This page has been created as part of assessment for FET8611, Emerging environments for learning.
So, why all the hype about Web 2.0??
Yes, this is a very broad topic. Seems like Web 2 is the buzz word at the moment.
This page will attempt to critically analyse the educational value of Web 2 in education. This page is intended to inform educators, from all educational contexts, about the variety of Web 2.0 that are available for school students, how these tools can be used and whether or not these tools have educational value. It will
Provide a broad definition of Web 2.0
Provide examples of Web 2.0 applications used in education.
Evaluate some Web 2.0 application in terms of:
how they integrate with learning theories
how they support higher order thinking and critical learning
Pose the question..Is Web 2.0 suitable for all learners?
What does 'educational value' mean? How do we judge the worth of a Web 2.0 application?
What is your understanding of the term, educational value? Does 'educational value' mean the same now as it did 20years ago? How do we judge the educational worth of a Web 2.0 application? What makes one application better than another? What criteria should we use in judging the worth of Web 2.0 applicatons?
Cathleen I love this question!! Last year my family took a trip to Florida. We walked into a room filled with flags and my son began to name the countries and some details connected to these countries. His sisters watched in admiration as spoke knowledgeably and compassionately with an adult there. After the encounter his sisters asked how he knew the information. His answer: video games, facebook and other web2.0 agents that he has used to communicate and play games on. Not only did he display increased knowledge, but also a world view that was becoming increasingly global. Educational value, to me, has changed from a classroom to an experience - a widening of our knowledge and our understanding of the world. I think that real education often changes the way we act as well.
Carmel Thanks for this contribution Cathleen. I agree. I think that now there are so many opportunities for authentic learning to take place and we are now no longer bound by the confines of a traditional classroom. Learning can take place on the job, in an online space, anywher. Video games, for your son, had educational value. He acquired knowledge and he also broadened his perspective about other countries. Education is also about changed attitudes as well. My students learnt about China through a webquest and through online collaboration. The real learning that happened was not the written assignment but the exposure to another way of life and another culture. Education is about attitudes and values as well.
e.g. Anyone can reorganise and contribute to this page. It is released under the default knowledgeGarden Copyright license which you can access by clicking COPYRIGHT on the left menu.
I invite you to share your thoughts and experiences about using web 2 tools.
What Web 2 tools do you use? Why?
Have these tools empowered student learning? How?
Are some of the Web 2 applications just too gimmicky?
How does Web 2.0 integrate with learning theories? (social constructivism, connectivism)
What web 2 tools support higher order thinking skills? How?
Does Web 2.0 cater for and support different learning styles?
Time's Person of the year. You! I love this quote!(thanks Peter)
Web 2.0 harnesses the stupidity of crowds as well as its wisdom. Some of the comments on YouTube make you weep for the future of humanity just for the spelling alone, never mind the obscenity and the naked hatred. Web 2.0 is a massive social experiment, and like any experiment worth trying, it could fail…. It's a chance for people to look at a computer screen and really, genuinely wonder who's out there looking back at them http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html
If you believe people like Ian Jukes, trying to decide whether Web2 tools are valuable or not is no longer the question, just like the printing press, the pencil and the calculator these tools are here to stay. It is now up to us to use them effectively or someone else will (Ian Jukes, From Gutenburg to Gates)
I love web2 technologies and use them extensively in my own professional development as well as with my students. Look forward to contributing to your page Carmel.Web 2 has changed how I interact with the web. I now have a new way to learn and improve my skills. I have a new way to keep in touch with family and friends, share my life and my photos It has provided me with a place to voice my ideas and receive feedback from my colleagues. It allows me to share my reflections on my learning journey. Through web 2 technologies I have met new friends that I can share my ideas, collaborate and experiment with new ways of teaching. It has given me confidence to change my teaching pedagogy. I love Web 2
I've wondered if the use of Web 2 is a way that humans are seeking to re-engage with each other. To create a sense of community that came from living in a local area or town and knowing everyone else in that town. I marveled when I travelled in England - sometimes you'd travel 20 miles down the road and the residence of the village would have different accents to the place you just left! I only recently joined facebook and have found this connection with people that I had spent time with in the past - again, its like we are re-engaging with each other.
