All about Web 2.0
The Web has been rapidly evolving from a place to consume content to a more interactive modality which emphasizes collaboration, user-created content, and interconnectivity. Commonly referred to as Web 2.0, this emerging iteration of the Web is making it ever easier for students to connect with external audiences and make their learning public. In this TLC session, we explored the variety of ways Web 2.0 tools and communities are being used to publish student projects and assignments. We also looked at some of the pedagogical, social, and privacy issues associated with making student learning public.
Web 1.0:
- Consuming content
- Users read, listen
- Lecture modes of teaching
Web 2.0:
- Internet as a means of communication, content creation, collaboration
- Users write, create media, interact with other users, participate in learning networks
- Active, constructivist teaching and learning
A New Type of Student
Millennials are folks born between between 1982 and 2000. By 2010 they will outnumber both baby boomers and Generation Xers. Technology has always been a part of their lives—how they communicate, how they work, how they play.
Millennial characteristics:
- Gravitation toward group activities
- Belief that it's cool to be smart
- Being enthralled with new technologies
- Being racially diverse
- Multitasking as a way of life
With technology:
- Computers aren't technology
- High percentage use the Internet for school, work, leisure—the Internet is better than TV
- Consider themselves more internet-savvy than their teachers
- Trial and error primarily used for learning rather than logical, rule-based approach to solving problems
- Staying connected is vital
New possibilities for Teaching and Learning:
- Increasing ability to connect with external learners and experts
- Increasing ability to present multi-faceted content and perspectives in concept and media
- Access to authentic audiences
- Tools for creating video/audio are getting easier all the time—creating video will soon be as basic as typing
- Intriguing research shows that active learning occurs when a learner integrates both verbal and visual processes into a coherent model
New Online Tools
Making Student Learning Public with Collaboration
Wikis—online collaborative spaces
Robin Rider's class, Final Project:
http://uwbeduc591.pbwiki.com/
Amrit Zahir's class, Building and Presenting Small Group Projects:
http://4thgradesocialstudies.pbwiki.com/
Google Docs—group projects and collaboration
http://docs.google.com/
Network and Community Building
Social Bookmarks—saving bookmarks to a public website
Delicious, Art Resources:
http://del.icio.us/
Social Networks—profiles, public commentary & social connections
Ning:
http://ning.com/
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/
Media Rich Content
Tech Portfolios—an example
http://dowling.carlene.googlepages.com/home
Digital Storytelling—an example
Voice Threads—collaborative online conversations around images, documents and videos
http://voicethread.com/
Connecting with Authentic Audiences
Blogs—personal online journals
Podcasts—media files distributed via the Web
http://aspengler.edublogs.org/
Literacy Vignettes
http://dawsona9.googlepages.com/vignette
View Making Student Learning Public: All About Web 2.0 Powerpoint presentation>>