Web 2.0: Practical Use - Report Example

Web 2.0 Introduction A television program recently had a comedic skit where the internet went out in a home and the residents had to resort to a box-labeled ‘pre-internet’ – inside the box were a rubber duck, a barbell, and a fake plastic tree. While most of us recognize that there was a lot more going on in pre-internet times than a box full of trinkets, the absurdity of the skit draws ones attention to the fact that one of the great divides of culture, arguably on the scale of the Protestant Reformation, the Industrial Revolution, or even the Renaissance, is the contemporary occurrence of what has been deemed the Digital Age. Having died in 1980 Marshall McLuhan had only glimpsed its genesis when he proclaimed, “In this electronic age we see ourselves being translated more and more into the form of information, moving toward the technological extension of consciousness (McLuhan 1967).” This essay examines the relevancy of Web 2.0 software, specifically blogs, wikis, social networking, and social bookmarking tools. Wikis, Blogs, Social Networking Web 2.0 software has not only changed humanity’s access to information, it has fundamentally altered how we view ourselves and how we think. The globalizing effect of the Digital Age has now made it possible to chat online with a student from Seoul, Korea in the morning, read a Hollywood gossip blog for lunch, and then access Wiki information to fix your sink in the evening. It’s now strikingly evident that the World Wide Web is not only uniting the world in ways humanity never envisioned, but -- through what writers Mathew Fraser and Soumitra Dutta have deemed the ‘democratization of the self’ -- are altering communal knowledge. As it would previously have required laborious library visits and searches, the ability of Wikis to allow one to research diverse subjects such as Chinese history, or French-Algerian relations in a matter of moments is an empowering process. Once strictly the domain of academic and intellectual elite, the previous two decades have experienced a rapid redistribution of information and cultural understanding that has altered our very foundational assumptions of what constitutes knowledge. Today blogs and bloggers have become one of the primary means by which people access information. Web 2.0 has the potential to unbound individuals from boundaries that have divided the world and unite humanity through a new means of interaction. No longer must humanity be restricted to color barriers; no longer does living in a small town mean you have a ‘small town’ mentality. Now we can reach out and connect based on shared interests and knowledge, rather than race and wealth. I believe that is the meaning of the World Wide Web – an electronic web of knowledge, community, and understanding that has changed the world. Web 2.0: Practical Use With the explosion of Web 2.0 software and the use of social networking sites (SNS), it was certain that education would begin to incorporate the technology in learning environments. While previous conceptions of computer-mediated communication have been characterized as detrimental to the classroom environment, the technology is now being reconsidered by educators for its functional value in the classroom. Indeed, certain researchers even argue that this technology is expanding the very nature of classroom room outside of institutional walls. (Carchiolo, Longheu, & Malgeri 2002). One use of educational technology through internet have occurred in the growing use of Social Networking Sites (SNS) among students and teachers. My institution has implemented Ning.com in a number of projects. Ning is a social networking tool that allows students and teachers to create their own social networking site, and designated whether it will have a closed or open invitation policy. This technology has been used with great success in a number of classrooms. In some of the humanities classrooms I have witnessed, I have seen it implemented extremely effectively as students are required to develop a site that corresponds to a particular character, for instance Hamlet. They are then required to post updates from other characters’ perspectives on the site for participation points. Some students became very involved with the activity, uploading links, videos, and music that the character hypothetically would have liked. For teachers, there are even Ning websites for professional development; there is even a Ning Network for developing Ning networks. (www.classroom20.com) While the English Ning Committee (ENC) recently won an award for best Ning site, there are sites for all subjects, including a site for the American Association of Health Education. One of the most pervading uses of educational technology is the use of YouTube. Many teachers have a computer connected to the internet in their classroom and are required to check their school email daily for administrative announcements and parent, staff, or student emails. A number of teachers have begun implementing the internet in regards to lectures as well. While many school internet connections exclude use of YouTube videos, by submitting a request to the administration it is possible to get temporary access to specific video links. These videos have been incorporated into the broad spectrum of lesson planning, from as diverse subjects as home-economics cooking videos, to the watching of sports techniques in the physical education courses. YouTube videos have been employed as means of demonstrating historical events – Nixon/Kennedy Presidential debates, State of the Union addresses – as well as in analysis of music videos, or advertisements. Chris O’Neal (http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-youtube-teaching-video) demonstrates that one need only do a brief user search to discover countless health education field videos on nutrition, exercise, or disease, all of them replete with upbeat music and editing that is able to maintain students’ attention spans where out-dated VHS or DVD public service presentations are not able or are not willing. YouTube has even been used in professional development at the institution. At departmental meeting a group of teachers presented on more effective means of constructing ‘word walls’ – these are walls of relevant terminology that go up in all the classroom. They opened their presentation with an attention grabbing video, and then proceeded to demonstrate ways world walls could be constructed daily through videos instead of the traditional way. There are also other development opportunities. There is even now a site called TeacherTube that is formatted much like YouTube, except that the uploaded videos are a related to teacher development. I have personally used this for professional development purposes on a number of occasions, and believe that its pool of communal knowledge could be implemented by teachers throughout the nation in developing more efficient means of instruction. Objections Not all view the Web 2.0 software as such a life-altering force. Indeed, a number of researchers understand the influence of global digital culture in conservative ways. “Not quite a broken promise, the notion of cyberspace as an emancipatory sphere has been updated by many scholars to reflect the fact that by changing the way we do things, we do not necessarily change the things we do (Wilson & Peterson 2002, as cited in Cook, 2004, p. 105),” states a recent article in this important sounding journal. Indeed, a number of teachers and citizens decry the deleterious intrusion of the internet on our daily social relations, and doubt the validity of information in sites such as Wikipedia – going as far as to outlaw its use in academic settings. Conclusion As can be seen Web 2.0 technology has become a deeply embedded part of contemporary existence. Its effects are important and have been made significant advances in allowing people increased access to information and communication, as well as fundamentally changing the nature of education. Ultimately, It’s necessary to understand that the Web 2.0 software does and will continue to have a far reaching effect on the world. In 1805, as explorers Lewis and Clarke reached explored the state of Oregon in the New World, they came upon a site and journaled, "Ocean in view! O! The Joy! (Ocean, Web)." It’s over two hundred years since these explorers reached the Pacific and humanity has now embarked on a new journey. It’s necessary for students and youth -- as the primary beneficiaries of these technological advances, as well the unassuming leaders of this journey into the unknown – to ensure that these far-reaching effects are as beneficial as they have the potential to be. References ‘7 Things you Should Know About…Ning’ (2008) http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7036.pdf, Feb. 4th, 2010Carchiolo, V., Longheu, A., & ‘Classroom 2.0’ http://www.classroom20.com/, retrieved Feb. 11th, 2010 Cook, Susan E. ‘New technologies and language change: toward an anthropology of linguistic frontiers’. Annual review of anthropology 103-115, Vol 33, 2004 Fraser, Mathew., Dutta Soumitra (2008) Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom: How Online Social Networking Will Transform Your Life, Work and World. Wiley McLuhan, Marshall (1967). ‘Marshall McLuhan interview 1967’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMEC_HqWlBY Ocean in view…O Joy O Joy! Lewis and Clarke Reach the Pacific Ocean http://www.oceaninview.com/, retrieved Feb. 12, 2010 O’Neal, Chris ‘How to Use YouTube in the Classroom’ http://www.edutopia.org/digital- generation-youtube-teaching-video, retrieved Feb. 15th, 2010 Read More