Bridging+the+Gap+or+Widening+It?

Web 2.0 tools have many benefits for students and educators. These technology utensils allow users to create the content on the web, rather than simply surf through information that others have created. They help teachers combine technology and collaboration, it allows educators to communicate with other teachers who have the same interests, and it combines the ways students are now communicating with the content in the classroom.
 * Bridging the Gap or Widening It: How do Web 2.0 tools affect ELL student learning? **

While many of these benefits are difficult to argue with when it comes to a “typical” student, teachers know that the sizing up the term “typical” or “average” is moot when considering what impact technology tools are going to work with certain students. Our job is to meet the needs of all students and if these tools will help one group of students dive into higher-level thinking, but alienate another group, is it worth it?

One population of students that must be considered when deciding how Web 2.0 will be used in your classroom is English Language Learners. Will the changes towards user-created content help these students or develop another obstacle in their quest to learn the same material as their classmates? What can teachers do help make Web 2.0 tool valuable for all students, including ELL kiddos.

While ELL learners may have extra paraprofessional or teacher support in a school setting, they lack this guided foundation when using the web at home. Teachers can alleviate some of this disconnect from their regular learning environment by checking in frequently online during Web 2.0-related projects. Just because learning occurs online, doesn’t mean we can check out of the learning process.

Peer mentoring can also aid in the application of Web 2.0 in the classroom. Part of the reason Web 2.0 has been found to be a successful tool is because it promotes learning via the same communication style students are used to. Resources I used during the penning of this article:  Technology in the English Language Learner Classroom? By: [|Judith Rance-Roney]  Date: October 2008 Found at: [] Heartland Area Education Agency website Found at: []