I am ambivalent about Web 2.0 - I love it when its not causing me to gnash teeth and throw things Web 2.0 tools allow me to connect, learn and contribute with a huge network of people and in ways that would not be possible otherwise. On the other hand, there is so much complexity and duplication of tools that I find myself disappearing down Alice's rabbit hole for hours whenever I get online. I'm still looking for the ultimate aggregator site that will make these connections more seamless. Web 3.0 perhaps?
What is Web 2.0?
'Web 2.0 (or Web 2) is the popular term for advanced Internet technology and applications including blogs, wikis, RSS, social networking and social bookmarking.
One of the most significant differences between Web 2.0 and the traditional World Wide Web (retroactively referred to as Web 1.0) is greater collaboration among Internet users and other users, content providers, and enterprises.’
Put simply, web 2.0 is about how we use the internet today. We
go online, we post photos and messages and chat on Facebook ...or other places such as MySpace, Plaxo or others.
chat in real time using instant messaging programs such as Skype or Windows live messenger.
update our blogs (maybe using WordPress or Blogger) maybe users interact with our blog content by adding their own comments. We may even add our own content by editing the Wikipedia.
Read our favourite news sites or blogs by logging into our RSS reader where news or blog postings are ‘delivered’ to our home page, after we have subscribed. (eg. Google Reader)
upload a video to youTube.
Web 1.0 was static…..Web 2.0 is dynamic and interactive and constantly evolving.
The Video below is about the evolution of the web and challenges us to view the web in a different way.
Web 2 is not the future of Education
I found this video on YouTube. I did identify with it I must admit. Although I love web 2 tools and being connected, sometimes it can be frustrating and sometimes there are just so many tools and features that one does not know where to start. Just something else to think about.
Jan Userpage:janclewettI loved this video Carmel. It does tell a story but lets keep it in perspective. We do what we do because of what we have. As with all emerging environments, sometime after they have emerged we all want more. We are conditioned to want more. We all know that around the corner someone, somewhere, has already read our minds, our innermost thoughts as to how this new evolving technology can be made even better. We know that as we write on this wiki that there is better out there, better to come. There is no more need to learn tikiwiki syntax, it is just that we haven't been able to access the technology yet. We feel annoyed, we whinge and complain at the time wasted when somewhere, someplace, someone is doing this type of thing easier, faster, better, more stylish than we are. And we feel cheated.
Is this the way of technology? From what I have read from our course discussions posts we are all waiting for the next generation of laptop, ipod, mobile phone, desktop or applications to effectively replace our existing situation or setup to make it easier, quicker, more interesting and engaging than before. Is this our future? Can we never be satisfied anymore with what we have and enjoy it. Enjoy the convenience of learning, corresponding, collaborating, sharing and enjoying the tools we have to use. Is living for the moment a thing of the past, not part of the present and stupid to think it would be anything to do with our future? In reality Web 2 is a tool. It is what we do with the tool, how we manipulate it and make it achieve our goals that really is the here and now of technology.
Paula Like Jan, I found this video very thought provoking and definitely agree that Web 2.0 is what we have now, but in a few years it will have morphed into something which better meets the demands of the day. However, I found the choice of example at the end interesting as it seemed to demonstrate the use of technology for technology’s sake; I wanted to thrust a pen and paper at her or ask, if she really has to use technology, why not write it using a stylus!
Technology seems to develop on two fronts. One is really about meeting demand, for example if someone has limited office space they might demand a monitor which doesn’t take up their entire desk. The other is where the demand is created, for example interactive, multiplayer video games created the demand for gaming consoles to have internet connectivity and consequently anyone who wanted to play that game is likely to want to be able to use all the functions and so goes out and gets the latest piece of equipment.
