Schoolshape featured on Edukwest.com
This week Schoolshape director Peter Smith had the pleasure of conversing with the highly respected and influential online commentator, Kirsten Winkler. Kirsten is a prolific exponent of the latest Web 2 technology with a shrewd understanding of how new online initiatives facilitate the teaching and learning of foreign languages.
Although the collection of informative articles on Kirsten's blog are centred on the burgeoning personal education sector, there is no doubt that Web 2 is beginning to have a profound effect on teaching and learning in the classroom. Today's generation of schoolchildren is indeed 'internet ready'. Searching for information, connecting with others, and using web tools are skills which have become second nature to most students. Educationalists are in a unique position to capitalise on these skills already acquired by their students. The teacher can profit from web 2 by setting, marking and differentiating. By tailoring work more precisely to each student's needs, he can allow them to progress at their own pace, guiding them and encouraging them to use a medium which they accept as part of their daily lives.
