Use of web based tools for E-Learning

Dr Hiran AmarasekeraDepartment of Forestry and Environmental Science

University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Three initial concepts

Knowledge society

Generation Y

Flat world

Knowledge Society

"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know the subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it."

-- Samuel Johnson

Students = Echo boomers Generation Y

Echo Bommers (Generation Y)

Up to 80 Million “Echo Boomers” (Generation Y)

These are the children of the “Baby Boomers”

entrepreneurial, global

best educated; both men and women

computers are a primary language

Mobile phones, sms are common

They grow up with economic prosperity

They are not afraid of challenging managers

Internet, mobile phones

Do not blame technology or young generation

Prepare materials for this new media and new generation

World is flatA book by Thomas Friedman

1989 PC – Windows – individual contenet creation

1995 Internet – email – browser – fiber optics

Work Flow collaboration – individual content uploading

Web applications Open-sourcing (free knowledge) Out-sourcing

World is flatA book by Thomas Friedman

Web applications – gmail, fickr, google docs

Open-sourcing (free knowledge) Out-sourcing

http://academicearth.org/lectures/the-world-is-flat

World is flatA book by Thomas Friedman

BECAUSE OF INDIVIDUAL CONTENT CREATION:

WORLD HAS CHANGED FROM

VERTICAL SYSTEM (COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEM TO

HORIZONTAL SYSTEM

Eg Encyclopedia Britannica to Wikipedea

Three rules in the flat world

Whatever can be done will be done

eg. By Sabaragamuwa and USJ

Individual imagination matters

Learn to collaborate

WIIFM: What’s in it for me?

1. Traditional web and web 2.0 1. Traditional web and web 2.0

2. Key web 2.0 applications/ services2. Key web 2.0 applications/ services

3. Popular sites for learning3. Popular sites for learning

4. Starting collaborative web sites 4. Starting collaborative web sites

Have you used?

Google Blogging – blogger, wordpress Wiki – wikipedia, wikispaces Mutimedia sharing – flickr, youtube Podcasting – itunes VLE s – moodle, blackboard. webCT Social Bookmarking – delicious, digg Social Networking – hi5, facebook,

linkedin

WIIFM: What’s in it for me?

Three target groups

Group 1Group 1 Group 2Group 2 Group 3Group 3

Just listen and learn the new technologies available

Try some of these things to enhance your internet browsing experience

Start web 2.0 based eLearning

Traditional E-learning (web 1.0)

Computer-based training – (1980s) use of single or few computers for learning

Static content web sites – Dynamic content web sites – Database-backed websites providing

information tailored to the viewers particular requirements.

Course Management System (CMS)

The traditional approach to e-learning Web application runs on a server Students can access the system from

anywhere with an internet connection Easy way to upload course materials, hold

online discussions, chats, give quizzes

Moodle – Free and Open Source CMS

Download free at www.moodle.org or www.sourceforge.net

Moodle eLearining site at www.cometolanka.com/learn

Moodle eLearining site at www.cometolanka.com/learn

Web 2.0

Traditional web - merely browsing the internet after searching search engines

Web 2.0 - User generated content

Users can contribute and shape the content of the web by means of blog posts, podcasts, wikis, sharing photos and videos

Big ideas behind web 2.0

1. User generated content 1. User generated content

2. Harnessing collective intelligence2. Harnessing collective intelligence

3. Open data3. Open data

4. Data on an epic scale4. Data on an epic scale

E-learning 2.0 – New approach to eLearning

coined by Stephen Downes

Use of tools and web services - such as blogs, wikis, and other social software - to support the creation of learning communities.

E-learning 2.0

Learning is centered around the interests of the learner

This learning is immersive – learning by doing

The computer connects the student to the rest of the world

Technologies to enhance teaching

Wikis Tagging, Socialbookmarking

Key services and

applications

Web 2.0

RSS

Blogs

Multimediashareing

Podcasting

Social NetworkingNewer

Applications

Blogging - web log publishing

Blog is an abbreviated version of "weblog“ website that contains diary- type written

material, links or photos being posted all the time, usually by one individual, on a personal basis

Blogging is increasingly used in education (both in school and university), because it is easy to publish.

Facilitate feedback, by letting readers add comments

Example blog sites

http://environmentlanka.blogspot.com http://forestrystudents.blogspot.com http://forestrysymposium2005.blogspot.com http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blog

ger_id=99657

Ranked 8 on

google.com

Blog software -obtain a free blog

www.blogger.com

www.wordpress.com

www.edublogs.org

www.classblogmeister.com

www.blogger.com

Wikis

www.classblogmeister.com

Wikis

Web sites that can be collaboratively updated using only a web browser.

Enable group development of ideas and information sources.

Eg Wikipedia (http://wikipedia.org). Start your own wiki for your class for free

at www.wikispaces.com

Wikipedia.org

wikipedia.org online encyclopedia

read articles on “any” subject, and also can edit them.

