Web 2.0 and Inquiry Based Learning – IBL Week 5

Last week, I posed the question, “will the IBL process alone be enough to motivate the unmotivated?” In the back of my mind, I worry about providing lessons that are engaging. This week, I learned how to incorporate Web 2.0 applications into the IBL process to help engage students.

I still wonder. Will inquiry-based lessons be enough to motivate and engage learners with technology added into the mix? I have never agreed with using technology for just the sake of using it. I know my students come into the classroom having had more access to technology than I ever have and with a much shorter learning curve. They also have a different mindset about technology than I do. I see it as a tool to become more productive in society whereas they may only view it as entertainment.

What Web 2.0 applications do, in my opinion, is provide alternatives and opportunities to the teacher and the student. I know I must attempt to reach all of my students, even those who are far better at using technology than I. Web 2.0 allows me to better equip myself for the 21^st Century learner. The content I teach will primarily be the same, but the learner will be different as well as the tools and the processes I use to reach him.

I guess moderation is the best way of approaching how to best use technology. I must make sure that students first understand the process of inquiry and the scientific process before adding another feature. I also think that if a student is truly interested in the topic, technology will neither enhance, nor detract, from their learning. Allowing students to choose what they want to investigate is key in this process.

This brings another question to mind about IBL. How much choice can you give them without sacrificing the integrity of the lesson?