Also, the more exposed we are to new technologies the more likely we are to want them. A personal example of this is was when my husband bought an iPhone and I was able to see how I could use it in my daily life. At that time I had a perfectly functioning mobile and really couldn’t justify the expense, so I compromised and got an iTouch. If I’m perfectly honest, I didn’t need to get it as I had access to a number of ways to do all the functions I use the iTouch for, but I wanted it.
CathleenThe more that I use Web 2.0 tools, the more I am intrigued by them and the more I can relate to the video above. I think that people are too impatient to put up with all the issues and will keep demanding bigger and better. My school has four campuses around our province. In July the sent my a tablet and on it put video conferencing software. My assistant spent a few hours with our tech support getting the "bugs" out. I now can have a video conference but am unable to to use the usb microphone. Our school absolutely could not run without the tech support staff that we have. They are troubleshooting constantly. I think that without them. I took a challenge last March to learn something new in technology each week for 25 weeks. I promptly went home and erased my very busy calendar for the next three months. Without tech support I would have been unable to retrieve the information and completely lost in my job which is based entirely on appointments.
Teachers: How does Web 2.0 integrate with learning theories?
Constructivism
The constructivist theory can encompass a number of teaching practices, but, in general it means encouraging students to use active techniques (experiments, real-world problem solving) to create more knowledge and then to reflect on and talk about what they are doing and how their understanding is changing.’
'A key concept underpinning constructivism is scaffolding which is a process of guiding the learner from what is presently known to what is to be known. According to Vygotsky (1978) students problem solving skills fall into three categories:
* skills which the student cannot perform
* skills which the student may be able to perform
* skills that the students can perform with help
Scaffolding allows students to perform tasks that would normally be slightly beyond their ability without that assistance and guidance from the teacher. Appropriate teacher support can allow students to function at the cutting edge of their individual development. Scaffolding is therefore an important characteristic of constrctivist learning and teaching. http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/~elmurphy/emurphy/cle3.html
Social Constructivism
'Social constructivism is a variety of cognitive constructivism that emphasizes the collaborative nature of much learning. Social constructivism was developed by post-revolutionary Soviet psychologist, Lev Vygotsky.' Teaching Resource Center, Theories of Learning http://gsi.berkeley.edu/resources/learning/social.html Retrieved on August 24 2009
In a social constructivst classroom learning is collaborative, social, developmentally based, meaningful, real world and authentic.
'If Vygotsky is correct and children develop in social or group settings, the use of technology to connect rather than separate students from one another would be very appropriate use. A constructivist teacher creates a context for learning in which students can become engaged in interesting activities that encourages and facilitates learning. The teacher does not simply stand by, however, and watch children explore and discover. Instead, the teacher may often guide students as they approach problems, may encourage them to work in groups to think about issues and questions, and support them with encouragement and advice as they tackle problems, adventures, and challenges that are rooted in real life situations that are both interesting to the students and satisfying in terms of the result of their work. Teachers thus facilitate cognitive growth and learning as do peers and other members of the child's community.'
Katayoun Friend or Foe? Taming Facebook for Education, looks at the skills that are encouraged or developed in both learners and teachers when using social media. These are the types of skills that are needed in a learner-centred approach to education where teachers facilitate collaborative knowledge making. These media also provide many opportunities for developing authentic assessment tasks. Web 2 technologies help operationalise learning principles valued in a constructivist approach to instruction characterized by interactivity, collaboration, situated and leaner-centredness (Garrison, 1997; Taylor, 2001; Kehrwald, 2008).
Stephen |
I have recently finished reading and article by Ruey (2009) about constructivist instructional strategies for online learning. Although Ruey is focussing on adult learners, some of the findings of the study are also pertinent for this wiki. Ruey suggests that ‘according to social constructivist theory, knowledge is socially situated and constructed through reflection on one’s own thoughts and experiences as well as other learner’s ideas (p. 2). This concept stems from Dewey who maintained that students learn by interacting with others in an authentic environment. Ruey also talks about a constructivist learning environment –what components are needed in order for constructivist learning to occur and allow learners to engage with the learning environment. The following quote looks at this idea:
In the constructivist learning environment, students are encouraged to actively engage in learning: to discuss, argue, negotiate ideas and to collaboratively solve problems; teachers design and provide the learning context and facilitate learning activities (p.2).
