Reflections on Will Richardson's "Navigating Social Networks as Learning Tools"

This article touched on the many great possibilities we have in front of us in terms of the future of virtual education. Through networking, we, as teachers, can take our classroom further than the physical space of our classroom and utilize a network of millions of people in order to learn and create. Although this virtual learning environment creates amazing oppurtunities, there are many questions that educators must ask themselves before jumping into this network. First, educators must need to be sure that they understand the new networks that are being brought into the classroom. We must be "network literate" to ensure that what we bring into the classrooms are safe and useful for our students.
Not only must we be network literate, we must teach our students to be, as well. Technology cannot be properly implemented unless students know how to not only navigate from page to page on the internet, but also how to collaborate with other users, read and contribute to material online, search and choose appropriate material, and, most importantly, connect with people who are online for the correct reasons.
Schools need to start preparing their teachers for this type of classroom because the digital world has arrived and it is changing every aspect of our lives. Education needs to get up to speed and embrace the digital oppurtunities before it. Students must be allowed, and in fact encouraged, to read, create, edit, and share content on the web and contribute to the global society around them.