Web 2.0

Web 2.0: I just returned from speaking at the EDEN conference in Portugal. First off, I must say that Portugal is a beautiful country! I plan to blog more about the sites and sounds of Lisbon in a later blog, but it’s worth mentioning right up front – Portugal is worth a visit from anyone!

The conference was a HIGHLY academic venture with well over 500 representatives from 42 countries. While the majority were from Europe, there were others from the United States, Mexico, Brazil, etc. It was a fantastic introduction to online education throughout the rest of the world.

Surprisingly, the conference attendees seemed to present a picture of online education that was well behind the curve based on my experience and understanding of the American market, the Japanese landscape, and even the South American culture. Most of the online education taking place in Europe seems to be hybrid in nature with great suspicion still being placed on the effectiveness of computer mediated courses. How interesting when the Open University in the U.K. actually had what most people believe was the first fully online class ever…in 1976!

But instead of focusing on online programs or how online can help a school, their students, or their financial models, the conference attendees seemed strangely centered on the mysteries and magic of Web 2.0 tools. Essentially a marketing strategy introduced by Tim O’Reilly, many argue that the term is ludicrous. It’s essentially the evolution of the Internet. Some liken it to naming our current existence as Humanity 11.1. What is the point of naming an iteration of ambiguity? But, semantics aside, many educators (throughout the world – not just in Europe) seem to be entranced by Web 2.0 concepts.

I actually wonder if these educators, many of whom are extremely slow to adopt other useful and important technologies, truly understand the implications of Web 2.0? It seems rare at the conferences I attend to hear actual descriptions of the breadth of Web 2.0 tools and even rarer to hear strategic uses of these tools in an educational context. The majority of teachers seem to focus on wikis and blogs, leaving hundreds of other applications off the PowerPoint slides.

Please know that I am a big proponent of social networking – which many people confuse as the only interpretation of Web 2.0. I twitter (bordenj), I Facebook, I’m linkedin, and so on. I’m very excited to use Twine as my entrance into Web 3.0! (The semantic web could take us all to a whole new level…) As well, I have found many uses for the collaboration of the collective intelligence in classroom settings. But it’s important to know that I don’t use these tools or techniques simply because my students do or just because they seem “neat”!

I believe that creativity is a cornerstone of teaching. These tools open up more creative ways to reach students through multi-modal (and multi-nodal) means. And the data that can be generated with these new tools can be powerful. In fact, it might be considered too powerful by some educators…I was approached by a Scandinavian teacher who was concerned with the way my company data-mines student activity in order to help retention and completion rates. He explained that the student has a right to keep their activity private and data-mining this information is unethical. Hmmm. P-D-R, right? (See my Perception Determines Reality blog for more info.)

What it comes down to at the end of the day is the difference between Jeopardy contestants and Wheel of Fortune contestants. Have you ever listened to the Jeopardy introductions? John Smith is a PhD in Astro-physics who writes sonnets for the blind and is trying to find a way to reuse fish bones to power a city. Contrast that with Wheel of Fortune: Bill Edwards is an out of work writer who likes fast food and is fascinated by small, shiny objects! Web 2.0 seems to be a “small, shiny object” to many educators who have missed the point and become enamored with wikis and blogs.

As Web 2.0 tools start to make headway within the corporate setting, and people in general become more adept at using them, eventually education will catch up. But I sure wish we could lead the way instead of reacting. We have a responsibility to help our students see “the future” of their world and many of these tools will be prevalent in that world. But let’s start to really take a look at the forest instead of a sapling. Let’s see if I can help you get started…

Yedda, Congoo, Oyogi, Shoutwire, Egosurf, Feedity, Vimeo, Flagr – these are just a few of the hundreds of Web 2.0 (concept) websites. They might all have academic, strategic uses…or they may not. What do you think?

 

Would you like to hear more about Web 2.0?  Interested in how to make practical applications out of Web 2.0 concepts? Contact jborden@jeffpresents.com for more information!