Pgartland Ed6620 Final

Web 2.0 for Teaching and Learning

Running Head: Web 2.0 for Teaching and Learning

Using Web 2.0 Applications for Teaching & Learning: Theory, Applications and Practical Usage

Paul Gartland, 200788362 Memorial University of Newfoundland Education 6620

Dr. George Haché

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Introduction The Internet has undergone considerable growth and changes since first coming into the public mainstream in the 1990s. Although the infrastructure upon which the early days of Internet were built had existed decades earlier, it wasn’t until CERN (a European organization that did experiments in particle physics) published Tim Berners-Lee’s work on the World Wide Web in 1991 (Wikipedia 2009). Less than twenty years on, we are in the age of Web 2.0, a World Wide Web that allows the average user to take an active part in contributing and sharing information and ideas via technologies that have developed since the introduction of the first web browsers. One of the features of the Web 2.0 age is that individual users have taken on great significance, in that they are able to upload and share audio, video, text and images – easily and quickly. The ease with which users can share, collaborate and communicate using the latest Web 2.0 tools provide an opportunity to educators to leverage these technologies to enhance teaching. As noted by John Thompson (Thompson 2008), Web 2.0 applications allow users to engage in the construction and betterment of the World Wide Web; it is based on the “architecture of participation”. This paper will examine the some of the social tools available to teachers and students, the underlying learning theories related to their use, and safety issues associated with using Web 2.0 applications in the classroom. Learning Theories and Web 2.0

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Today’s students are part of the ‘digital age’, and they have access to information like never before. In addition to being able access to a seemingly endless amount of information, they also have the capacity to form connections with communities of individuals using a variety of social applications found in the Web 2.0 environment. Terry Anderson (Anderson 2008) proposes that in any online learning environment, a variety of theories can be part of developing effective online learning experiences. From behaviourist approaches for dissemination of factual information to constructivist approaches, no one learning theory should be used exclusively in designing effective learning opportunities. Within the realm of social software applications, an interesting developing theory is George Siemens’ connectivism. Siemens’ (Siemens 2004) principles of connectivism are closely associated with the capabilities of social software applications, namely the building of knowledge based on communities of learners and the nodes of connections that they make. The nodes that can be found within a larger network are the main concept that forms the connectivist framework. Two or more nodes are connected in order for resources and knowledge to be shared. This knowledge can be stored in a variety of digital formats, and it is distributed across the networks that form the basis of connectivism (Kop and Hill 2008). Also closely associated with the inherent qualities of Web 2.0 social software application is the well-established constructivist learning theory. Again, as with the developing connectivist learning theory, the characteristics of constructivist theory are well-suited to fit instructional design using Web 2.0 applications. Paramount to this argument is how constructivists explain the learning process. Learning, following constructivist theory, is very much a social experience, in which meaning is created by the individual based on engagement and participation and constructing new knowledge using past experiences mixed with the new. One of the arguments

Siemens’ makes in support of connectivism is that a connectivist approach is appropriate for complex and rapidly changing contexts of learning (Siemens 2008). Web 2.0 Applications as Tools for Learning Students in today’s classrooms may not realize that the applications they use so frequently have the Web 2.0 moniker, for them and many others, these are just applications that allow them to engage and connect with others. Most accept that the origin of the term Web 2.0 surfaced in 2005, when Tim O’Reilly published his paper “What is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software” (Christopher 2007). In the scope of changing technologies and the ‘next big thing’, four years seems like ages ago, but in practical terms, students who started secondary school in grade seven in 2005 have not yet graduated from high school – and they have spent all of their secondary years as Web 2.0 users. Web 2.0 applications and tools are server-based rather than desktop-based. This is precisely that which makes the social connections possible, and learning to be collaborative. The students who use these applications have the ability to create the content, and improve upon the content that already exists (Rapoza 2006). In effect, students are active participants in ongoing review and revision of their (their peers’) work. Applications & Tools When discussing the Web 2.0 applications that can be used for teaching and learning, they should fit the curricular needs of the students. Certainly, there are some highly entertaining and socially engaging applications available online, but how educationally appropriate they are must be considered carefully.