An interesting finding in the study support what has been said above – the ‘teacher’ has a critical role in the success on a constructivist learning environment. Although this study was from an adult learner viewpoint, I think the statement that ‘timely and meaningful feedback is decisive to the instructional quality of the online course’ (p.12). This support the idea that the teachers, as Carmel said above ‘support them with encouragement and advice as they tackle problems,’
Another feature of this social constructivist learning is the idea of peer review, which we are all experiencing as a part of this course! I know this has a role in adult learning, which is my interest, but does it also have a role in pedagogy? Again to quote Ruey, the study found that ‘peer moderated discussions evoke considerably more meaningful interaction, including more posts responded by others and more substantive messages’.
Reference: Ruey, S (2009) A case study of constructivist instruactional strategies for adult online learning, British Journal of Educational Technology, 2009, p1-15.
Connectivism. A learning theory for the digital age
'Knowledge is not intended to fill minds, it is intended to open them' George Siemens
This theory recognises the complexity of ideas, diversity of opinions, complexity of networks and is relevant to learning in the digital age. In particular, the idea that because of the huge and ever changing knowledge and information base we cannot experience everything, therefore learning comes from making connections.
This theory aligns with ideas of 21st century learning. A fundamental element of the theory of connectivism is, that we are now living in a time where there is information saturation. This theory acknowledges that 'when knowledge is needed but not known, the ability to plug into sources to meet the requirements becomes a vital skill. http://www.itdl.org/journal/jan_05/Jan_05.pdf I believe, in relation to this theory, that we need to guide students to distinguish between what is useful and relevant knowledge and what is not.
How does Web 2.0 support this theory? How do we guide students to distinguish between what is useful and relvant and what is not?
Carmel Using the internet for research...sorting the gems from the junk
Howard Gardner has identified that people learn in different ways, have different abilities and this theory has evolved into what has been called the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Gardner identified seven distinct and different intelligences. They are:
Visual-Spatial - think in terms of physical space, as do architects and sailors. Very aware of their environments. They like to draw, do jigsaw puzzles, read maps, daydream. They can be taught through drawings, verbal and physical imagery. Tools include models, graphics, charts, photographs, drawings, 3-D modeling, video, videoconferencing, television, multimedia, texts with pictures/charts/graphs.
Bodily-kinesthetic - use the body effectively, like a dancer or a surgeon. Keen sense of body awareness. They like movement, making things, touching. They communicate well through body language and be taught through physical activity, hands-on learning, acting out, role playing. Tools include equipment and real objects.
Musical - show sensitivity to rhythm and sound. They love music, but they are also sensitive to sounds in their environments. They may study better with music in the background. They can be taught by turning lessons into lyrics, speaking rhythmically, tapping out time. Tools include musical instruments, music, radio, stereo, CD-ROM, multimedia.
Interpersonal - understanding, interacting with others. These students learn through interaction. They have many friends, empathy for others, street smarts. They can be taught through group activities, seminars, dialogues. Tools include the telephone, audio conferencing, time and attention from the instructor, video conferencing, writing, computer conferencing, E-mail.
Intrapersonal - understanding one's own interests, goals. These learners tend to shy away from others. They're in tune with their inner feelings; they have wisdom, intuition and motivation, as well as a strong will, confidence and opinions. They can be taught through independent study and introspection. Tools include books, creative materials, diaries, privacy and time. They are the most independent of the learners.
Linguistic - using words effectively. These learners have highly developed auditory skills and often think in words. They like reading, playing word games, making up poetry or stories. They can be taught by encouraging them to say and see words, read books together. Tools include computers, games, multimedia, books, tape recorders, and lecture.
