Welcome!

I am a graduate student in the Instructional Technology Department of Utah State University.

This blog represents an assignment in a class about Distance Education. It discusses Web 2.0 as a current and emerging technology that is being used and has the potential to be used for distance education.

Web 2.0 is not really a technology but encompasses technology which is different than the technology that was introduced to the World Wide Web in its infancy and young years. Tim O'Reilly wrote a treatise about Web 2.0 that can be found hereWhat Is Web 2.0? There is another good write-up at Webmonkey.

This blog represents an overview of Web 2.0 and addresses the underpinnings of how we think about technology online. The new design patterns or business models that we encounter in Web 2.0 are what have made new technology fit so well into the halls of education.

It consists of things like blogs, wikis, podcasts, screencasts, vodcasts, and social software and any other new and emerging technology. O'Reilly explains that he noticed the difference after the dot-com debacle. Many companies died out and what remained did so because they changed the way they were doing things. O'Reilly identified Web 2.0 with some of the following terms: An attitude, not a technology; hackability; the long tail; perpetual beta; small things joined together loosely; trust your users; the right to remix "Some rights reserved"; play; software that gets better the more people use it;....

With the changes occurring in the World Wide Web, come changes in the way education is and will be offered.

What is involved in delivering DL with Web 2.0?

Distance learning in most cases, requires that a student have access to a computer and connectivity. Web 2.0 requires that a person has both. It consists of things like social software, wikis, blogs, podcasts, screencasts and anything considered new media. Access is via a url.

Blogs They have unique characteristics that make them more usable for education than a website. They are time-date stamped, in reverse chronological order, utilize archives, allow for interactivity (comments), allow enclosures for podcasts, screencasts, pdf's,and vodcasts.

You do not need to know how to code to build a blog. Unlike a website, you do not have to supply the server and there is no cost involved. Of course, like in all things, you can, if you choose, build your own blogs and use your own server. You could also pay for a blog. But why would you?

They are publishable, instantly, with RSS (Really Simple Syndication). Your students can know immediately if you have published something new on the blog. And if you use blogs as the students platform for work, you can know immediately if they have published something new. There are many blog companies out there. Here I have used http://blogger.com.


Wikis A wiki is a platform in which anyone or just a chosen few can work on a project in a collaborative fashion. It is like a web page accept that it is not static. You can interact. It also makes it easy to upload files such as podcasts, and pictures. It is very intuitive and easy to use. You don't need to know how to code in order to add content. There is also a discussion board on many wikis. One of the many offerings comes from http://pbwiki.com The pb stands for peanut butter, a symbol of ease.

Podcast More and more schools are offering lectures via a podcast. It is an mp3 that is downloadable onto phones, computers, iPods, and/or mp3 players. It allows the student to listen to a lecture asynchronously and repeatedly (if necessary). You need a device to capture sound like an iPod or computer. You will also need software to turn the file into an mp3. Audacity is an opensource software program that many use.

Screencasts Like a podcast, the screencast has an audio component as well as a visual component. You can capture your screen and talk about what you are doing. It makes for a great tutorial, especially for students who do not learn well just by being 'told' how to do something. You will need software loaded onto the computer that is going to be captured. Camtasia does a great job but costs. CamStudio is a opensource software that also does a decent job of recording. And you might need a mic, since most computers do not come with one.

Social Software Much of this software is free . Google maps, Flickr, del.icio.us can be downloaded and used immediately. Social software can be used to build lessons, or used for homework. With maps, the creative uses are almost limitless. Flickr and del.icio.us are sources of networking, research, and finding links to things beyond a search engine.

Are Web 2.0 tools effective in teaching and learning?

Constructing a lesson plan:

A teacher does not have to mess with html. They can post their lessons instantly. Students cannot lose them and parents can always know what is expected of their child. Parents can comment to the teacher or make comments on their childs work.

Not everyone learns by listening. Not everyone learns by reading. With blogs and wikis, you can teach all kinds of learners without extra work. And the beauty is that if a student doesn't get it the first time, they can repeat the lecture until they do.

You can add links to important data that is relative to your class. Replication of effort is being squashed. And with the many opencourseware classes offered on the internet, your student has an opportunity to see the content from different angles, ones that might better fit into their own 'ways of knowing, ways of learning' that you cannot possibly have the time to duplicate just for one student.

In a blog, lessons are time-date stamped and placed in reverse chronological order so that the most recent lesson plan is on the top and viewed first. There is also an archive feature in which past lesson plans can be accessed.

With a wiki, any change made is recorded by who made the change and when they made it. This is an invaluable record for the teacher.


As a platform for a students work:

There is a difference between the types of online communication students use. Most are familiar with email, instant messaging, text messaging and have probably already used a blog (livejournal or mystory). But they use all of these online sources with their own language that, btw (by the way), is developing and proliferating. By bringing the blog and/or wiki into the classroom, you are using their favorite communication tool to teach how to write, how to think in a more 'old world' and 'traditional' way. Some things from the past are extremely valuable, like language. This is an opportunity to blend the two worlds in a very productive way.

Blogs and wikis are unique because they are web pages that are not static. They allow for commentary and feedback. Typically only one person runs them, but they can have multiple authors.

Another change from a typical website is RSS (sometimes that means Really Simple Syndication). You can subscribe to a persons blog and bloggers can subscribe to each other. What this means is that when anyone adds content to their blog, you are immediately notified. In an instant your work is published. Whole communities are forming as a result. Your list or blogroll (members of your community) can be embedded into your blog for all to see. It creates strong networking. If you like the blog you see then you might like the blog that the author likes.