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Facebook and MySpace In many school districts, including Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board, social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace are blocked using software at the Board level. But can these social networking applications be useful educationally, especially at the secondary level? Facebook statistics (http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics) indicate that there are over 175 million active users who spend collectively over 3 billion minutes using Facebook on a daily basis. This is a part of life for a significant number of people. In fact, a survey of 9-17 year olds in the United States found that 71% of them used Facebook or MySpace at least weekly (Unknown 2008). The answer to the question posed earlier is ‘yes’ – these applications can be useful educationally – but must be considered carefully, as the risks may outweigh the rewards. Further, there may be alternatives to using these highly popular social networking applications to foster the communication and collaboration that is viewed as essential to learning using these Web 2.0 tools. Other Web 2.0 applications and tools are much more inviting and innocuous than the wildly popular Facebook and MySpace, and may have significantly more educational value. Specifically, applications such as Google (with Docs, Maps, Earth and so on) and categories of Web 2.0 tools such as wikis, blogs, social bookmarking, media sharing and other collaborative tools can be easily adapted by teachers to meet curriculum outcomes using the technologies to which students have become accustomed. Collaborative Applications

Google is so pervasive that the word itself is often used as a verb. “I just Googled it” and ‘Why don’t you Google it?” are phrases that make up everyday discussion when it comes to searching for information online. But for learning online, Google has a host of Web 2.0 tools that can be leveraged for teaching. Google Docs (http://docs.google.com) is a set of free, online productivity applications that includes a word processor and spreadsheet that facilitate collaboration amongst users due to its web-based functionality. Users can co-edit documents and use synchronous chat to discuss changes to a document or the direction a document may go. Where cooperative learning is concerned, Google Docs is an appropriate tool to integrate technology available to anyone with an Internet connection. It fits the constructivist and connectivist approach to learning through the social networking that is characteristic of collaborative work. Google Docs can be used in all subject areas for discussion of ideas and opinions and for publishing written work. There is no dependence on proprietary software such as the Microsoft Office or WordPerfect suites of software (to which there are Open Source alternatives), and emailing revised attachments to members of a working group. The document itself is stored on a server, accessed only by permitted users and revisions are tracked. Google Docs supports images and mathematical notations facilitating the delivery of media rich and subject specific documents. Spreadsheets can be used to collect data from a wide range of users, working together to construct knowledge that may not otherwise efficient (Oliver 2007). Other collaborative applications for online document sharing and revising are similar to the word processor available in Google Docs, in that the document can be created and shared amongst users, who then go about editing and creating meaning from the collective wisdom. DoingText (www.doingtext.com) is a free rudimentary collaborative document application, while another, EtherPad (www.etherpad.com), has a free and subscription services available. One

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interesting application that teachers of English Language Arts may find interesting is called Protagonize (www.protagonize.com). This particular application allows users to post their creative writing, and have a community of users make comments, suggestions or even add branches to the original work. Scribd (www.pdfcoke.com) allows users to read, share and comment on a wide variety of community-created publications. Wikis & Blogs Probably the best known wiki is Wikipedia, which is a community created and edited online encyclopedia. The word wiki itself comes from the Hawaiian word wiki-wiki which means quick (Rubenking and Dragan 2003). Quickly, is the best way to describe how wikis pages (which are basic web pages) can be created and edited by a user community. Wikis uses very simple syntax to link to other pages that evolve from an originating page. The knowledge that is constructed from using wikis is built from the ‘ground’ up. From a learning theory perspective, wikis are social-constructivist in nature. Wikis are dynamic, in the sense that the knowledge constructed by their users is changing, as the participants who are collaborating on a topic revise, edit and seek clarification from the community. Through collaboration in the wiki, understanding is gained through the “perceptions of reality” constructed by the knowledge sharing of the group (Caverly and Ward 2008). This notion that understanding is formed through the participants’ active “collaboration and consensus” (Melhuish 2008) lends wikis to educators as a powerful teaching tool. The use of wikis (and indeed other Web 2.0 tools) in an education context extends the classroom to include a potentially huge network of individuals, each with the potential to add to the construction of meaning. Wikis are highly learner-centered, and the interactions between

students produce authentic learning opportunities within a constructivist framework (Siegle 2008). Educators can design learning opportunities to take full advantage of wikis to create meaningful group activities. Blogs are closely related to wikis in the sense that they are basically web pages that are easily edited by users. Blogs can be considered more a reflective type of application, as generally blogs contain an individual’s opinions or ideas, about which others can make comments through a threaded series of postings. Blogs are simple to create and maintain, and are a very comfortable entry point for Web 2.0 users, as they have great resemblance to discussion forums, which are still widely used in education. Wikis and Blogs afford educators the ability to support a constructive learning environment that addresses four “centrisms” (Higdon and Topaz 2009).

