The past few years have seen an explosion of disruptive technologies that challenge the way we think, the way we operate, and the status quo of educational practice.  Understandably, critical questions have emerged regarding the use of these technologies in education.  Do they actually lead to new literacies, or do they simply provide a new context for the development of skills educators have always valued?  What impact are they really having on students and schools?  How can organizations implement, evaluate, and sustain these technologies in the service of learning?

What questions must we address if we are to move forward:

1. What are the affordances of Web 2.0 technology?
2. How do we rethink the dimensions of school? (In regards to physical and digital space, and what is learned and how?).  What boundaries do you have? (Smart Goals?)
3. How do we rethink the origin of instructional content?
4. How do we rethink curriculum, instruction, and assessment?  Do these technologies, and the affordances they create, suggest new ways of teaching, what is taught, and how it is evaluated?
5. How do we rethink what it means to be a learning organization?
6. What happens when classrooms become permeable?
7. What is your organization’s vision?  Is it aligned with the affordances of Web 2.0?
8. What does it mean to be well-educated in the 21^st Century?
9. Are there new literacies? Or new skills? Should we seek fluency? Or is the context for skill development just different?
10. Do you see the Internet (and Web 2.0) as a “context in which to read, write, and communicate?”  (Leu et. al)
11. Is this about tools?
12. Where are our students at?  Have you talked with students?
13. How ready is your school community?  What are their beliefs?  Their biases? 
14. How ready is your organization?
15. What can we learn from students’ interactions in social networking situations?  What skills have they developed and can we leverage them for educational purposes?
16. How does the Web 2.0 impact technology policy decisions?  AUP vs. RUP?  Freeware vs. Open Source?
17. How networked are your teachers?  How networked are your administrators?  Do both groups participate in networked learning?
18. Will you enable students to use their own technology in your building?  (What is the worst consequence of your best idea? (Chris Lehman, Science Leadership Academy, Philadelphia, PA).
19. Is there room for informal learning opportunities in the formal space of school?
20. Will use of Web 2.0 tools be expected?  Will it be goal-based and have a systemic application to ensure an equitable learning opportunity for all? Or will you be satisfied with pockets of innovation?
21. What barriers do you currently have?
22. Will you introduce new technologies through pilot programs?
23. How will you grow your programs?  How will you sustain momentum through implementation dips, etc?
24. How will you evaluate the technology?  How will you know if the technology supported the instructional methodologies as planned?  Did the technology do what it was supposed to?
    
25. What constitutes a success?

Resources | jakesonline.org wiki resources

A Collection of Perspectives on 21st Century Learning

An Organizational Approach to Web 2.0\

Critical Resources for Moving Forward

Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning

• Dissemination, Discussion, Discovery and Demonstration Activities across a mechanical age, electronic age, and digital age.  I especially like how Siemens has laid out the four activities as they can be achieved in the digital age.  See page 19 and 20
• Selection of media (could also apply to tools and how they are aligned to instructional needs)  See page 22.
• Being Literate ("New literacies (based on the abundance of information and the significants changes brought about by technology) are needed.  These additional skills are listed here, page 28.  Also see Jenkins work (Confronting the Challenges) below for a set of skills.
• Affordances of Emerging Technologies.  See pages 42-50.
  

21 Steps to 21st Century Learning

Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century

Web 2.0 in Education;  Policy, Practice and Progress 2009 Copendium CoSN

The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age

• Be sure to see the "Pillars of Institutional Pedagogy:  Ten Principles for the Future of Learning"  pages 26-35.