Thing 2: Web 2.0

My interest in Web 2.0 has been spiked for a couple of different reasons.

We have had five different au pairs live with over the past three years and these young German girls utilize social networking sites in a way I never was able to experience when I live overseas in London. These girls live away from home (Germany) but are connected daily to all of their friends and family though sites similar to our FaceBook or MySpace web sites. In 1994, I used to wait for letters to come through the mail and I rarely got many (except from my mom). I felt alone and independent in this experience, and I wonder how it will be different from my au pairs in that they have daily contact with friends and family, and in some ways have not really “left”.

Also, some of my students at Highlands have experienced some tools available through Web 2.0 and are very excited to interact and utilize the tools.

Knowing the high interest as well as the fact that young children’s lives are different because of the access to technology, I feel obligated to find ways to integrate reading and social aspects of exchanging thoughts with the help of Web 2.0