Use Of Web Technologies In Education Education Essay

The purpose of this essay is to research the possible usage of web 2.0 engineerings as a larning tool in higher instruction, to set up what schemes should be used to maximise the possible benefits of web 2.0.I will analyze some instances to analyse the web 2.0 schemes which have been taken in instruction and acquisition. In peculiar, I will turn to the strategic deductions of web 2.0 engineerings in back uping pupil acquisition.IntroductionThe nature of instruction and acquisition has ever been linked with the nature of the engineering used in any historical period. In the age of orality or pre authorship, instruction was preponderantly unwritten and address was the lone manner of communicating. As people moved from orality to composing civilization, their thought created civilizations with alone features that were different from orality civilization ( Ong 1982 ) .In the age of print civilization, cognition was obtained and disseminated easy utilizing engineering. The handiness of in formation in the print civilization has led to progresss in topics such as scientific discipline as bookmans were able to portion their information.The technological developments of the industrial revolution besides changed the creative activity and airing of cognition as instructors used the printed stuffs and text editions to reassign cognition and information to a group of scholars. Ong ( 1982 ) separate the primary unwritten civilization ( public communicating and speaking ) from ‘secondary ‘ orality civilization which developed by communicating media such as Radio which accentnate sound. The secondary orality includes elements from both the authorship and the orality civilization. He states that secondary orality civilization are empathic, foster a strong sense of rank in a group, and unite people in groups whereas composing promotes distance between readers and writers. Therefore, secondary orality is a societal manner of understanding the sentiments of others thro ugh duologue and edifice relationships which are different from print civilization which isolates people. A theoretical account of secondary orality can be presented in instruction and larning utilizing web 2.0 tools.This provides chance to incorporate some facets of authorship and unwritten features utilizing web 2.0 technologies.Web 2.0 engineerings have many features of secondary orality which includes the treatments about the subjects of concerns which are close to the human life and through duologue and interactions pupils and instructors are able to portion their sentiments.For illustration, Downes ( 2004 ) implemented web 2.0 schemes to advance communicating and sharing cognition among pupils. He integrated some facets of authorship and unwritten features in his instruction through web logs and supply chances for pupils to non merely use information but besides create and portion content. First, he created a web log to print information and supply resources for pupils which a re similar to textbooks that have authorization and ownership on printing information ( composing and print civilization ) . Second, he besides used web logs to supply the chance for pupils to discourse about specific subjects and range to collective understanding which is similar to secondary orality civilization in which pupils were able to prosecute in conversation and portion their sentiments. Web 2.0 has the possible to integrate some facets of authorship and orality activities in order to heighten acquisition and instruction However, despite many benefits of web 2.0 in instruction, a figure of surveies provide grounds in which instructors failed to ease active interaction among pupils ( eg Lankshear & A ; Knobel,2003 ) . Therefore, it appears apprehensible that successful usage of web 2.0 engineerings require schemes in order to take advantages of these tools.Potential benefits of web 2.0 engineeringsMcClintock ( 1992, p42 ) argues that the print system has dominated instructi on for the past five centuries and the physical nature of books ‘necessarily influences the manner that pedagogues organise education'.Ong ( 1982 ) states that although the instruction has been deeply affected by print civilization but the coming of electronic communicating that introduce a secondary orality have a profound on instruction. Similarly, McLuhan ( 1957 ) argues that the development of communicating tools would transform formal instruction. However, such anticipations about the transmutation potency of engineering have failed to come true. Cuban ( 1993 ) argues that many educational claims were made for each new engineering and later each claim was disproved by new developments. Cuban states that the engineering has been ignored by many instructors despite extended investing in engineering. Furthermore, he provides two grounds why engineering has non changed the instruction. Firse, cultural beliefs sing instruction and acquisition, 2nd, the print paradigm of the 19 th