Web 2.0 and Instructional Technologies

The National Science Foundation defines "cyberlearning" as "the use of networked computing and communications technologies to support learning." The report of the NSF Task Force on Cyberlearning, Fostering Learning in the Networked World: The Cyberlearning Opportunity and Challenge, A 21st Century Agenda for the National Science Foundation, identifies cyberlearning as having "…the potential to transform education throughout a lifetime, enabling customized interaction with diverse learning materials on any topic..."

The task force report identifies potential ways in which advanced computing and communications technologies might be leveraged to support learning, highlighting opportunities for further research. In it, the task force offers 5 recommendations for the NSF to pursue:

The phone rings. The caller begins with the familiar, “I’ve been thinking...” and the rest of the conversation centers on how to pilot an emerging instructional technology. Faculty who are early adopters of technology are experimenters and risk-takers; they broaden the landscape of effective teaching and learning with technology. Yes, they push the envelope, but they also offer partnership for identifying what’s scalable and sustainable for broader use. Our panelists will share their campus perspectives on adopting emerging technologies from Web 2.0 to virtual worlds, their successes and challenges, and the partnerships they’ve formed.

This presentation will show participants how to use Web 2.0 social networking tools like LiveJournal and free online media content (podcasts and short films) to create dynamic learning communities. We will look at specific examples of how to integrate Web 2.0 in face-to-face, hybrid, and fully online courses.

The University of Michigan's MLibrary 2.0 staff development initiative combined theoretical frameworks and practical skills, enabling library staff to make connections between services, users, and technologies. This series far exceeded expectation and has prompted us as a community to try new things and see new possibilities.

WordPress, an open source content management platform, can be used to implement Web 2.0 learning initiatives without the need for a team of programmers. We will demonstrate how Yale is using WordPress for collaborative script analysis, audience driven theater events, and courses where students contribute images and podcasts.

"During the past year, rich Internet applications (RIAs) -- have started to take off in the Web
2.0 space, gaining traction in a number of different areas, including education."Rich Internet application" refers to a development metaphor that allows a much higher level of expressiveness, so that the overall user experience is improved. Most RIAs incorporate audio or visual elements to make the experience
all the more engaging."

Given all the web 2.0 tools available, a well-defined process helps time-pressured faculty make choices that promote effectiveness and efficiency, identify resources, and help staff deliver a pedagogically sound product. We will discuss project stages, how a decision is made to pursue a project, faculty engagement, project tracking, and project assessment.

With information technology evolving at a seemingly breakneck pace, trying to predict the future of IT seems every bit as daunting as predicting movements of the stock exchange. Yet we as IT professionals must plan appropriately for new and emerging technologies that have relevance for teaching, learning, and creative expression. The Horizon Report, a project of the New Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, is one of many tools we have to help us map the future to the present. In this presentation we will consider ways tools like the Horizon Report can help us chart our course.

Web 2.0 tools have the power to transform education. Such a transformation requires that faculty, students, and institutions take risks. With those risks comes fear, which is often unarticulated. How do you tackle this fear and make real change? Join us to face this fear together in a multimedia, interactive miniplay.

This session will explore the ways Second Life can help students engage in active interpretation of literary texts. Through the development of in-world learning activities, participation in a wiki, and reflection, students engage in material culture analysis and see firsthand the ways interpretative choices can affect the reading of texts.