Logical -Mathematical - reasoning, calculating. Think conceptually, abstractly and are able to see and explore patterns and relationships. They like to experiment, solve puzzles, ask cosmic questions. They can be taught through logic games, investigations, mysteries. They need to learn and form concepts before they can deal with details.
You are invited to provide a specific example of a Web 2.0 tool you have used and how this tool supports the thoery of Multiple Intelligences
Higher Order thinking and Critical learning
Explanation
"Higher-order thinking requires students to manipulate information and ideas in ways that transform their meaning and implications. This transformation occurs when students combine facts and ideas in order to synthesise, generalise, explain, hypothesise or arrive at some conclusion or interpretation. Manipulating information and ideas through these processes allows students to solve problems and discover new (for them) meanings and understandings. When students engage in the construction of knowledge, an element of uncertainty is introduced into the instructional process and makes instructional outcomes not always predictable; i.e., the teacher is not certain what will be produced by students. In helping students become producers of knowledge, the teacher's main instructional task is to create activities or environments that allow them opportunities to engage in higher-order thinking."
"Web 2.o allows students to have more access to information through the social interactions. Collecting information is not creating knowledge. Some of my writing students have a ton of information about a topic through Web 2.0 tools but they cannot put the information together in a coherent fashion. The problem is not access to information; the problem is thinking. As we get more into Web 2.0, we need to get more into Critical Thinking. Students need to be able to analyze, synthesis, and evaluate information (Bloom) . They need to be able to see information from various perspectives (Chaffee) and to think through various aspects of the issue such as purpose and consequences (Noisch). If we want to “teach” how to use Web 2.o tools, then we need to teach Critical Thinking. Instead of Web 2.o courses/”new literacies” courses, we need “Critical Thinking with Web 2.0″ courses. The thinking skills will be transferable as new tech tools quickly evolve.
Let’s focus on critical 21st century thinking skills so we can use Web 2.0 tools wisely!"
My favourite Web 2 technology is Wordpress blogging opensource software. It allows teachers to create a very professional educational website with no knowledge of xhtml programming. Wordpress has comments enabled as well as the ability to add forum plugins. I find students freely comment on webpages designed in this way. It is up to me to structure my tasks to support collaboration, reflection and higher order thinking.
In my teaching I've used web 2 tools such as discussion forums, wikis, and blogs within Moodle. These tools support higher order thinking in several ways. Discussion forums and blogs, when the topic and tasks are well chosen, help focus the learner's own thinking as she or he tries to compose and write a post or a response. Forums and blogs also expose learners to a variety of perspectives and viewpoints, questioning learner's own assumptions, self-evaluating one's own understanding and so on. Wikis are a great collaborative tool which enable group projects. But in addition to teaching learners to work in a team, having to 'refactor' the page teaches them how to evaluate, analyze and synthesize.
One of the tools which I would love to use but am quite worried about using is podcasts. I listen to a number of these which are related to ciritcal thinking, but if I introduced them to my students I would find myself out of a job because they encourage us to not believe what we are told. I find that I am constantly walking a thin line between what I think I can get away with, regarding teaching critical thinking and introducing something to them that they would find 'haram' or offensive. My own facilitated page is about critical thinking and what emerging technologies we can use to help our students begin to use critical thinking strategies. You can find a list there of some of the podcasts I listen to related to CT.
Learners: Is Web 2 suitable for all learners? Please add your thoughts.
Katayoun In my limited experience, I have found that web 2 tools are suitable for learners of all ages. However, some tools are a bit more complicated to use or need to be used in a more sophisticated way. As such, these may not be appropriate to either the young or the inexperienced users of technology. For example, while my postgraduate students did not have any difficulty learning to use productively a tool such as Google Notebook, my undergraduate students have difficulty with using tools in Moodle. I must point out that most of my undergraduate students have very limited experience with computers before they come to the university. Having said that, my own son is much more 'literate' than myself when it comes to using web 2 tools to play or to spice up his school presentations. I also find that drawing or animation tools are very useful to motivate younger students get into the more 'serious' stuff.