But how is it different for the student? If you have ever written to a forum or discussion board, you realize that your voice can be lost. Emails are only read by who you send them to, same for instant messaging. But a blog/wiki can be read by anyone at anytime and the students name is attached to it. This very knowledge is what has led to students writing better. It gives them a sense of authenticity. They realize that they have a real audience that gives personal feedback. They are not just writing to the teacher but to a known and unknown audience. This causes an awareness that papers written to a teacher never experienced. Results show that students are interested in learning how to write better, not just with spelling and grammar, but with content.

Collaboration has proven to be very effective in engaging a student to learn. Blogs/wikis are a wonderful platform for collaboration. Several students across the room or across the world can work on a project together, simultaneously or not.

The following is one teacher's reaction to using Web 2.0 tools in his classroom:
Drexel

Who is using this technology?

Blogs and wikis have been around for a couple of years. I remember hearing about them, but never took an interest until last summer. I met a teacher who was using them with great success.

They began as a great tool for writing classes. Students, realizing that their work was out there for everyone to see, actually became better writers. Peers can see each others work and learn from each other. All of their work is time stamped.

Then teachers discovered they were great tools on which to post lessons. No paper to waste, no paper to lose. A Wiki could house the syllabus and tutorials as well as serve as a place for communication and collaboration. Parents and students alike can access them.

Next, teachers realized they could put their lectures on a blog or a wiki. What better way for all kinds of learners to learn? Text, audio and with a screencast or video, you have three different ways to reach a student. And, if your students have a problem hearing it the first time, they can listen as many times as they want until they get it.

Students who benefit come from all age groups.

A recent article in USA today lists the following uses:

"University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty member Dan Schmit says an architecture professor recorded a "sound-seeing" tour of campus buildings. Students can use their iPods to walk around campus and listen to the professor's remarks at their leisure.

At the University of Iowa: Paramedic and medical students can watch a video that teaches how to intubate a patient, or insert a tube into the trachea to aid breathing.

Georgia College and State University, Milledgeville: The school is a pioneer in iPod classroom use. Students studying abroad can download music, books and other materials related to their host countries.

Drexel University, Philadelphia: School of Education freshmen received free iPods. A chemistry professor conducts lectures as podcasts and uses lecture times for workshops." USA Today

But those of you who are teachers of k-12 are probably saying, yeah, that's great for universities but what about us? I do not know of media hyping its use, but it is out there. This is where it is your turn to get on a good search engine and find them. We have taken Derek Sorenson's class and built a blog and wiki which teaches his 7th graders about these tools. Use this same unit plan. Then create a lesson or two and contact me web2geek@gmail.com I am doing research on the effects of their use in the classroom.

Social Bookmarking-can lead to embellishing a class or the focus of a class in any grade.

What about Copyright and Web 2.0?

Web 2.0 is about hackability and remixing things. It is an attitude change about our work. Opensource and opencode are banners that wave above Web 2.0.

Along with all that is great with Web 2.0, came Creative Commons. Lawrence Lessig, a professor at Stanford Law School and the founder of the Stanford Center for Internet and Society, chairs a project called Creative Commons which offers an alternative to copyright. Check it out. See how you can begin using it in your work.

What is the Future of Web 2.0?

In the immediate future, as the tools of Web 2.0 catch on and research proves just how valuable they are as teaching and learning tools, their use will increase.

But I see a battle forming. At the school where UCET (Utah Coalition for Educational Technology) housed their recent conference, there were signs on the walls and rumors in the halls that there was a war waging against these technological elements in the classroom.

What possible reason would a teacher or administrator have against these valuable learning tools?

I suppose if you were grounded in the 'old ways' you would see them as distractions, getting in the way of learning, instead of being used for learning.

I suppose if you kept wanting students to conform to the past instead of allowing them to keep their feet in the present, you would force them to see technology as a play thing to be left at home and not integrateable into their educational selves.

I suppose if you were numb or angry at technology for its years of immaturity and lack of intuitiveness, you would not be likely to try again, just one more time.

And I suppose there are those who see anything so likeable by the students (iPods, blogs, computer games) must have a down side and CANNOT be valuable as a learning tool.

There are many reasons why some prefer to ignore what is happening in the technological world. But if you ever dreamed of what a revolution in education would actually look like - hold on to your seats - because you are in the midst of one right now.

A question being asked repeatedly by teachers is "If I offer my lectures and lessons online, why would the student come to class?" Exactly. Why would anyone come to class? I think this is more about the threatening nature of 'teaching as we once knew it' evolving into 'teaching as we have never known it.' And it is evolving into teaching that really teaches.

It is going to happen, whether you buy into it or not. Teaching is changing and the tools of Web 2.0 are just one small piece of that change.

From USA Today, Apple's Joswiak says: "I'd be lying to you if I said we had all this blueprinted. Time and time again, we've learned if you give students and teachers the right tools, they're going to figure out ways to exceed your expectations.

Think about the terms that O'Reilly used on a "meme map" about Web 2.0: Hackability, perpetual beta, the long tail, an attitude not a technology; data as the Intel inside; the right to remix; some rights reserved; emergent user behavior not predetermined; rich user experience; trust your users; small pieces loosely joined; granular accessibility of content; play; and software that gets better as people use it.