A Survey of A Survey of Web 2.0 Technologies for Web 2.0 Technologies for Online Classroom LearningOnline Classroom Learning

CSM Third AnnualRegional Conference

Les Pang, PhD, MBA, CISSPProgram Director and Collegiate Professor University of Maryland University College

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Agenda• What is Web 2.0?• Background/Classroom Experiences

– Wikis– Blogs– Social Networks– Podcasting/RSS Feeds– Video-sharing sites

• Future• Conclusions

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Definition of Web 2.0

Web 1.0 = personal web sites which were static in nature

Web 2.0 = “the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.” - Tim O’Reilly

Characteristics: Sharing, collaboration, participatory, community-based, Internet-based hosting services

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What is a Wiki?

• A set of web pages designed to enable anyone with access to contribute or modify content

• Wiki “farms” include Wikia, Wikispaces, WetPaint, and PBWiki.

Wikis in Plain English http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY

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Using Wikis in the Classroom

• Students – Group research reports and other group writing assignments– Student portfolios – Literature circles– Science projects– Proposal development

• Instructors – Collaboration on teaching techniques – Collaborative textbooks – Grant requests– Task management among various instructors and administrators (e.g.,

curriculum development)

Classroom ExperienceAssignment:

“You are part of a team in charge of hiring a CIO for your organization and must develop a job announcement for the position. Define the skills, knowledges and abilities that a CIO should have. Identify other attributes you would look for in a qualified candidate. You MUST frame your response in terms of language contained in a typical job announcement. This is a ***class collaborative project*** utilizing our wiki at:

 

http://itec610spring2008.wikispaces.com/CIO+Job+Vacancy+Announcement

 

No length requirements. Be sure to ***INTEGRATE*** your submission with the body of the job announcement or you will not receive credit. Also, duplicate entries do not receive credit. This is an unsupervised project (no input from me). It is not necessary to tell me here if you posted something. I can tell if you contributed within the wiki.”

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Classroom Experience

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Classroom Experience• Benefits

– “Collaboration - synergy – innovation” flow– Avoid having multiple versions of the same document or project– Global and convenient exchange of ideas– Ability to easily revert to a previous version

• Drawbacks – Arguments over content– Learning curve– Not the right format for presentation slides, project management

purposes, graphics, and others. – Authentication– Vandals

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What is a Blog?

• A web page made up of usually short, frequently updated posts that are arranged (in reverse chronological order).

• Blogging sites include Blogger, WordPress, Blog.com or LiveJournal.

Blogs in Plain English - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKcqge8SvzQ

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Using Blogs in the Classroom

• Commentary / News

• Ideas• Photos• Poetry• Mini-essays• Project updates• Fiction• Media• Education (http://

edublogs.org/)

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Classroom Experience• Reflective Learning Journal = a

piece of writing which allows students to record thoughts and insights about their own learning experience.

– Encourages students to review and consolidate learning, to evaluate performance, to plan future learning based on past learning experience.

– Students become capable of taking charge of their own learning, and eventually to develop into independent life long learners.

(Source: http://www.polyu.edu.hk/learn-to-learn/teacher/_contents/htm/g17_journal.

htm)

Classroom Experience

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Classroom Experience• Benefits 

– Establish rapport with students

– Monitor student progress continuously

– Identify issues and challenges

– Behavior modification

• Disadvantages

– Student buy-in

– Technical challenge for some students

– Minimal effort by students

– Some students get carried away

– Grading

– Disputes among students and flaming

– Workload is heavier

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What is a Social Network?

• A social network service site serves an online community of internet users. These community members often share a common interest or activity such as hobbies, religion, or politics.

• Examples: FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Ning

Do Your Own Ning Thing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IJJXxc717s

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Using Social Networks in the Classroom

• Students/Instructors – Exposure to online communities– Collaboration/sharing– Maintenance of relationships

Classroom ExperienceAssignment:

Each student was assigned to create their own social network site using a tool called Ning. This tool provides a group website, a photo, music and video library, a blog, and other features. The assignment is described below:

 

“We will create a social network using Ning at: http://www.ning.com

 

Select a theme. An example I created is at: http://edtech100.ning.com/

 

Also, comment on this experience and/or discuss the implications of social networks. NOTE: You can keep in touch with your classmates forever using your Ning Site!”

