EDDG Discussion: Web 2.0 technology and learning and teaching, 20/1/09
There was a very lively discussion around the use of Web 2.0 technology, with a sharing of current practice, information and a highlighting of difficulties and barriers. There was a mix of experiences from people who did not use web technologies very through (self-proclaimed Luddites) to those who used web 2.0 on a daily basis. Particular issues discussed were:
What exactly are Web 2.0 technologies ? Discussion focussed around the changing trends in the use of the web technology and web design that enhances creativity, communication , information sharing and collaboration. Discussion focussed on the use of social networking sites, wikis, blogs, social book marking.
We questioned whether web 2.0 technologies were a young person’s tool . Young people may be more familiar, but most have are using the internet, Google on a daily basis. However, for many lecturers this isn’t necessarily how we learned.
User responsibility : In particular we debated YouTube . Plenty of discussion here around the appropriateness of using YouTube with students. Do we need to monitor and control the use within college?
Development of students’ ability to search/use information critically.
The need to maintain face to face contact with students. Web 2.0 does not replace the teacher but should be seen as a means of supporting education, collaboration and generating creativity.
Attention span: discussion around whether students really have a shorter attention span, or whether they can focus for longer if learning and teaching is interactive .
Use of staff blogs: some staff groups are using blogs to share information and collaborate on projects. This has potential for staff groups across the college.
There was a suggestion that it would be good for staff to share their social networking ,blogging , and bookmarking sites e.g. twitter, facebook, delicious.
Focus group of students would be useful to establish what technology they actually use , and their expectations from the college.
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Thursday's meeting highlighted many of the same issues, and there was some debate around the use of web 2.0 versus the VLE.
There was a lot of debate around how we engage staff who are not interested in developing their elearning skills . There was some discussion around whether staff development in certain areas should be compulosry, but I feel there was a reluctance to go down this route.
This led to a discussion around induction for new staff and the need to deliver this over a longer period.
I think, that it was generally agreed that there was a lack of investment in developing staffs' skills in using technology, though there has been investment in hardware. It was suggested that we need remission of time to learn new skills, and people in each faculty released 1 or 2 days per week to support others. We agreed that there definately needed to be a college strategy that seriously addressed the technological skills needed in learning and teaching.
More on Web 2.0 ...
Thanks to Alan MacCorquodale for this link to another blog which argues that Web 2.0 will be more important than the advent of the printing press ...
http://www.stevehargadon.com/2008/03/web-20-is-future-of-education.html
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