We decided to use Blogger as our blogging space ( t.com/) since it is free, easy to use offering tutorials and support and has no commercials something which was one of our main concerns since we wanted to use it for educational purposes. Moreover, we wanted our blog to be used only by our students and this is something that was offered in Blogger.
3. Rationale behind the material
Technology has become an indispensable tool in the life of today’s students. Prensky (2001) describes them as digital natives who have functioned in a digital environment for most of their lives. This net generation of students (Roberts, 2005, cited in Thompson, 2007) arrives at school and universities having acquired an advanced set of ICT skills and literacies; therefore in the light of rapid expansion of the technology, the students’ learning expectations have increased and should be anticipated by the educators.
The evolution of Web 2.0 has situated learning far beyond the classroom walls, giving the opportunity to students to reach knowledge through their participation in communities of practice (Anderson, 2007; Downes, 2005, cited in Thompson, 2007; Richardson, 2006; Wunsch-Vincent and Vickery, 2007). Justifiably, the educational sector commenced considering and exploring the participative potential of Web 2.0. A considerable number of higher institutions are already implementing Web 2.0 applications in different ways while schools have just begun integrating them into the curricula. This is what motivated us in creating this educational material on Web 2.0 technologies for secondary students who might have experienced these technologies in an informal learning context but not in a formal one. Our intention is to inform them of the affordances of Web 2.0 applications, to engage them into practical activities and to raise questions related to security, privacy, content quality and copyright issues.
The reasons that prompt us to acknowledge Web 2.0 technologies as powerful learning tool are the ease of use and the freedom to share. Creating and adding web content is now in the province of the basic ICT skilled persons giving them the chance to participate in Web 2.0 not only as passive readers, but also as active authors and critical editors. Moreover, people can share information, knowledge, culture and entertainment within communities of common interests.
The constructionist and collaborative nature of Web 2.0 technologies guided us to develop our material based on the constructivist and socio-cultural learning theory (Alessi and Trollip, 2001; Crook, 1994; Doolittle, 1999), where knowledge is actively constructed by the learner and not passively received from the teacher, through social interaction and collaboration with peers. In order to incorporate the aforementioned principles in the creation process of our material, we followed basic pedagogical recommendations (Alessi and Trollip, 2001; Doolittle, 1999) as to establish an effective learning environment:
Knowledge construction upon the learners’ prior knowledge: Learners incorporate new ideas and concepts into already existing frameworks in their mind through processes of accommodation and assimilation. Taking into consideration our learners’ age, we assumed that they would have already acquired basic ICT skills, mainly web-navigational ones that they would enable them to construct the new knowledge related to Web 2.0.
Use discovery or guided discovery approaches: Learners explore, experiment, research, ask questions and seek answers (Alessi and Trollip, 2001). The material that we have produced is supportive to the classroom’s teaching rather than instructional. It provides students with useful resources (journal entries on Web 2.0, readings, useful links, videos, tutorials) and discussion forums where they can retrieve information on the topic they are interested in.
Active learning through authentic learning activities: Learning environments should be embedded in authentic and real-world contexts where learners learn by doing (Geiger, 1991). Our students are assigned with activities such as reflection and discussion on readings, production and uploading of podcasts and creation of group blogs. We have used real-world environments such as forums (Moodle), podcasting sites (Youtube) and blogging spaces (Blogger) as to motivate them in real context activities, personally relevant to them, and to enhance their creativity.
Self-directed learning: Learners should be given choices and the opportunity to be more autonomous in their actions (Alessi and Trollip, 2001; Doolittle, 1999) and therefore they develop a sense of ownership of what is done. Rather than instructors deciding the goals and activities, in our case, we acted as facilitators in their learning. First of all, we let them explore the material freely with their own pace and content sequencing (Clark and Mayer, 2003). Secondly, they had the autonomy to select their group’s members, decide the subject of their group project using blogs and podcasting and organize group work. During their engagement with the projects, the students will have access to learning support given not only by the teacher in the classroom but also through Moodle’s forum for technical queries whenever is needed.
Use of collaborative activities: Hamalainen et al. (2006) report that “the main idea of collaborative learning is that collaborative knowledge construction, negotiation, co-ordination of different perspectives, commitment to joint goals, information sharing and shared evaluation of group activities enable a group to create something that goes beyond what any one individual could achieve alone” (p. 48). The collaborative aspect of our material can be revealed through the discussion forum activity on the recommended reading and through the podcasting and blogging group activities.
