Many people believe that the internet has evolved into a second phase, known as web 2.0. This new version encompasses a variety of services and software that are transforming the web from a "read only" medium to one that empowers anyone to publish, share content, and collaborate effortlessly with others.
The educational sector is no exception to the impact of this "new" web. Teachers have started exploring how blogs, media-sharing services, and other social software can be used to create exciting learning opportunities that are not primarily designed for e-learning. These resources can also facilitate the sharing and discussion of innovative ideas among educators, leading to the spreading of good practices.
An example of the use of a blog in education is the Musselburgh Grammar School’s Paris-Normandy 2006 travel weblog. This blog is updated daily and allows parents and others in the school community to follow the students’ trip to France. Additionally, visitors to the site can leave comments, usually sending messages of encouragement to the group. The blog is powered by the commercial blogging service TypePad and demonstrates the potential of blogging to engage students, parents, and the school community.
Another useful web service for teaching and learning is Flickr. This platform allows users to publish and discuss digital photography as well as find images relevant to a particular subject for use in coursework. An interesting feature of Flickr is the ability to add annotations to an image. This functionality has been used by the Fashion Institute of Technology’s director of distance learning to enable her students to annotate and discuss paintings as part of an online art history course.
Video blogging is another technique that has been introduced to AS media studies students at Long Road sixth form college in Cambridge. They were asked to research and produce a three-minute video blog entry on any new media technology of their choice. These productions were uploaded and published on the video-sharing website YouTube, where they could be viewed and commented on by the wider YouTube community. Students then republished their videos on their own Blogger-based class weblog. This approach was highly motivating for the students, who threw themselves into the task with gusto.
Sharing innovative approaches in education is becoming increasingly common as a result of the utilization of various web 2.0 applications and services. Teachers, in particular, are using these tools to collaborate with one another and to showcase their imaginative approaches. Josie Fraser, an educational tech specialist and avid blogger (check out her blog at http://fraser.typepad.com/edtechuk), has designed an online list of UK-based instructors who are curious about how blogs can be utilized to support learning (find it at www.camaban.co.uk/wiki), using the wiki software to enable individuals to add their profiles to the directory or make changes to previous ones.
Fraser also played a role in organizing the first-ever UK gathering that focused on the use of blogs in education (visit: http://incsub.org/edublog/), which occurred earlier this month. Fraser states, "Thanks to blogs, literacy is undergoing a renaissance as a new crop of learners are now opened up to the possibilities of reading, writing, and communicating in various contexts."
Additionally, a large number of individuals featured in the “edu-bloggers” directory contributed to a free-of-charge e-book, edited by Terry Freedman, that was recently released. The book, named "Coming of Age: An Introduction to the New Worldwide Web,” provides practical advice on different web 2.0 phenomena, including blogs, wikis, and podcasting. Furthermore, it includes several instances of how these new tools are being used for educational purposes. You can download the e-book for free at http://fordlog.com/?p=98.
To summarize, sharing good practice has never been this easy, thanks to web 2.0 technology, which has enabled teachers to share their innovative educational approaches and collaborate with their colleagues. Fraser’s online directory of UK educators who are interested in how weblogs can support learning, the recent UK conference on weblog use in education, and the free e-book edited by Terry Freedman are just a few examples of how web 2.0 is being used for educational purposes.
