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toc =Welcome= //Web 2.0 Tools for the 21st Century Educator//

Web 2.0 tools are infiltrating our classrooms. By using this tools in pedagogically sounds applications, we change the level of student engagement and learning, increase student satisfaction, and enable students to take responsibility for their own learning. While the old web allowed us to be consumers of information, the new web provides opportunities for us to be information producers through blogs, wikis, and podcasts. This presentation will introduce a variety of Web 2.0 tools, resources, and facilitate a discussion of pedagogical applications for any discipline.

Knowledge
Participants will: • learn definitions of Web 2.0 tools • learn the advantages of using Web 2.0 tools to increase student engagement, learning, and responsibility • learn instructional approaches for applying Web 2.0 tools in their courses • increase their familiarity with the Web 2.0 tools

Skills
Participants will acquire skills enabling them to: • design projects that require students to learn and apply new computer technology skills • design projects that require students to use higher order learning skills • make decisions regarding the application of Web 2.0 tools to their courses

Attitudes
Participants will be given opportunities to: • see the effectiveness of using Web 2.0 tools to their courses • increase their awareness and determine the benefits of this pedagogy

Summary
Web 2.0 tools can have a huge impact on student engagement, learning, satisfaction, and responsibility. Blogs, wikis, and podcasts are all part of the new web – the read/write web. The old web enabled us to be consumers of information; while the new web provides opportunities for us to be producers of information. This powerful phenomenon can infiltrate a classroom and change the level of student engagement and learning; student satisfaction will increase as they take responsibility for their own learning. This presentation will introduce a variety of Web 2.0 tools, resources, and facilitate a discussing of pedagogical applications.

Theoretic Foundation
The use of Web 2.0 collaborative and networking tools is grounded in constructivist, constructionist, and connectivist theory. These three approaches provide the framework for the application of a variety of web-based applications. By creating a social setting for the development of artifacts, students become engaged in the process, their creativity and originality blossom, they practice the skills of reflection, are provided opportunities to interact with other educators, and their experiences are laced with fun.

Constructivism is grounded in the work of Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky and others and is most clearly understood as the occurrence of learners creating their own knowledge by adding new information to their previous knowledge. It is commonly held by constructivists that learning is strongly impacted by the learning context. Gagnon and Collay (n.d.) summarize the basic tenets well:

1) Knowledge is physically constructed by learners who are involved in active learning; 2) Knowledge is symbolically constructed by learners who are making their own representations of action; 3) Knowledge is socially constructed by learners who convey their meaning making to others; 4) Knowledge is theoretically constructed by learners who try to explain things they don't completely understand (Constructivist Learning, ¶2).

The use of blogs, wikis, and podcasts provides students with active learning experiences that focus on the creation and recording of students’ interpretations of their learning, connections with other learners, and opportunities for applying higher order thinking skills.

As an extension of constructivism, Seymour Papert (1999) and his colleagues at M.I.T. developed constructionism with the purpose of applying Piaget’s knowledge theory of constructivism to the field of education. While Papert embraced all of Piaget’s theory, he asserted that engagement in the construction of a product within a social setting profoundly embellished the constructivist-learning phenomenon. By immersing students in Web 2.0 environments, we provide opportunities for them to extend their levels of involvement and reflections in a variety of social settings on the World Wide Web. The act of publishing their thinking ups the ante – they are now accountable to someone besides the instructor.

Connectivism, the work of George Siemens (2005), focuses on creating learning environments that include networking structures. Because of the abundance of information available on the Internet, Siemens acknowledges the shelf life of knowledge – knowing is not a static experience … and teachers are not the purveyors of knowledge. By assisting students in establishing connections to information that is regularly updated and to experts and peers, we will equip them to utilize these tools beyond school, into their work and personal lives.

Constructivism, constructionism, and connectivism combine to provide a framework from which to view the use of Web 2.0 tools for student learning. As students become familiar with the tools and processes involved, they are equipped to construct their own knowledge in a connected environment.

Conclusions
Web 2.0 provides us with excellent tools to increase student engagement and buy-in; to enable student-centered learning; and to design learning for transference into the workplace and society in general. The use of blogs, wikis, and podcasts can create a rich learning environment that extends beyond the classroom walls and provides students with an exciting 21st Century education. This presentation and engagement will touch the tip of the Web 2.0 iceberg and provide participants with an exciting taste of its potential.