century has shaped the instruction. However, despite important investings in ICT in instruction in last 10 old ages, it had a small impact in educational patterns. This was in portion due to confusion about why we want to utilize ICT, and what we want to accomplish, and how we want to utilize ICT with respect to limitations exists in instruction. As Cloke ( 2001, p8 ) states †teachers are being encouraged to learn old cognition with new engineerings † . However, implementing web 2.0 engineerings require schemes in order to advance instruction and acquisition. Richardson ( 2004 ) implemented web 2.0 schemes in his instruction and acquisition to promote pupils to prosecute in an on-line treatment utilizing web log engineering. He besides provided existent activities in order to advance sharing cognition among pupils and teachers.He invited the parents and writers to portion and take part in the treatment of ‘The Secret Life of Bees ‘ . He found that web logs enable pupils to prosecute in conversat ion, think more critically, reflect on their acquisition and construct their relationships with equals and instructors ( Richardson, 2006 ) . Richardson besides found that web logs helped loath pupils to portion their sentiments in category, and integrated in the acquisition community. Therefore, to advancing communicating and sharing cognition among pupils, instructors need to implement schemes in order to promote pupils to take part in collaborative activities.Lifelong acquisition and web 2.0 engineeringThe possible benefits of web 2.0 engineerings lie in their capacity to ease coaction, connect instructors, pupils, and experts together to portion their cognition. The European committee ( 2006 ) supply a set of grounds for utilizing information engineering in instruction in a manner that encourage usage of web 2.0 engineerings. They province that the universities need to portion excellence in research and instruction and supply sufficient entree to resources. Web 2.0 engineerings provide the chance for pedagogues to work collaboratively careless of geographical boundaries and supply entree to a huge scope of resources which support life long larning. It besides allows users to work collaboratively and portion their cognition. There is a important accent on educational policy in back uping womb-to-tomb acquisition. Brophy, Craven and fisher ( 1998 ) specify the construct of womb-to-tomb acquisition as follows â€Å" life long acquisition is a deliberate, patterned advance throughout the life of an person, where the initial acquisition of cognition and accomplishments is reviewed and upgraded continuously, to run into challenges set by an of all time altering society † ( p.1 ) . It is hence clear that life long learning requires the development of cognition, accomplishments, and values throughout our life. These accomplishments and competences can be achieved through coaction and sharing our experiences and cognition. Delors ( 1996 ) identified â€Å" four pillars of womb-to-tomb acquisition: acquisition to cognize, larning to make, larning to populate together, and larning to be â€Å" ( p.37 ) . He emphasises on larning to populate together as the foundation of instruction and discourse that by working together we can understand the sentiments of others and portion our jobs and involvements, develop our communicating, societal accomplishments, and critical thought and take the personal duty for our ends and larning. To advance life long acquisition, pupils, and instructors need to hold sufficient and easy entree to resources, being collaborative and being able to build and portion their cognition. Wanger ( 2004 ) argues that there are a demand for cognition creative activity and sharing through duologue with inquiries and replies. Furthermore, he distinguishes between demands of cognition users and cognition Godheads. He demonstrates that in building cognition, users need to happen relevant information, obtain the cognition, a nd happen good quality of the beginnings. In footings of demands of cognition Godheads. He states that new cognition should be created, collected and disseminated as rapidly possible to work out jobs because cognition alteration quickly. Therefore, web 2.0 have the capacity to make, gaining control and portion our cognition. Will Richardson ( 2006, weblog ) writes: â€Å" The good intelligence for all of us is that today, anyone can go a womb-to-tomb scholar. ( Yes, even you. ) These engineerings are user friendly in a manner that engineerings have non been in the yesteryear. You can be up and blogging in proceedingss, redacting wikis in seconds, doing podcasts in, well, less clip than you ‘d believe. It ‘s non hard at all to be an active subscriber in this society of writing we are constructing†¦ â€Å" ( n.p ) .These surveies indicate that web 2.0 engineering provide chance for people to be womb-to-tomb scholars and maintain up to day of the month with developme nts in subjects of their involvements. In peculiar, web 2.0 tools can back