Technology and the Savvy Shopper

I love a good bargain. I drag myself out of bed the wee hours of the morning on Black Friday to get the best deals. This year I branched out to Cyber Monday, the Monday following Black Friday. image

As I was shopping online, I had an epiphany regarding web 2.0 tools and teachers.

Most of the websites I was shopping on Amazon and Sam’s Club to name a few had options for their deals of the day and sale information to come through Twitter. No going from website to website to find the deals. Twitter did the work for me aggregating all sales information in one convenient place.

I think this offers a lot of potential for engaging teachers in the power of web 2.0. image

If teachers can see a personal use for these tools, they are more likely to use these for professional development and consider how they might be used with students.

Too often in-service time is spent on pushing buttons for a pay off that is too abstract for someone that has not really tried a web 2.0 tool.

Let’s focus on something useful like shopping instead.

Comments

Unknown said…
I'm not sure this was your best post...probably likely to get me into trouble. Who knew i could find sales without looking :)

In all seriousness this is a very interesting point. Not everyone can relate to every web 2.0 tool, but relating it to something like shopping is something i can really sink my teeth into...imagine the possibilities for people with other interests and how it can get them interested in these tools!
December 10, 2009 at 2:23 PM
Jim Gates said…
LOL! Whatever it takes to get folks using the tools. I usually show how to subscribe to Sports feeds when I show RSS aggregators. Once they see how it works, then it's easier to make the transition to how it can work for a classroom.

So, while shopping isn't my thing (I'd rather try to swallow a locomotive than go shopping on Black Friday) it just may be the ticket to learning how to use the tools. :-)
December 13, 2009 at 12:20 PM
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