STEPHANIE C JESS P

ELISE L

WEEK 4 LITERATURE GROUP

WEB2.0 FOR

LEARNING

Wiki: Hawaiian word for ‘quick’

WIDE OPEN SPACES

Ward Cunningham – 1995The first wikis were extremely minimalist – the aim was openness and simplicity (Lamb, 2004 p.38).

The inventor of wikis

Anyone can contribute to, edit or delete from wikis – so normal copyright laws don’t apply

Wikis are hugely simplified – even the most untechnical person can do it (simplified HTML)

Since everything can be altered, traditional ideas about ‘authorship’ and ‘ownership’ are out the window.

Content ‘cloning’ (plagiarism) is acceptable in most cases

Wiki pages are ordered by context, links in and out, categories and concepts (Lamb, 2004 p.38)

THE MAIN THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

WIKIS

Bulletin boards Developing the ideas of a group Making lists that constantly update Collecting links to relevant pages Support meeting planning

Some common uses for wikis

People new to wikis generally don’t trust the wider community to take care of their work

Soft-security – the idea that the community polices the system, not the technology

Emails or RSS alerts can be set up to alert people to page edits

It’s usually as easy as the click of a mouse to remove offending/useless contributions

“The software makes no attempt to add ‘process’ in order to keep people from doing stupid things” (Shirkey, 2003)

“If anybody can edit my text, then anybody can ruin my text”

(Lamb, 2004 p.40)

Used to order? Forget being led around the site by the hand. Chaos reigns on wiki pages, at least the untrained user.

How to navigate a wiki• Follow links in and out of the page• Use the search box!• View the list of ‘recent changes’• Think of it as a ‘plot your own adventure’ course

“Where is everything?”

(Lamb, 2003, p.42)

Being creative with the format and colouring of wikis is often not the main goal. Many tend to be plain; even boring to look at. This is the homepage of Teaching Wiki (http://teachingwiki.org), which shows more imagination.One application that can be used to beautify your wiki is Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) (Lamb, 2004 p.44).

Wikis: from uglified to beautified

Supports writing instruction Cheap, effective communication tool Encourages reading, revising and tracking of drafts

(Lamb, 2004 p.44) Discourages “product oriented writing” (Lamb, 2004

p.44) Provides students with practise in writing for others Teaches them “networking literacy: writing in a

distributed, collaborative environment” (Lamb, 2004 p.45)

Wikis in the classroom

Assessment: who wrote what? Policing editing – respecting other’s work Letting students have control of the content – teacher

letting go of total control Student autonomy over the process

Educational challenges

3 main schemes used by wiki communities:1. CommunityCopyright – individual has rights over work

while letting it be edited in the wiki space2. PublicDomain – anyone who contributes to the wiki

space relinquishes all copyright (PrimarilyPublicDomain assumes same policy except when an individual chooses to assert copyright)

3. Copyleft – allows anyone to use the content of the wiki for their own means as long as the copies or edited copies are released under the same copyright licence as the original (Lamb, 2004 p.46)

Intellectual property (IP): who owns what?

Read/Write Web:The Read/Write is another name for

WEB2.0.

WEB 2.0 is the internet as we know it today. Specifically referring to applications which allow information sharing and the user centred design. It also allows the user to communicate with each other, creating an online community.

Examples include; blogs, wikis, social networking sites, podcasts, video sharing sites

In recent years the internet has become more than just a read only resource. Users of the Internet can now publish their own writing with great ease, Read/Write web. This has provided teachers and students with many new opportunities to express themselves, changing they we see literacy. Teachers need to consider how the curriculum can adapt now that there are new and easily accessible ways that students can express their literacy skills on the web.

The Educators Guide to the

Read/Write Web…

BLOGS: can be used in the classroom as a means for students express critical thinking and writing skills. Classroom portals can be created to share opinions and create an interactive learning space amongst students.

WIKIS: Students and Teachers can work together to create a class wiki in which they collaborate learning and provide annotated links to learning resources.

REALLY SIMPLE SYNDICATION (RSS) FEEDS: Can be used in the classroom to broaden the scope of readings and research, rather than relying on out of date textbooks.

PODCASTING: Teachers can use podcasting as a way to encourage students to record oral presentations, present information for assignments or even give the children the freedom to present a weekly class news program.

