Polarization of America and Web 2.0

Polarization of America and Web 2.0


I tend to socialize with people that think like I do and online I connect to people that have the same interests. My son tends to connect with gamers that like Halo and they will lead him to other similar gamers. When connecting to RSS feeds, Blogs, and social networks I keep the connections that agree with my ideas and eliminate the connections that don’t agree therefore I am only reading what I agree with. This reinforces what I already know and creates a situation that could cause me to become even more extreme in my thinking without ever looking at the opposite point of view. When I read a news paper I tend to read both points of view. I need to think critically and make a conscious effort to look at both sides of the story, but how many other people will not realize this. I am concerned about America and I suspect that Web. 2.0 contributes to the polarization of America.

Learning then and now

Thing 3 is about how thinking and learning has changed. As a young child in school I was to stay in my seat and only answer questions when called on. I was given paper tests and the grades were posted. Later I worked a job that had a specific set of directions that I followed daily.


Today, my students will be entering a world where they will have to work collaboratively with each other. My students will work in a competitive world with limited resources. They will be expected to have a good work ethic. Despite having great skills they will change occupations several times during their lifetime. My student’s will be employed in jobs that do not exist yet.


I need to teach my students good work ethics, communications skills and to be flexible. They need to be self motivated learners and the working environment is changing exponentially now. The students I am looking at in the classroom are self absorbed, focused on texting their friends and they do the minimum amount of work possible to pass class. How do I engage them?