Kevin O’Sheakevin.oshea@gmail.com

Creating the Classroom 2.0

Web 2 Point What? Social Huh?

Web 2.0 & Social Networking

• What Does It Mean?

• Why Does It Matter?

• What Tools Are Available For the Classroom?

• How Is It Being Used?

What Does It All Mean?

• Web 2.0 – Definition – “Second generation of web-based communities and

hosted services, which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing between users.” – Wikipedia.org

• Examples– Google (Gmail, GoogleDocs, etc…)– Wikipedia– Blogger

• Using the Web as a Platform– Zoho, Google Docs

• Simplicity• Open Source

– Reuse allowed and encouraged• User Generated Content

– YouTube, Blogs, Wikis• Categorized and Efficient

– Tagging, Social Bookmarking, Cross-linking • Cross-platform/device Cooperation

– Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone

Characteristics of Web 2.0

What Does It All Mean?

• Social Networking – Definition– “Communities of people who share interests and

activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others” – Wikipedia.org

• Examples– Classmates.com– Friendster– MySpace– Facebook

Characteristics of Social Networking

• Interaction• Pursuing Common Interests• Instant Collaboration• Sharing of Content

Why Does It Matter?

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn,

unlearn, and relearn.”-Alvin Toffler

Why Does It Matter?

• According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project

(Lenhardt & Madden 2007) more than 60% of teens

have created online media content, and more than 75%

of those teens have shared the content they have

produced. This in turn has fueled the online revolution

of participation and collaboration.

Why Does It Matter?

• Strong support for the creation process between users.

• Users believe that their content and expression matter.

• Users feel a connection between each other.• It has created a new form of literacy.

– Multitasking– Collective Intelligence

Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century - Henry Jenkins 10/19/06

What Tools are Available?

• Blogging + RSS

• Powerful communication and publishing tools

• Wikis

• Online writing space allowing user to add and modify its

pages.

• Web Applications

• Office Suites, News Aggregators, etc…

• Social Networks

Blogging & Education

• Instructors Blogs – Keep Track of Assignments– Virtual In-service and Personal Publishing

• Class Blogs– Student work showcase– Extending class discussion– Networking with other schools

Popular Blog Tools

• Blogger– http://www.blogger.com

• Edublogs– http://www.edublogs.org

• Wordpress– http://www.wordpress.com

• Blog Meister– http://www.classblogmeister.com (school code

required)

I Want My MP3!

Easier tools for distribution have aided casting

• Really Simple Syndication, RSS

• Free, open standards (XML)

• Attached to blogs

• Added to mainstream news media

• BBC, CNN etc..

Podcasting in Higher Education

• iTunesU – Media portal provided through the iTunes music store to pod/vodcasts of Universities.

• Edcast – Online repository of educators voluntarily placing lectures, conversations, and related podcasts.

• Uchannel – Collection of lectures, panels, and speeches from all over the world.

Benefits & Dangers of Podcasting

• Time Shifting

• In & Out of Class Content

• Study Aid

• Educational Supplement NOT Replacement

Wikis

• Collaboration– Public writing tool

• User generated and maintained.– Content rich site limited only to participation.

• Fully editable– Allowing for addition, subtraction, and discussion.

• The process is the product.

Wiki Tools

• Wikipedia

– http://www.wikipedia.org

• MediaWiki

– http://www.mediawiki.org

• CollegeWikis

– http://purdue.collegewikis.com/

RSS & Information

Popular Blog Aggregator Tools• Netvibes

– http://www.netvibes.com

• iGoogle– http://www.google.com/ig

• Bloglines– http://www.bloglines.com

• Pageflakes– http://www.pageflakes.com

• iTunes (pod/vodcasts)– http://www.apple.com/itunes

Online Applications

• Movement away from Desktop application

reliance.

• Platform independent.

• Mobile device compatibility.

• Open source.

• Online collaboration

Examples

• Office Applications– Zoho– Google Docs– Zimbra– Thinkfree

• Presentation Applications– YouTube– TeacherTube– SlideShare