Created by Tim O’Reily, Web 2.0 allows online users to become active participants rather than merely viewers receiving information from a single authority (Web 1.0). Everyone is free to share information and voice their opinions through social networking, blogs, flickr etc. Web 2.0 has revolutionised the internet into a digital democracy.
Social constructivism argues that learning is an active social process in which individuals construct meaning of the world through collaborations with others and with the environment they live in. Hence, collaborative learning is at the heart of the social constructivist approach. Collaboration helps students learn more thoroughly, deeply and more efficiently than learning alone and helps in the preparation for the real world requiring team work. Students also learn to depend on one another instead of depending solely on the authority of experts and teachers (Bruffee, 1998).
Web 2.0 offers a wide array of tools requiring a high degree of collaboration and fits perfectly with the social constructivist approach to teaching and learning. Web 2.0 stimulates user involvement and participation in the development and maintenance of content. The Web 2.0 phenomenon supports user development and discovery of content via highly interactive means and the pace of the interaction is primarily determined by the learner.
Advantages of Web 2.0 in teaching and learning:
1) Increased learning involvement:
All students have an opportunity (or required) to be active participants in class such as through a wiki or blog. This is particularly useful for students who are reluctant to participate in classroom discussions.
2) Access to a global classroom:
Web 2.0 has dissolved the classroom walls and expanded learning to the rest of the world. Web 2.0 allows students to access others cultures, values and interests. In a global world, students need a global perspective.
3) Opportunities for multiple representations of content:
Gardner (1999) argued that effective teaching entails access to diverse representations of content and a variety of mediums to construct meaning. Web 2.0's tools enables students to access multiple representations of content such as through videos and images.
4) Collaboration facilities:
The effectiveness of collaborative learning is well documented and Web 2.0 provides these tools.
5) Offers 24/7 classrooms:
Unlike the time constraints imposed in the classroom, Web 2.0's resources are available to students all day, everyday.
Disadvantages of Web 2.0 in teaching and learning:
1) Limited computer resources:
Unfortunately, not all students outside of school will have access to a computer or internet.
2) Plagiarism:
The vast resource of online materials makes it easier for students to plagiarise (unless systems are put in place to prevent this)
3) Lack of privacy:
Public postings allow information to be accessed by all, however, there are means of overcoming this such as activating privacy settings.
4) Limitations of constructivist models of education:
* Students need to be used to the model especially if they have been trained following a behaviourist approach.
* It is difficult to follow a purely constructivist model as students need to first develop skills which largely depends on following a behaviourist model.
* Time consuming
* Teacher training element- lots of experience needed to utilise a purely constructivist approach in class.
Web 2.0 is increasingly radicalising the manner in which the Web is used in teaching and learning.
Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis and virtual worlds have become popular and are gradually making their way into classrooms. This challenges teachers to come up with innovative and effective means to use the technologies in education as they become a standard learning tool in classrooms (Williams & Chinn, 2009).
Blogs in Education:
Blogs are an example of the host of tools available on the Web 2.0 platform which facilitates and promotes communication and collaboration. These tools are highly interactive and stimulate the user’s active involvement and participation.
A blog (weblog) is a type of Website, usually maintained by an individual with regular commentary entries, event descriptions, or other material such as graphics or video. One example of the use of blogs in education is the use of question blogging, a type of blog that answers questions. Blogs can also be a collaborative endeavor among instructors and students. (Wagner, 2003) addressed using blogs in education by publishing learning logs.
Blogs can be extremely useful in the classroom. For instance, they help to promote open communication with parents and teachers, allow teachers to post class related information such as homework, class reminders, weekly videos and online readings. Students can also share their ideas and complete individual and group assignments using blogs.
The link below is an article I found online entitled, 'Blogs in Education.' It provides a brief summary about blogs and a list of ideas on using blogs in education (as the title suggests).
tep.uoregon.edu/shared/blogswikispodcasts/BlogsInEducation.pdf
Retrieved from: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Bvgj3wxSTyE/TYwodRGreKI/AAAAAAAAAAk/Lk32VcbciMs/s1600/think.jpg
My thoughts on blogs:
This week, we had to create our own blogs. It had never occurred to me to create a blog as I found it to be a foreign concept writing down my thoughts and ideas and then publishing it for others to read. Initially, I found it incredibly difficult thinking about how I would set out the blog for the week, how I would present myself and commenting on others blog entries. However, I know that as the weeks progress, I will start to find it more natural writing down my thoughts and publishing them. Through the process of creating my own blog entry and background research, I have come to the conclusion that they are a great source for reflecting, sharing ones knowledge and co-constructing ideas with peers. I truly feel that blogs are a wonderful educational tool which I will encourage my students to use in class particularly for middle to upper primary students because younger students may find it difficult using the technology. I love the idea of students using a blog to collaborate on an assignment or to complete their daily or weekly diaries. Based on my teaching experience so far, I found that many students struggled to complete their diaries on time and often compromised the quality of their work to finish their diaries within the allocated time. Blogs offer students the opportunity to take time over their writing, edit their diaries, post images and videos as well as receive constant feedback from their peers and teacher. Moreover, teachers can provide online reminders for instance on the correct structure for diary writing and any vocabulary they need to include in their diary entry. However, as the diagram, 'Think before you post' advises, students should be careful with what they post, for instance, students should phase a comment carefully as due to the lack of face to face interaction where people can judge meaning based on facial expressions, etc, people can often negatively misinterpret what others have written.