Jan There are so many Web 2 technologies available. Any software that allows you to communicate on the web has Web 2 foundations. This may be the current fads of Facebook, Second Life, msn, voicethread etc to Content management systems. All these tools can be introduced at age appropriate levels. Preschoolers are sharing Facebook pages with Mum and Dad and enjoying looking at the contributions from Grandparents and seeing Mum and Dad adding their own. Teachers can use forums and chats with their younger classes to keep up with travel buddies, talk to experts and students from other countries. Just because their written literacy skills may not be developed, teachers can use these as whole class tasks. As students grow and mature they will use Web 2 technologies on their own because they are part of kids social culture. So teachers need to talk about the security and cyber-safety issues they go hand in hand with this technology. At school teachers can establish safe virtual classrooms using Blackboard or Moodle to allow students freedom to communicate and collaborate and not breach education codes of practice. The skills students develop using these technologies will give them the confidence to adapt to changes in these environments as they emerge. Education is changing. We are all learning more in online environments. Opportunities are being provided for all through the many online courses offered online. We are no longer confined to being educated at Australian institutions, but as can be seen by the number of overseas participants in this course we can study on a global scale. Web 2 does not discriminate on age, race, students or disability. So the only discrimination is for those without connections. Where will we be in 10years time? Where to from Web 2?
Stephen I have a few issues here, and some questions! By it's very nature, are web 2 technologies self-fulfilling prophesies? We can look at the technology and see the amount of people/learners enaged in the blogs or wikis etc and give ourselves a pat on the back. Do we ask 'what about learners that have not engaged with these technologies?' What happens to these learners? Is it a case of get onboard or be left behind?
I have attempted to use blogs and wikis in my learning environment and found they have failed. So, my conclusion is that they may not be for all learners. Having a very conservative learner group (it is the Tax Office) I have found a lot of ground work need to be done to convince learners of the value of web 2 technology and also to reduce the fear and trepidation that learners have when using this technology.
Jan, I agree you about web 2 not discriminating. But not totally. Does it introduce another form of discrimination? My thought is it can discriminate against people with limited skill in the use of the web2. Maybe it also discriminates against different learning styles - it seems to favour those who like to have their ideas 'out there' for discussion and feedback. What about learners who like to internalise their thoughts? Love the read what other think!
Sharifa
First of all, I'd like to thank Cathleen for this great topic. It's completing my concept of Social networking when this page is discussing the learning theory and pedagogy
My observation here is fully technical as I'm not involved in teaching:
Last week, we had a social network created for one of Academic departments and the purpose of that is the use 'Web 2.0' just because everybody is using it.. The pilot group was 2 classes from the same department, same year, taught by same teachers and have been given the same orientation session.
One group was totally into the created social networking platform, blogging their first tasks, publishing videos to introduce themselves and commenting on each others' wall 'some comments were just for fun and initializing a communication'
The other group didn't publish any blog in the first two days, no wall comments, no blogging and they didn't seem to be interested in this technology.
Next week, there will be a discussion with this group to get their feedback and to figure out why they were disconnected.
The point is Web 2.0 may not be suitable for all learners, plus, Web 2.0 has to be driven by the learning value, after all, it's the educational value that we are seeking by applying such technologies.
Carmel Stephen, these are really interesting and valid points. I particularly like your question about discrimination. By using Web 2.0 do we discriminating against:
Users with limited skills and experience?...there are many people out there who still have a fear of computers and technology.
Users with access to slow internet connections? This is my group of learners! Many live in isolated areas and do not have broadband. Therefore anything to do with the internet is fraught with frustration.
Students with special needs? I have a student in my class this year who has learning difficulties and because of her specific learning difficulty, online learning and navigating a course (even a clearly structured course,) requires a lot of support.
