Web 2.0 and Collaborative Learning

Collaborative learning environments have displaced the old-fashioned chalk-and-talk classroom of yesterday. Known by various terms, such as Social Constructivism, social learning and aggregated learning, these collaborative learning environments engage students more fully by allowing them to take an active, social role in constructing knowledge. Parallel to this educational evolution are numerous collaborative developments taking place in the on-line world, most of which are currently being used by students outside the classroom.

New technologies emerging on the Web are transforming it from a location into a social collaborative platform. Known as Web 2.0, these new tools of the Web allow one to be an active on-line participant rather than a casual observer. It behooves educators to investigate these new tools, which our students have already adopted in their personal lives, and to implement them in our classrooms as a natural extension of the collaborative learning environment.

A listing of a few of these Web 2.0 (and other) technologies follows, along with a short description of each:

- Instant Messaging (IM) – Text-based messaging sent via the computer.
- SMS Text – Text messages sent to cell phones.
- Blogs – On-line diaries; where one can easily publish text, photos and videos. Others can post comments to the author’s entries.
- Podcast – An audio-based blog, where the audio file can be downloaded to an mp3 player.
- Vodcast – Similar to a podcast, but delivers video files.
- RSS – Really Simple Syndication allowing one to monitor changes to multiple Web sites, simultaneously.
- Chat – Live group discussion traditionally using text. It has been extended to include audio and video.
- Forums – Text conversations organized by topics and threads. Participation takes place when convenient for the participant, and is not live, as in a chat.
- Wikis - Web sites that are collaboratively updated.
- Content Management Systems (CMS) – On-line group creation of content with workflow control.
- Tags (Taxonomies / Folksonomies) – Informal tagging of content, allowing users to create their own tags, as needed.
- Social Bookmarking – Sharing Keyword tagging with others.
- On-line Games – Multi-user games that require collaboration.
- News Servers – Topic-based news sites allowing open posting and comments.
- Microblogging (Twitter) – Short text updates (with or without external links) to groups of followers.

A common factor among Web 2.0 technologies is their ease of use. Educators and learners remain in control of the educational process by rapidly creating and publishing their own content. By thus enhancing the collaborative learning environment with these, and other, on-line tools, students will become more engaged and learning is improved.

(c) 2009, New Vista Concepts, LLC

Web 2.0 in Education: An Introduction

Over the last few years, our students have begun to use the Web in a dramatically new way. Rather than relying on the static delivery of information, students have enthusiastically embraced the networking and collaborative features of Web sites such as MySpace, Facebook and YouTube, among others. These sites have proven popular with young people because they allow users to form social networks and to exchange ideas. These online capabilities are part of a new paradigm called Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 (pronounced web-two-point-oh) has transformed the Web from a “Read-only” medium to a “Read-Write” environment. These new Web 2.0 tools allow students to collaborate with others, share ideas, create new ideas, and easily publish their thoughts for others to see and improve upon. The popularity of these tools with students is evidenced by the results of a recent national survey where it was discovered that students now split their time nearly equally between interacting online and watching television. (Creating & Connecting/Research and Guidelines on Online Social and Educational Networking, National School Board Association, 2007)

Creative educators across the nation have discovered educational uses for these interactive and student-engaging tools. Some of the positive aspects of these Web 2.0 tools are that many of them are free, and, since they are Web-based, they require no installation. Some negative features are that they are generic, and not especially suited for educational use. Different tools usually have different providers making it difficult to combine tools, as the interface for each depends on the service providing the tool. Student privacy is easily compromised, since anyone can access student work. The open nature of the free tools also makes it nearly impossible to prevent cyber-bullies and online predators from communicating with students.

Due to these negatives, many schools and districts have refused to allow the use of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. However, since students have already embraced these tools to such a large extent in their personal lives, schools would do well to investigate Web 2.0 services which also provide safety and security for their students. The educational benefits that can be derived by providing a Web 2.0 learning environment that students find engaging and challenging should not be quickly overlooked or dismissed.

(c) 2009, New Vista Concepts, LLC