Wikipedia is not a source so reliable you can cite it in real academic papers.

However, it has wealth of information - more than a million user-written articles

good starting point for research on new topics.

Multimedia Sharing

History of the wiki edits

Tagging and Social Bookmarking

Tag is a key word that is added to a digital object

Social Bookmarking – Find new web sites

Search engines like Google can find material using keywords

Social Bookmarking allow users to highlight their best sites

Sharing bookmarks Provide you the collective intelligence of

other users Help you find things that you never knew

existing, but wished you did. 

Social Bookmarking sites

http://del.icio.us

http://www.digg.com

http://stumbleupon.com

www.delicious.com

www.digg.com

Multimedia sharing

Photo sharing - Flickr.com

Publish digital photography to a wider audience.

Valuable resource for images for use in presentations, learning materials

Commenting function allows for feedback.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/environmentlanka/

• Register to flickr, • upload your photos. • Join a group named “University of Sri Jayewardenepura”. • Post your photo to this group within the

flickr.

www.flickr.com

Webcasts and videocasts streaming video on the internet.

youtube.com video.google.com

Video Sharing

You Tubewww.youtube.com

teachertube.com

www.slideshare.net

Screencasting

Record your presentation and upload to slideshare.net

RSS feedsRSS feeds

RSS Feeds

Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication

allows users to subscribe to websites that provide RSS feeds such as blogs and news sites

When new content is added, a software program called an aggregator automatically pulls in the feeds.

Common news aggregator is Bloglines at www.bloglines.com.

www.google.com/reader

Bloglineswww.bloglines.com

Google Readewww.google.com/reader

Educational applications of RSS Feeds

Professional Developmentkeep-up-to-date on a wide variety of subjects from leading experts in the field. You get closer to the leading edge of what is going on the particular field.

Time Saving You can track more information in a shorter period of time. Now you do not have to

spend a large amount of time surfing the internet for topic specific content. Information coming from contrasting sources

You could subscribe to feeds from different parts of the news world about a current event in the news to compare and contrast the information and/or to check to see if there were any biases.

Sharing what you are doing with other educatorsAny teacher can share information with thousands of other teachers using a blog or webpage with RSS technology.

RSS feeds will have a major impact on the way we receive our information in the future.

Start Pages

Start pages provide a desktop that can host all of a user's most common Web information such as news, weather, e-mail, RSS feeds, and more, all in a single user-controlled Web page.

Podcasts

Podcasting

Distribution of audio files on the web

This has become a popular technology in education, because it provides a way of distributing educational content to learners.

Tools for podcasting

You need iPod software Download at www.apple.com/itunes Goto iTunes Music Store from within

iTunes Click on Podcasts

Social Networking – www.hi5.com

Professional social network

Other web 2.0 applications

3d Virtual reality site http://www.secondlife.com

Post things you do http://www.twitter.com

Post or find events http://www.upcoming.org

Secondlife.com

Top sites for enhance teaching and learning

Lots of internet resources that can give you a quality education every day, free knowledge is available all around us.

free audio and video lessons

University of California, Berkeley in USA is ranked as one of the best colleges in USA and in the world.

Podcasts - lectures in mp3 format can download these Podocasts in as mp3 files and listen

to them using ipod player or winamp in windows. Webcasts - courses with video. You can be in the classroom with the students watching

or hearing some amazing teachers and accomplished professionals.

http://webcast.berkeley.edu/courses

MIT Open Courseware – free online courses

MIT web site gives away course materials, including syllabi, lectures, assignments and reading materials free.

free and open educational resource (OER) for educators, students, and self-learners around the world.

http://ocw.mit.edu

google.com

most accurate, and widely accepted search engine today.

Other online software Google images (search images) Google video (search and download videos for free) email (with Gmail), cartography (Google Maps), literature (Google Book Search) Google Earth, an incredibly detailed virtual globe. Picasa (photo browsing and editing) google desktop search (good search engine to search

your personal computer)

Amazon.com

Online retailer of mainly books, CDs, VCDs

Considered as the earth's biggest bookstore, you can order books if you have a credit card.

You can browse through the world's most popular books in any subject and become reader of the very recent books published.

Sourceforge.net

Freeware Applications Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)

is becoming very popular, most often as Microsoft alternatives.

Mozilla Firefox browser is accepted as better product than MS Internet explorer.

contains lots of free software.

100+ Free Websites to find out about Anything and Everything

100+ Free Websites to find out about Anything and Everything by Jane Hart

Things you can try

Create a blog at blogger.com

Create a wiki at wikispaces.com

Get your RSS feeds using www.bloglines.com

Or google reader www.google.com/reader

Things you can try

Share your photos at www.flickr.com Create your profile at www.linkedin.com Find new web sites using http://del.icio.us

or www.digg.com Download podcasts and webcasts for

lectures Setup start page to www.netvibes.com

Knowledge Revolution

Victory will go to the Smartest Individuals, Companies and Nations