up larning and professional development in a life long learning by offering entree to a huge assortment of larning content that can supplement initial preparation. Learning is non merely about utilizing new tools to entree information and sharing our cognition, it is besides about utilizing the engineering to develop our acquisition and work out jobs. However, the chief challenge for instruction is non engineering ; it is our cultural and pedagogical beliefs. The chief biggest challenges in utilizing web 2.0 engineering harmonizing to Becta ‘s web 2.0 researches ( 2008 ) is how to promote pupils to prosecute actively in making and sharing cognition. The undermentioned subdivision provides an overview on web 2.0 schemes which have been taken at universities to ease acquisition.Case surveies and Web 2.0 schemesFranklin and Harmelen ( 2007 ) look into the usage of a scope of societal package tools in highe r instruction analyzing the schemes which have been taken in implementing web 2.0 at four UK universities: Warwick, Leeds, Brighton, and Edinburgh.They besides identified several jobs and issues associated with implementing web 2.0 engineerings. The University of Brigton implemented web 2.0 schemes to advance societal and community webs among pupils and instructors. One of the chief findings was that part of professionals to larning and learning were slow. They besides found that there were some inappropriate stations among pupils which have been disappeared due to peer force per unit area. The University of Edinburgh implemented web 2.0 schemes such as â€Å" utilizing web logs and RSS provenders alternatively of newssheets, utilizing societal bookmarking to ease the direction of class cubic decimeter reading lists in a collaborative manner and supplying podcasts as portion of support stuffs â€Å" ( p.12 ) .The university high spots the importance of run intoing demands of pupils instead than choosing best tools. The Warwick University besides implemented web log engineering to heighten instruction and acquisition. One of the chief findings was that web logs have positively changed societal interaction among pupils and staff but instructors were a spot slow on incorporating the tools into their instruction. Some pupils used web log for societal activities and other pupils used web logs for â€Å" academic authorship such as book reviews â€Å" ( P.9 ) .John Dale, Head of IT service in Warwick ‘s university in Guardian article ( 2005 ) states that the intent for implementing web 2.0 tools were ‘self printing for all ‘ . Furthermore, John states that we need to be †open head about web logs.There is tonss of other ways of back uping contemplation and personal development, or community and coaction † ( n.p ) . Therefore, instructors ‘ motive and pedagogical beliefs about the demands of pupils may act upon the manner they choose and design the content. A figur e of surveies have shown that the successful execution of educational engineerings depends on the attitudes of pedagogues, who make up one's mind how to utilize engineering in their schoolroom. Downes ( 2005 ) as cited in Franklin & A ; Harmelen ( 2007 ) states that â€Å" acquisition is characterised non merely by greater liberty for the scholar, but besides a greater accent on active acquisition with creative activity, communicating and engagement playing cardinal functions, and on altering functions for the instructor, so even a prostration of the differentiation between instructors and pupil together † . Therefore, instructors have of import function to supply picks that allow pupils develop their ain involvements. The University of Leeds implemented web 2.0 schemes to in promote instruction and larning.They provide developing Sessionss and workshops for back uping pupils and instructors. This scheme helped instructors to concentrate more on new ways of instruction and presenting information to pupils. It besides helped pupils to go familar with web 2.0 functionality before get downing the class. In a degree class at the section of classics at the University of Leeds, Green ( 2009 ) used the wiki engineering in his ancient Roman faith faculty to affect pupils in the creative activity of the stuffs they study in the schoolroom, and go more active participants in their group undertaking. He was positive about utilizing the wiki in-group undertaking and identified several benefits of utilizing the wiki. These benefits include: edifice a acquisition community ; constructing a deeper apprehension of the class, flexibleness in footings of location in which everyone can work at any clip and any topographic point and easy to put up and run the collaborative undertaking. Of the possible advantages listed supra, the coach considers measuring the single part of pupil in-group undertaking as a job in his faculty. Another job was that the member of the groups had entree to their ain site, and they did non lend to the work of other groups. The coach besides was concerned about plagiarism i n which leting