In my particular organisation there is a big push for us to use Virtual Learning environments with our students. I sometimes think they assume that all students will learn the best this way and that they want to learn this way. My experience is that this is not alwyas the case. Even though I love online and incorporate engaging content into my online courses, encourage online diaglogue and collaboration I find that not all students like to work this way. I strongly encourage online collaboration but have had varied levels of success with this.
I try to cater for all learning styles by providing print down copies of online courses and also provide spoken instructions and videos to cater for different learning styles.
How do others cater for different learning styles when using Web 2.0?
Melinda
Like I said in the section above, there are cultural issues that need to be considered when you ask whether Web 2 applications are for all learners. In short the answer is no. In the Middle East, large parts of Africa and many other places I'm sure, there are cultural barriers to programs like facebook, secondlife and even blogging. Where I live (the UAE) places like Dubai are quite open and 'modern' however on my side of the country it is very conservative. Female students cannot put pictures of themselves and their friends on Facebook. It would bring shame to their family and they would be in a lot of trouble. Killing would not be out of the question...and No I'm not exaggerating. Contact between female and male adults who are not related is not acceptable. Blogs that encourage interraction, web sites where you can meet other people...social networking as a rule is forbidden. That is not to say that it doesn't occur. It does. It just has to be very well hidden.
Thankfully, it is slowly changing. Programs such as MSN Messenger are very popular among the young Emirate population. If their parents knew that they could chat with males / females then it would be a problem, but the young would rebel as youth always do and the cultural stigma diminishes. My hope is that web 2 applications not only bring learners together, but whole societies and even nations. Down off my soapbox now
Web 2 tools that I like ...feel free to add your own.
Cathleen I have not had a lot of experience with Web2.0 tools yet but I found this website that has intrigued me greatly http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/ I hope that it can be of some value to you.
Thanks for the link to that great site Andy. There is some very useful info there. Carmel
Nick There are several Web2.0 sites that I have used in class. One that I particularly like is http://www.wordia.com/. Wordia is an online video dictionay where users upload video definitions of words for others to view. Although some of the definitions are off the wall there are lots of excellent examples. Last year I was experimenting using the video function of mobile phones to get the students to act out or speak definitions of vocabulary items and record them. I intend doing the same and formalising it for assessment. The students will upload their best ones for grading.
Katayoun Thanks Cathleen for the website! I introduced my postgraduate students to Google Notebook to help them work on their team project. Once you download the browser extension, you can collect fully referenced notes from websites and share it with others together with your own comments. This was particularly useful because postgraduate students had limited time available for face-to-face group meetings and their project involved much internet search. Another useful similar, but more powerful tool is Zotero. This is a Firefox extension and helps not only with collecting and citing information from the web, but more importantly, with managing and retrieving it.
Sarah I like Ning as an adaptable social network tool, particularly Classroom 2.0 for education. Its a great way to see how other educators are using Web 2.0 tools. I am 'lurking' in this space more than contributing so far though!
Wordle: Create word clouds. http://www.wordle.net/ I am interested to hear how people would use Wordle for educational purposes?? I love it, it's lots of fun, but, does it have educational value? Is it just a gimmick?
Carmel I have done some reasearch and this is how Wordle can be used for educational purposes..I encourage you to try Wordle. It is a lot of fun. Kids love it (and so do grown ups)
How to use Wordle
Students use it to monitor the frequency of word usage in their own writings.
How often do they use the same nouns or adjectives?
Are they overusing words?
Students can use it to analyse news articles
What is this article about?
What is the message that the author is trying to get across?
Teachers use it for field trip reviews
Have each student generate a list of what they saw and learned on the field trip. Combine the list, copy and paste into Wordle and you have an instant 'What's important list' from the field trip (a wiki would also be good for doing this)
Teachers can create a current events analysis
Copy the RSS feed from popular newsites like Google News and use wordle to give you the hot topics.
Copy the text from a newspaper (online) and use the same way.
What are the students listening to? Copy and paste the lyrics of popular songs into Wordle and find out.
What is important on your school campus? Copy and paste your schools mission statement and vision statements into Wordle and find out.
