Had to post this comment up top from Lynette in Australia. She was responding to this:
Many teachers and schools still see the need to “control learning” rather than sharing the learning experience with students, hence applications such as YouTube, Myspace, Facebook, etc… are blocked in educational facilities.
Literacy today is more than books and the published word, it involves communication, sharing and social networking and this is all achieved throught he use of Web 2.0 technology. I am currently taking 900 teachers and teacher librarians through the Learning 2.0 program in Australia. Apart from IT departments blocking sites, the biggest hurdle is teachers understanding that these fabulous tools can actually enhance their professional development and can also be used in the classroom to enhace the creativity and literacy skills of students. For some of the particpants of the the Learning 2.0 program, this is their first experience with Web 2.0 applications. It is great to seem some of the creativity and thoughts coming from teachers, that some applicatons such as Flickr, YouTube, Facebook may actually be used to enhance the learning experience rather than hinder it..
Very cool. Lynette – please let us know how your learning program goes.