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Update on Week 4 Readings This week we read about collaborative learning and professioal development for teachers. I have actually thought about this and wondered what I would write in my update for this week. I decided that I would write how these two ideas go hand in hand.

First collaborative learning is great for students in the 21st century. Studies have shown that students who collaborate online and with their peers, learn how to solve problems, analyze information, and become thinkers of knowledge. Educators, digital immigrants, need to learn how to collaborate themselves as they will gain knowledge in how to teach the 21st century students. Collaboration walks hand in hand with the next topic, professional development.

If our educators are not given the professional development they need, how can they learn to collaborate themselves and assist in teaching students the technology they need? Without the support and funding from the administration, professional development seems to fall by the wayside. Our schools need more collaboration amongst teachers, more desire to bring in the technology, and more accountability held where technology is concerned. If our teachers and educators were proficient in just Web 2.0 tools, the sky is the limit. Numerous projects, cooperative learning groups, and learning potential can reach a new height.