 

The learning objective of this assignment was for the student to understand the nature and impact of social networks by forming an online community.

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Classroom Experience

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Classroom Experience

• Benefits– Establish and maintain new

relationships with like-minded individuals

– Outlet for creativity– Offers a wide range of activities

• Drawbacks – Some consider these sites as a time-

consuming diversion – Privacy issues– Stalkers and bullies– Hackers (such as the propagation of

cross-site scripts and worms)

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What is a Podcasting and RSS?

Podcasting = a method of publishing audio/video files to the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed and receive new files automatically by subscription.

RSS = Really Simple Syndication = technology that notifies users every time content is updated on a particular site.

Example: iTunes U

Podcasting in Plain English - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-MSL42NV3cGoogle Reader in Plain English - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSPZ2Uu_X3Y(RSS Reader)

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Podcasting in the Classroom

• Students – Prepare rich and creative

multimedia presentations (audio/video)

– Create radio and TV shows– Watch at anytime, anywhere

• Instructors – Archive lectures for students

missing live presentation– Online class lectures– Posting assignments– Collaborating with colleges

(iTunes University)

Classroom Experience

Assignment:

Create a podcast using podOmatic (http://www.podomatic.com) on your field trip experience or campus life.

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Classroom Experience

• Benefits– Creativity and innovation– High student interest– Honed student planning and design

skills

• Drawbacks – Learning curve– Equipment and software needed– Time consuming

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What are Video Sharing Sites?

• Web sites where people can view, upload and share video clips. Visitors are encouraged to upload their own videos. There is no charge for viewing or downloading these videos.

• Examples: YouTube, Google Video, Teacher Tube.

Example of Teacher Tube video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxPXlANmllE

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Video Sharing in the Classroom

• Students 

– Include videos in any classroom assignment (e.g., online discussion boards, current event classroom discussion and threads, and class presentations.)

•  Instructors

– Locate and insert videos into online discussion threads and other content areas

– Explain complex concepts

– Add more visual impact; gains attention

– By including current news videos, make the class material relevant to today’s world

Classroom Experience

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Classroom Experience• Benefits

– Able to visualize complex ideas and processes– High impact and attention-grabbing – Richer information delivery than pure text from a sensory perspective– Adds a taste of reality and authenticity– Connects the class to the real world via the use of news videos

• Drawbacks – Bandwidth issues (student posted large hour-long videos)– Security problems– Poor quality of videos (lack of resolution, poor audio quality)– Offensive material– Technical issues (e.g., sometimes videos would not render)– Intellectual property issues (e.g., uploading proprietary content from DVD)– Handicapped might not be able to see and/or hear the video

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Future

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Future• Second Life

Future

• Cloud Computing (Google Docs, Microsoft Office Live, etc.)

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Future

• Mobile Devices

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Resources

• Wikis - http://writingwiki.org/default.aspx/WritingWiki/For%20Teachers%20New%20to%20Wikis.html

• Blogging - http://weblogs.about.com/od/?once=true&

• Social networks - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IJJXxc717s

• Podcasting - http://mysite.verizon.net/lpang10473/web/ipod.htm

• RSS - http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english

• Video Sharing – Teacher Tube - http://principianteglobal.blogspot.com/2007/03/video-sharing-for-teachers.html

“How To” Sites

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Resources

• Wikispaces http://www.wikispaces.com/• Wikipedia http://www.wikispaces.com/• Blogger http://www.blogger.com/• Twitter http://www.twitter.com/• Ning http://www.ning.com/• Podcasting:

Les’ EdTech site http://edtech100.ning.com/• PodOMatic http://www.podomatic.com/• YouTube http://www.youtube.com• Teacher Tube http://teachertube.com/videoList.php?pg=featuredvideolist

• Second Life http://www.secondlife.com/ • Google Docs http://docs.google.com/

Tools

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Resources

• The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education — 2008

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/09/11/the-best-web-20-applications-for-education-2008/

Emerging Applications

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Conclusions

• Effective means for actively engaging with students

• Provides a valuable tool for instructors

• It means more work but the investment is worth it! Payoff is real!

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For More Information…

Dr. Les Pang

E-mail: lpang@umuc.edu

Thank you!