by Gwen Solomon and Lynne Schrum, International Society for Technology in Education, Eugene, Ore., 2007, 168 pp., $34.95 softcover
Tired of feeling like a tourist in the digital world? Gwen Solomon and Lynne Schrum’s text Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools offers a great overview of the changes to our learning environments brought about by these new applications of technology and related practices.
The authors provide thorough coverage of emerging technologies related to classroom practice, professional development and leadership issues. While some of the tools, such as blogs and wikis, may be familiar to many of us, this book offers a useful review of many Web 2.0 tools, including a tutorial chapter on the most popular Web 2.0 tools and an appendix that includes web links to more applications from each genre.
What separates this book from others on the impact of Web 2.0 applications is its focus on providing a link between these tools and education practice. Actual cases and practical examples help guide the reader to see how the tools could be implemented. Of particular interest to administrators will be the sections on leadership, online safety and security, systemic issues and new schools.
This text would serve as a great tool for future-minded superintendents to introduce the concepts of 21st-century technologies to building- and district-level administrators and begin a conversation about how their school district needs to integrate Web 2.0 processes into its culture.
Reviewed by Lane B. Mills, associate professor, educational leadership, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.