Justify the use of Web 2.

0 tools for the development of higher order thinking

skills.
Technology is constantly being advanced and increased and as technology advances many
tools and applications are created to help persons gain knowledge, communicate easily and find
entertainment. Web 2.0 or sometimes called social web was created with this specific purpose.
Solomon and Schrum (2010, pg 1) are of the opinion that if educators use the tools that students
find appealing it would make a difference in their leaning and help prepare them for the future.
Solomon and Schrum (2010, pg1) further go on to define Web 2.0 as, "the transition from static
HTML web pages to a more dynamic web that is more organized and is based on serving web
applications to users." Web 2.0 tools can include wikis, blogs and social networks; with websites
like facebook and flickr, for example, being a part of it.
Daily, students are required to put previous knowledge to work in helping them to solve
challenges or obstacles they may face. Likewise, educators plan lessons or activities that would
have students use previous knowledge along with new information to create new knowledge,
thus they are developing their higher order thinking skills. Thomas and Thorne (2009) state that
" higher order thinking is thinking on a level that is higher than memorizing facts or telling
something back to someone exactly the way it was told to you." It does not involve rote
memorization but it involves students problem solving, thinking critically and seeking new
knowledge. Thomas and Thorne (2009) further go on to mention that higher order thinking
skills can be learned and a person's higher order thinking skills can also be increased with
practice. Some activities that promote higher order thinking skills include students constructing
and designing models of various items, defining given terms, classifying objects according to
their properties and students predicting .

Web 2.0 tools can be used to develop higher order thinking skills. This can be done in
various ways, Burns (2009) state that both teachers and students can use web 2.0 tools to help
advance the education system. Subran (2013) stated that web 2.0 tools "support inquiry,
creativity, critical reflection and dialogue". These aspects reflect the last two sections of Bloom's
Taxonomy; synthesis and evaluation which assess and promote higher order thinking skills.
According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, a blog is "a Web site on which someone
writes about personal opinions, activities, and experiences; that contains online personal
reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer." Teachers can create blogs
that students can use to write personal reflections and use as journals to reflect on work done and
plan what they wish to accomplish. Teachers could also place information that they wish for
students to know on blogs, for example; when a activity is being done and they need to gain
information while at home. Likewise, social networks can be used in the same way to
accomplish some of the same purposes and more.
I conclusion Web 2.0 tools are very relevant in today's technologically inclined world and
they can be used in various ways to develop higher-order thinking skills.

The following diagram shows ho web 2.0 tools can be used in relation to cultivating higher-order
thinking skills in connection with the different levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.

References:
http://www.bing.com/images/search?
q=how+can+web+2.0+tools+develop+higher+order+thinking+skills&FORM=HDRSC2#
view=detail&id=F92ED10AE292EAE26859BEAF341FE68CAA0689D3&selectedIndex
=11
Burns, M. (2009). Threading, Tagging and Higher-Order Thinking. Retrieved on 19th November
from: http://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=1595442
Merriam - Webster Online Dictionaries. Blog. Retrieved on 19th November from:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blog
Solomon, G. &Schrum, L. (2010). Web 2.0 How-to for Educators.International Society for
Technology in Education.
Thomas, A., and Thorne, G. (2009). How To Increase Higher Order Thinking. Metarie, LA:
Center for Development and Learning. Retrieved 19th November, from
http://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/HOT.php?type=subject&id=18