pupils to reexamine the work of other groups may be alluring pupils to take the thoughts of other groups, peculiarly for the Roman Religion undertaking where there was no secondary literature. Web 2.0 engineering demand a alteration in our attitudes toward the content, authorization of beginning and making materials.Web 2.0 engineering is a tool that aid scholars express their thoughts, analyze information, think critically and through these procedure pupils are able to acknowledge undependable information..Web 2.0 provide chance for pupils to portion their sentiments and do determination together about the credibleness of information and right of first publication stuffs.On the other manus, some argue that there is no cardinal editor in printing content in web logs and wikis and therefore they can non be considered believable because it published by people which there are no control over contents ( eg Bolous, 2006 ) .The function of instructors in web 2.0 engineeringAugar, N.Raitman, R.Zhou, W ( 2004 ) investigated the ways in which societal package applications used in Deakin University, Australia. The Deakin University adopted the successful iceboat exercising to the wi ki engineering to ease communicating and coaction among pupils every bit good as aid pupils to acquire used to the web 2.0 engineering before the collaborative authorship undertakings start. The consequences of a study by Deakin University in 2003 shows that the deficiency of interaction with equals and teachers were the chief jobs in larning online. Therefore, the university implemented web 2.0 schemes to develop societal interaction and collaborative accomplishments among ICT pupils. Augar et Al ( 2004 ) reported that the pupils participated in an iceboat activity and introduced themselves to one another by posting their inquiries and replies. Students shared their thoughts with other groups through duologue with inquiries and reply. The benefits of iceboat activity harmonizing to Augar achieved through the engagement in and usage of wikis.The benefits included interaction and facilitation of communicating with equals and doing the work easily. As discussed by Augar et Al ( 2004 ) , the pupils were more interested in inquiries related to the linguistic communication and the cultural background of one another and from this sharing experience, pupils were able to do new friends. Based on the earlier work of Freire on critical teaching method, Shor ( 1993 ) province that instructors need to `pose jobs derived from pupil life, societal issues, and academic topics, in a reciprocally created dialogueaˆÂ ¦inviting pupils to believe critically about capable matteraˆÂ ¦ the acquisition procedure itself, and their society` ( p.25 ) Therefore, the type of activity is of import to prosecute pupils to join forces with one another. As Bower and Woo ( 2006 ) found, there is a correlativity between the types of activities with collaborative acquisition. Forte and Bruckman ‘s ( 2006 ) findings confirm Bower ‘s research by showing that reliable undertakings are of import in prosecuting pupils to work collaboratively and lend to the work of their peers.Therefore, instructors have of import function to plan activities that encourage coaction and experimentation. The coachs besides took several schemes to guarantee security of the wiki content. First, they set simple usage guidelines within posting page and every times pupils made a station on the wiki, the guidelines appeared on their page. Second, they monitored the wiki entree and redacting content to forestall pupils from posting knowing abuse and omission. The coachs use the wiki engineering for posting stuffs and information and leave messages to assist pupils to read and portion their thoughts. This attack helps to make full the spread of larning between pupils by supplying on-line resources and information. Students need equal information for sharing and edifice cognition ( Wanger 2004 ) . Coachs besides presented themselves socially into group of pupils through posting their images on the wiki sites.This scheme helped pupils to add their image to user page and go more motivated to take part in utilizing wiki technology.The nature of wikis besides provide chance for coachs to supervise how frequently participants see a wiki system, whether they read the information and whether they are lending on a peculiar topic.They besides introduce the regulations for making and redacting content and coaction. Harmonizing to, Johnson and Smith ( 1991 ) , the coachs have of import function in making the class conditions, set uping an online community and engage pupils to be active participants. It is of import that instructors set regulations for illustration, pupil must post their thoughts on the group before the group begin work on a collaborative activity. Johnson farther province that coachs need to supply equal resources and monitor coaction among pupils and give remarks in ord er to steer students.They besides province that quality such as