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Figure 2

There are a number of free services that can allow users to create their own wikis and blogs without installing any software. Blogger (www.blogger.com) is a free service from Google that allows users to create an account and begin the web log in a word processor-like user interface. Wikispaces (www.wikispaces.com) offers free wiki hosting to educators, as well as free basic wiki account services to other users. WikiDot (www.wikidot.com) also has free limited-feature user accounts. For the more adventurous, or to control from within a school’s or Board’s network, blogging software such as Word Press (www.wordpress.org) is an Open Source application that has multi-user features to facilitate classroom use. MediaWiki, upon which Wikipedia runs, is also an Open Source application, which can be installed on a web server. Social Bookmarking

Delicious was first on the social bookmarking scene, coming online in 2003. The premise of social bookmarking is that the user community will ‘tag’ their saved bookmarks using a web-based application. The bookmarks can be shared or kept private. In addition to the del.icio.us service (which is free), there are a number of other social bookmarking sites. Furl (http://www.furl.net/) is a similar save/share/explore database of tagged websites maintained by the user community. Like many other Web 2.0 applications, these tags allow the user community to categorize and organize information from the grassroots level. This organization based on user ‘tagging’ is referred to as a folksonomy (Snipes 2007). The folksonomy of ‘tagging’ provides a user-driven categorization of information available electronically. These site are very simple to use, and it is quite easy to import bookmarks directly from popular web browsers like Internet Explorer and Firefox, so once registered users can make their PC-based bookmarks portable (and sharable) on their social bookmarking site of choice. One of the obvious implications for educators is the collaborative information organizing activities in which students can participate. As an alternative, teachers can collect and tag bookmarks so students will have a safe and reviewed starting point for information seeking. Social Brainstorming Graphics organizers can be used by students to help develop cognitive processes, such as thinking and analysis skills (Lambert and Carpenter 2005). The use of graphical organizers is a fairly common practice in classrooms by using existing software such as Inspiration (www.inspiration.com) or by using features in commercial and Open Source productivity suites of software, for example Open Office (www.openoffice.org). With all Web 2.0 applications, sharing and collaboration is a main feature. Bubbl.us (www.bubbl.us) provides concept web

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features found in desktop applications, but makes them available online with user registration. This allows individuals and groups to share their ideas and collaborate in the construction of their ideas, or demonstration of their knowledge.

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A simple concept web, such as the one shown in Figure 2, can be created in a few minutes using a web browser. If users have accounts with the Bubbl.us website, their work can be shared. Safety and Privacy Schools cannot guarantee online safety for students, so may find themselves blocking websites such as Facebook, MySpace and so on. However, in some schools and school districts Web 2.0 tools are being blocked as well, creating a “digital divide” (Rosenfeld 2008). When the social tools of Web 2.0 are blocked, it means that students and teachers cannot use the applications that have legitimate and powerful educational use. There is no doubt that Facebook and MySpace have been implicated in cases of school bullying, and it has been reported by the Canadian Teacher Federation that cyber-bullying is the leading non-academic classroom issue today (Louise 2007). Certainly there are valid concerns about the bullying, predation, slander and harassment that occurs in social networking environments, but there can be rewards that

outweigh the risks (Couros 2008). Using alternatives to the popular Facebook and MySpace which permit teachers and schools control over the content and users is one way to take advantage of the potential of social networking in education. In order to make best use of Web 2.0 social software, collaboration and sharing must occur. The website applications discussed in this paper require that some form of user registration occur to store data online and to enable the sharing features. In most cases, users must supply their own user name and password, as well as an email address for verification. Providing such information is generally innocuous, however, all involved must be aware of the legislative implications of sharing personal information, as well as the level of control teachers and schools will have over the use of the applications in educational settings. Conclusion New applications seem to appear on the Internet almost daily, all vying to be the next best thing, the killer app. It is not possible to have familiarity with all of the Web 2.0 applications currently online, nor is it necessary. What is suggested of teachers, is that one explores Web 2.0 technologies and applications, and determine how these technologies can be integrated to improve teaching and student learning. There is great opportunity to apply established and developing learning theory using Web 2.0 applications. Given the current capabilities of these applications, they can certainly augment existing single-user applications that are locally installed on PCs, and in some cases can replace the individually-installed applications. What the Web 2.0 applications of the ‘read and write’ internet do better than those of the isolated workstation, is that they facilitate learning in social contexts. Learning in social contexts is not a novel idea, however, being able to do so in a

Web 2.0 for Teaching and Learning technology-rich environment with the constraints of time and place being minimized has only been possible in the past few years. It is important for us to be open to using Web 2.0 applications in education, using educational theory as a guideline to provide meaningful and authentic learning experiences.

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References http://www.techlearning.com/article/8468http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/conne ctivism.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet