Puzzled. That’s the recent non-verbal response from a group of experienced educators when discussing web 2.0 opportunities.  The conversation focused on the differences between threaded discussions, blogs and wikis, not the education implementation, transformation, and innovation that can occur when students are provided with liberating opportunities.

When the most important resources in a classroom continue to be the teacher and the textbook, how do we get experienced educators to implement the innovative practices that liberating opportunities provide?

This group (no, not my AU class), continued to focus on how to use — the mechanics of — the software rather in how it can be used for communication, student learning and connected learning.  I am not sure whether such discussions are lost causes because they are going after the “skill” level.

Last week our AU class heard from David Jakes, he asked the group which is more important:  skills, literacy, or fluency?  Clearly another way to look at how the adults view technology and whether they will or will not open transformative opportunities for kids.  There is a difference.  I can count to ten in Spanish, but I’m not fluent using the numbers in context or without counting in my head before I speak.

I think we want students who are above the skill level and are applying hardware and software in their learning at the fluency level.