feedback and trust are of import in collaborative activities and promoting pupils to take part. Teachers need schemes to assist scholars to pass on and prosecute more efficaciously with their equals. For illustration instructors need to keep effectual relationships with pupils to prosecute them in coaction and making content. They besides need to affect in treatments with pupils. One of the indispensable function of instructors in the 21 century is to fix scholars to take part in socially organised activities.The function of instructors is of import in order to promote pupils to reflect on their ain and their equals by inquiring inquiries that seek grounds and grounds. Teachers besides need to measure and supervise single pupils and supply feedback to them. Web 2.0 requires new schemes for measuring collaborative acquisition. Teachers besides need to offer pupil a credit/ class for their part. This may assist pupils to take part and besides curtail the possibility of one individual making all the work on the group. These schemes are of import because some pupils may make non desire to portion their work with others.Raman and Ryan ( 2005 ) states that a scaling policy is of import when utilizing engineering to make cognition and promote pupils to take part. Therefore, web 2.0 engineering requires new schemes for measuring pupils. Using web 2.0 besides require a alteration in function of instructors from authorization to steer and ease acquisition. Teachers need to travel from the conventional instruction methods to methods that engage pupils in activities that create new cognition. The function of pupils have to alter from being a inactive dependant scholar to an active and independent scholar. With the web 2.0 engineering, pupils need to be active in making and sharing content with collaborative accomplishments instead than devouring information. They have to take duty for their work and reflect on their acquisition every bit good as assist each other to develop their acquisition by sharing their cognition. Deci and Ryan ( 2002 ) province that to heighten the fulfilment of liberty in scholars, it is of import to give them chances for pick, executing personal ends, values and inspiration. Implementing such attack is non easy. This is because instruction system is capable to many external force per unit areas and they are non able to fulfill the demands of pupils. The instance surveies demonstrate that Webs 2.0 have great potency for back uping acquisition. In peculiar, web 2.0 provides the chance for making and sharing cognition. It besides allows users to prosecute in conversation and support each other. web 2.0 besides support personalization. Social package applications can be used as a tool for sharing cognition and personal learning.For illustration, web logs can be used as an single home page for hive awaying personal resources and societal activities. However, despite many benefits of web 2.0 engineerings in instruction, the instance surveies indicate that a figure of instructors failed to ease active interaction among students.Pelgrum ( 2003 ) argue that a assortment of alterations must be implemented to optimise instructors use of information communicating engineering: alterations in teaching method, redesigning the appraisal, supplying chance for liberty, supplying instructors with sufficient support, supplying equal clip for instructors to develop new accomplishments and research the integrating of ICT into their instruction patterns, supplying formal and informal communities of pattern and equal webs. However, implementing web 2.0 engineerings depends on following conditions: Web 2.0 functionality, their fittingness for peculiar activities – tantrum for the purpose- and the users ‘ cognition of the tools used. ( B ) the beliefs and attitudes toward web 2.0 engineerings ( C ) The users ‘ cognition and accomplishments in making and sharing cognition ( D ) supplying support and appropriate guidelines for utilizing web 2.0 engineerings and the function of instructors and their abilities to promote pupils to make and portion their cognition. ( E ) A civilization of openness( A ) Web 2.0 FunctionalityThe university of Wolverhampton implemented the web 2.0 engineering in larning resource Centre to maintain pupils and academic staff up to day of the month with electronic resources every bit good as portion their thoughts together through web log engineering.One of the chief findings in the rating of the web 2.0 engineering harmonizing to Jo Alcock, Wolverhampton ‘ s Learning resource Librarian, was the deficiency of consciousness and uncertainness about utilizing web 2.0 engineering. He says that †there is a demand for protagonism of the benefits † . He states that one of the barriers in utilizing web 2.0 is the opposition to alter, peculiarly among senior directors. Furthermore, he explains that implementing web 2.0 require a alteration in our civilization. Web 2.0 engineerings require a great clip to research the potency of web 2.0 in