Self reflection. If you were to write a story about yourself, what would your wordle say?
Mind Mapping I really like mind mapping and I enjoy getting students to utilize it to augment their learning. This is a great site detailing "many" sites for Mind Mapping. Andy. http://www.mind-mapping.org/
Social Bookmarking..very useful for teachers!
Carmel Delicious. http://delicious.com/ Social Bookmarking is particularly useful for teachers as it allows you to keep bookmarked websites organised. You can also share your bookmarks with others. This YouTube video explains exactly how Social Bookmarking works.
Friend or Foe? Taming Facebook for Education explores the usefulness and potential of social networking services such as Facebook in educational contexts. Facebook is an attractive option to explore because is it a very popular place for our students and its platform allows integration of many of social media tools and services such as blogs, video sharing, etc. in one place. In addition, it has some applications such as discussion, blog, and courseFeed, to name a few, that are specifically designed for learning communities.
My favorite Web2.0 technology is social networking. It provides a complete package of the most interesting Web 2.0 tools, all under one roof, such as:
- Blogging (you can write your own topics and post comments on other people's tpics)
- Microblogging (Utilizing the status field)
- Videos (Post and share educational video on a certain topic)
- Photos (
- Discussion threads
- Dynamic and interactive Space for members
To summarise
You are invited to provide a brief summary of the pros and cons of using Web 2.0 in education.
Carmel The most popular Web 2.0 tools used in Education, at present, appear to be blogs and wikis. These tools can be used in a variety of ways to support and enhance educational outcomes. Contributors to this page suggest that these tools, when used appropriately, facilitate a collaborative and learner-centered approach which supports authentic assessment. Web 2.0 applications align with the theories of constructivism and connectivism. This occurs by allowing students to access knowledge by collaboration and social interactions. By using carefully scaffolded tasks and focussed questioning, blogs and wikis can extend and enhance critical thinking skills. Because of the variety of different learning styles, Web 2.0 tools also align with the thoery of multiple intelligences. The idea of peer review and peer moderated discussions (thanks Katayoun) are also valuable educationally and research (Ruey) suggests that peer moderated discussions evoke more meaningful interactions.
On the negative side, the variety of Web 2.0 tools available can be daunting to many educators. Contributors to this page were generally positive about the use of Web 2.0 in education but some expressed reservations. Students sometimes find some of the applications confusing to use. Some conservative, adult groups need a lot of ground work before they are comfortable with using Web 2.0. The issue of discrimination was also brought up (people with learning difficulties, slow internet connections, limited technological skills,....the digital divide?? How real is the digital divide???? Is this why some of my students struggle to cope with online learning?? I will explore this area further.
Garrison, D.(1997). Computer conferencing: The post industrial age of distance education. Open Learning. 12(2), 3–11.
Kehrwald, B. (2008). “Understanding social presence in text-based online learning environments”. Distance Education, 29(1), 89-106. Retrieved August 27, 2008, from Academic Research Library database.
Taylor, J.C. (2001). “The future of learning - Learning for the future: Shaping the transition”. Open Praxis, 2, 20-24.
Contributors to this page: cfeere
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Carmel
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w0060002
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Page last modified on Monday 28 of September, 2009 07:07:48 EST by cfeere .
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Info. 
explores the usefulness and potential of social networking services such as Facebook in educational contexts. Facebook is an attractive option to explore because is it a very popular place for our students and its platform allows integration of many of social media tools and services such as blogs, video sharing, etc. in one place. In addition, it has some applications such as discussion, blog, and courseFeed, to name a few, that are specifically designed for learning communities.
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Carmel
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Wiki
Web 2.0 tools allow me to connect, learn and contribute with a huge network of people and in ways that would not be possible otherwise. On the other hand, there is so much complexity and duplication of tools that I find myself disappearing down Alice's rabbit hole for hours whenever I get online. I'm still looking for the ultimate aggregator site that will make these connections more seamless. Web 3.0 perhaps?