Do Good Fences Make Good Communities? The Paradox of Classroom Learning Communities With Web 2.0

• In Event: Roundtable Session 128
  In Roundtable Session: Tech Uses and Teacher Practices, Attitudes, and Knowledge

Abstract

Despite the common narrative that Web 2.0 is best used to connect students to the world, our research suggests that teachers need to think carefully about their online classroom communities by limiting access to virtual spaces in order to build meaningful and enriching learning communities. Sampling teachers from the Intel® Teach Essentials course on Web 2.0 tools, the researchers interviewed 39 teachers across eight districts using blogs, wikis and other Web2.0 applications in their classrooms to explore the factors they feel are important to effective use.

Authors

• Daniel Light, Education Development Center, Inc.

• Deborah Keisch Polin, University of Massachusetts - Amherst