advancing instruction and acquisition. Pelgrum ( 2003 ) states that equal clip are needed for instructors to develop new accomplishments. The motive of instructors to pass clip beyond the call of responsibility is of import in utilizing engineering. Teachers have of import function to make activities to acquire pupils think about benefits of web 2.0 engineering. A figure of surveies indicate that there is correlativity between sensed easiness of usage & A ; percieved utility and usage of engineerin g ( eg Davis 1989 ) . Therefore, if instructors perceive that web 2.0 engineerings are good for advancing pupils ‘ acquisition, they are likely to utilize them in their schoolroom. Furthermore, the University of Warwick found that some pupils used the web log for societal activity while others used it for academic authorship. The pupils used the web log in different ways to run into their demands. Therefore, web 2.0 support diverse demands of personal acquisition. This different utilizations of web logs supports the possible benefits of utilizing web logs as a tool for personal acquisition.( B ) Beliefs and attitudesBrown and Adle ( 2008 ) argue that web 2.0 engineering requires a displacement in attitude towards cognition building and acquisition among the university faculty.There are some factors, which might promote and actuate instructors: providing resources for instructors to utilize the tools, take parting on a regular basis in professional interaction and activities and back uping societal package activities. Harmonizing to societal cognitive theory ( Bandura, 2001 ) , the encouragement and positive feedback from others can act upon the person ‘s belief refering the ability to success on specific undertakings. Furthermore, he states that anterior experience is a cardinal factor in utilizing technology.Teachers who knows little about utilizing societal package applications unlikely to utilize them. On the other manus, instructors who have experience in utilizing the tools are likely to utilize them.( C ) Skills and cognitionThe instance surveies indicate that participants ‘ cognition and accomplishments are of import in the success of collaborative activities facilitated by web 2.0. Dillenbourg ( 1999 ) identified four attacks which can increase interaction among scholars. First, he argues that planing an appropriate status is of import to develop interaction among scholars, and every state of affairs requires different status. For illustration, ‘should the instructor organise pupils into groups or allow pupils themselves get into groups ‘ depend on different state of affairs and careful programs. Second, in a collaborative acquisition, it is of import for instructors to put up regulations for interaction for illustration ‘everybody in the group should give his or her sentiment ‘ . Third, instructors need to supervise the interaction between pupils and supply remarks, Fourth, the instructors need to specify a clear specification of functions within coaction activities. Although the regulations and conditions are of import in order to develop interaction among scholars, single members of groups should larn and understand the demand of working in a group in order to finish their undertakings.Five hundred Culture of opennessThe success of web 2.0 engineering in instruction requires profound alterations in civilization and above all the purpose of instruction. Implementing web 2.0 engineerings besides depends on coaction and showing our thoughts freely without control. This besides requires societal encouragements and a civilization of working openly that has strategic benefits in instruction and acquisition.DecisionThis survey uses the illustrations of wiki and web log engineering to understand how it could be used to ease acquisition among pupils. Specifically, I study a figure of instances to understand how web 2.0 schemes can be used to back up larning in academic scenes. .The initial findings suggest that web 2.0 engineering support coaction and sharing cognition. However, implementing web 2.0 engineerings in instruction demand ( a ) careful analysis of user demands for web 2.0 engineering, ( B ) buttocks what teachers do, why do, and how they do it, ( C ) assess what instructors want to accomplish and ( D ) assess how they may be able to accomplish their aims utilizing web 2.0 engineering. Therefore, utilizing web 2.0 engineerings requires conditions: new signifiers of teaching method in instruction and acquisition, promoting coaction, consistently measuring pupils ‘ demands and activities. A figure of surveies have reported that some instruct ors encountered with many jobs in incorporating web 2.0 engineerings in their instruction and acquisition. These jobs include minimum communicating, hapless quality contemplation on the class stuffs and so on. In reexamining many failed reform attempts in instruction, fullan ( 1993 ) concluded that the hardest job is to construct successful coaction among instructors, pupils and other professionals.