Web 2.0 and E-Learning

Over the past decade, colleges and universities have increasingly turned to the web to increase student access, expand course offerings, and reach out to adult learners through online courses. The growth of distance and online education has been mirrored by a similar explosion in social software tools such as Facebook, Second Life, blogs, wikis, Flickr, and a host of Web 2.0 competitors that offer new ways for us to learn with and from each other. As our Web 2.0 toolbox grows, so do faculty and administrator concerns about control, privacy, assessment, and the effectiveness of these tools in the classroom.

In this seminar, Anderson will highlight an educational model for distance and online learning that leverages social software to help both learners and educators determine the most effective tool and granularity of application for their learning needs. He will also demonstrate a number of current and emerging tools and share practices that promise to help us learn from and with each other with an emphasis on social learning that includes groups, networks, and the collective.

Marist College's award-winning work with Web 2.0 applications has led to the development of an e-learning 2.0 strategy for the pedagogically based deployment of these technologies. We will present our strategy and lessons learned from recent implementations, including methodologies for controlling costs, enhancing learning, and ensuring alignment with strategic goals.

This session will share the vision of pioneers of evolving technologies on how to use them to reach their full potential. Topics will include 3D rapid prototyping, Google applications for higher education, digital preservation, storage and information life-cycle management, advances in virtualization, Web 2.0, m-learning, and location awareness.

The Road to Xavier portal for admitted students was named Best University Web Site 2006 by the Web Marketing Association. Beyond enabling the recruitment of a banner class, this Web 2.0 project laid the foundation for the Virtual Learning Commons, Xavier's comprehensive fully integrated Web presence to support 21st-century learners.

This research bulletin examines the current state of Second Life in relation to the educational environment. Although literature about virtual worlds dates back many years, this bulletin reflects on more recent publications that discuss both technological and pedagogical issues. Content is drawn from interviews with educators and innovators who are already involved in building campuses, teaching classes, and providing resources to those using Second Life.