally. Richardson's focus, of course, is on the work we must do in the classrooms that will ensure our students are ready to understand media and participate in the creation of media.

In his first chapter, Richardson stresses that before we attempt to teach these Web 2.0 tools, we must see how the same tools enrich our own world.

To begin this blog, please consider the role that the Web 2.0 applications now play in your life. Do you have a Facebook page? Do you read news blogs and did you know that much of their information may come from RSS feeds? Do you Twitter? Can you seriously imagine that this type of information sharing is a fad?

Share your experience and thoughts on chapter 1 by selecting the Comment link below.

How Does the Blog Work?

• The most recent posting appears at the top.
• Older posts will appear in the Blog Archive.
• Members create content by selecting the New Post link at the above right. Other members may respond to the post by selecting the Comment link beneath the posting.
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Whis This Web 2.0 PLC Is Here.

This blog (web log) is actually a professional learning community (PLC) book club in which participants will share their thoughts after reading sections of Will Richardson's Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Tools for Classrooms.  By reading and sharing our thoughts on what has been forwarded by Richardson, we will grow to understand the ever-expanding Web 2.0 family of collaborative Internet tools (blogs, wikis, podcasts, Facebook, etc) and how we might use these tools to bring added value to our work with classroom teachers and their students. 

There is no doubt that collaborative, content production is the state of the art in regards to the Internet. Today's users have more power than ever in the ways they find information but, in addition, young users are eager and prodigious content providers using "killer aps" (extremely useful/popular applications) such as Facebook, Twitter, and chat to share information digitally.

As educators, it's our responsibility to explicitly provide instruction in information literacy, which includes not just reading (decoding for understanding) but content production (through writing, illustrating, animating, filming, etc) of information.

This book club blog provides us with the opportunity to learn about, share our ideas and discuss them (through comments).