These digital tools can help allow students to work collaboratively outside of the classroom as well as in the classroom.

Ways which web tools can be used in the classroom

The ability to read a write is a core ability which is central to learning but students need to be taught how to participate, understand and exchange ideas online.

The teachers role has shifted from the sole provider of information to them guiding students and show them how to find resources on the web. Students need to be taught how to locate information and identify/evaluate if a piece of writing is reputable .

Schools as a whole and teachers need to think through safety issues when using the web. Issues such as how widely students publish their work on the web and the connection of students names with the work they publish. Students also need to be taught how to deal with inappropriate content.

Challenging traditional pedagogy

EDUBLOGOSPHERE: Teachers are starting to explore the potential of blogs, media-sharing services and other social software.

E-learning has the potential to be far more “personal, social and flexible”.

E-Learning :◦ Traditional approach: Virtual Learning

environments ◦ E-learning 2.0: Combines the use of discrete but

complementary tools and web services, to support the creation of ad-hoc learning communities.

2.0 WEB TECHNOLOGIES ON EDUCATION

BLOGGING:- Provides personal space online to: pose questions, publish in-

progress work, link to and comment on other web sources.- The ‘journal’ format encourages students to record their thinking

over time.- Removes the technical barriers to writing and publishing online. - Allows critical feedback- commenting.- Can incorporate different voices- teachers, students, subject

specialistsEDUBLOGGING EXAMPLES:- School student council blog- Teacher subject specialists provide up-to-date information and

commentary PODCASTING:- provides a way of pushing educational content to learners.- provides students with a sense of audience.- More motivated to podcast as skills required seem 'relevant' to

today's world.- Apple is heavily marketing the ipod and associated content

creation tools (iMovie, GarageBand, and iTunes).EDUCATIONAL PODCASTING EXAMPLES:- Stanford iTunes University

MEDIA SHARING:FLICKR-provides images for use in presentations, learning materials

or coursework.- Easily accessible due to creative commons licensing- Students publish their digital photography to a wider audience,

commenting function on Flickr allows for critical feedback.YOUTUBE: - Moves away from the traditional. Enables the viewing of videos on a

range of subjects.- Used for projects eg: Students to create and produce short video to

be published to YouTube community.

DOPA and SOCIAL NETWORKING:- Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) 2006- bans the use of

commercial social networking websites in US schools. Restrictions on the educational potential of such websites.

SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITES: “allows users to create web pages or profiles that provide information about themselves and are available to other users; and offers a mechanism for communication with other users, such as a forum, chat room, email, or instant messenger."

1. Listen to a conference presentation.2. Record a 10-minute presentation about something you are working

on or learning about, using audio ‘Odeo’ or Video ‘Ustream’- post in your blog.

3. Do a search on the title of your most recent post.4. Write a blog post or article describing something you've learned

recently.5. Tidy your e-portfolio- eg upload slides to ‘Slideshare’ and audio to

‘odeo’.6. Create a slide on Zoho.7. Find a blogger you currently read in your RSS reader and go to their

website.8. Write a comment on a blog post by an e-learning researcher or

practitioner.9. Go to a website like ‘Engadget’, ‘Mixx’, or ‘Mashable’ and skip

through the items.10. Catch up on one of your online games with a colleague.

Ten Web 2.0 Things You Can Do in Ten Minutes to Be a More Successful E-

learning Professional

Downes, S. eLearn Magazine. Ten Web 2.0 Things You Can Do in Ten Minutes to Be a More Successful E-learning Professional. Retrieved from source 23rd March 2011. n.d.

Lamb, B (2004). Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not. EDUCAUSE Review, 39 (5), 36–48. Last accessed 17th August 2008 from: http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/WideOpenSpacesWikisReadyo/40498?time=1218970952

O’Hear, S. Read Right Web. e-learning 2.0 – how Web technologies are shaping education. Retrieved from source: 23rd March 2011. 8th August, 2006.

Richardson . W. (2006). The educator's guide to the read/write web. Educational Leadership, 1, 24-27.

Various authors, “Why Wiki Works,” WikiWikiWeb, <http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?WhyWikiWorks>; Clay Shirky, “Wikis, Graffiti, and Process,” Many-To-Many: Social Software, August 26, 2003, http://www.corante.com/many/20030801.shtml#50187.

References