Episode+3+A+Conversation+with+Will+Richardson

toc =Podcast Script Questions for Will Richardson:=

Welcome. My name is Willy Kjellstrom, and I work at Trinity School as a webmaster and video production teacher. This episode features educational technology expert, Will Richardson, who will talk about his views on learning with the Internet and the role that wikis can play in collaborative, online experiences. But, before I begin, I would like to say that the entire script for this podcast can be found at my wiki called Technology in Education. You can access this wiki by typing in tie.wikispaces.com without a www. There you will also find links mentioned in this podcast as well as videos that do a good job of explaining wikis.

This is the third and final episode in a podcast series about wikis and their educational uses. Today I am speaking with Will Richardson, author of [|Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms], a book about Internet tools that have the "potential for strengthening students' critical thinking, writing, reflection, and interactive learning." Aside from his thoughtful, provocative blog posts on his own blog called [|Weblogg-Ed], Will is a world-renowned speaker on issues related to educational technology, "a national advisory board member for the [|George Lucas Education Foundation], a monthly columnist for [|District Administration magazine], and a contributer to 'The Pulse' blog" ([|weblogg-ed.com]). If that weren't enough to keep him busy, Will serves an adjunct instructor at Seton Hall University in the Executive Ed.D. program.

Will, first of all, thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. Let's dive right in.


 * 1) You have eloquently described the shift in the way people use the Internet over the past five or six years: The Internet is now a place where people can openly communicate and share ideas as well as collaborate in a way that eliminates physical distance. This notion of 1:many is very different than the 1:1 interaction that dominated interaction on the Internet just 5-6 years ago. Could you describe this shift? What are the implications of this shift for teachers, students, and schools?
 * 2) How do wikis (and the type of interaction/learning that can occur using this tool) illustrate the shifting landscape of the web?
 * 3) What are some of the potential "learning outcomes" or benefits of using a wiki with students? Example(s)?
 * 4) More and more organizations, from businesses like Disney to worldwide groups like the UN, are using collaborative tools like wikis to communicate and collaborate. Do you feel that learning how to collaborate, communicate, and use the "new web tools" should be something that is part of a school's curriculum given the rising prevalence of things like wikis in the real world?
 * 5) What are some of the roadblocks or hurdles that prevent this from happening?