Critical thinking and learner reflection: Constructivist approach stresses critical thinking as a process of knowledge construction, which is accompanied by learners’ reflection, a metacognitive skill for lifelong learning (Anderson, 2007; Richardson, 2006). In our material, critical thinking is reinforced through the reading discussion activity in the forum and the review of their peers’ comments. Furthermore, self-reflection is fostered through the whole process of their group activities, through the reflective learning journal that they have to complete at the end of their project and finally through a self-assessment activity (quiz available in Moodle).
All in all, we have tried to encourage multiple perspectives and representations of content as to meet the expectations of most of our students’ learning styles by providing content in different formats (text, audiovisual). Furthermore, the discussion forums, the comments in the blogs, as well as the whole process of the group projects will enhance students’ participation and improve their social efficacy.
4. How the materials should be used
Both Moodle and the blog will be used as supporting materials for the course “Web Applications.” They will be used for revision, for accessing resources – both during and after the session—and for assigning and explaining each session’s activities.
Moodle
Moodle will be used throughout the course “Web Applications,” based on the five-stage model for computer-mediated communication (CMC) proposed by Salmon (2004):
Stage 1 – Access and Motivation: During the first stage, the tutor will provide all students with a username and password. A quick demonstration of Moodle will take place during the first session, if the tutor feels that it is necessary, since all students have been familiar with the particular CMC in previous courses. There will also be a technical support forum on Moodle, in which students can get help from their tutor and/or colleagues on technical problems. At this stage, the tutor will also stress the fact that Moodle will be a useful tool for revising, finding and exchanging resources, clarifying questions and finding all the information they need for the course.
Stage 2 – Online Socialization: With the social forum that we have put within Moodle, students will start becoming more comfortable with Moodle and begin socializing with each other online. The social forum will be used as their own space to talk about anything they want. Given the fact that they are high school students and have many other courses together, the social forum’s purpose is not primarily to help students get to know each other, but mostly to become more comfortable in online environment and with online discussions.
Stage 3 – Information Exchange: Moodle is structured by the tutor in order to keep things organized. Information is organized into themes, providing students with a summary of each session, resources (including readings, links of websites, glossary, tutorials, the course’s blog and videos from YouTube), activities (including forum discussions and a quiz), forum for technical support and chit chat, as well as a calendar to help students organize their homework according to the course’s deadlines.
Stage 4 – Knowledge Construction: The forum will be organized and guided by the tutor. With the exception of the social forum, all other topics within the forum will be created and organized by the tutor. Discussions will be based on in-class questions and compulsory readings and students will have to answer to specific questions posted by the tutor.
Stage 5 – Development: During this stage, the tutor will encourage students to take online discussions to a deeper level. Critical thinking is now encouraged and promoted by the tutor, both during in-class sessions, as well as in online discussions.
Currently, three sessions of the course are included in Moodle, but it is supposed to include all sessions and to be used throughout the course.
Blog
The blog will be used a bit differently from Moodle. It is focused on only one part of the course and namely “web 2.0 technologies.” It can be accessed from within Moodle and it is created to serve primarily two purposes.
The first purpose is that it can and should be used as a revision and resource page for web 2.0 technologies. It provides students with definitions of the term web 2.0, as well as definitions and examples of seven web 2.0 technologies. It also explains the difference of web 1.0 and web 2.0. Finally, it provides students with supporting material for web 2.0 technologies, such as videos from YouTube and supplementary reading for further knowledge.
The second purpose of the blog is that it acts as an example of what the students can do in their final project, which is to create their own blog in groups. The blog becomes more interactive for students, with assigned activities, such as posting their comments on the blog and voting on the blog’s poll. This way, the students are guided to act like readers and critics of blogs, before moving on to the stage where they have to become writers of their own blog.
References
Alessi, S., M. and Trollip, S., R. (2001). Multimedia for learning: Methods and Development. Edition 3rd. London : Allyn and Bacon.
Anderson, P. (2007). What is Web 2.0? Ideas, technologies and implications for Education. JISC [Website]. Available from: < > [Accessed: 3 May 2008].
Clark, R. C. and Meyer, R. E. (2003): E-learning and the Science of Instruction, Wiley, New York.
Crook, C. (1994). Computers and the Collaborative Experience of Learning. London: Routledge.
Doolittle, P. E (1999). Constructivism and Online Education. Available from: < > [Accessed: 3 May 2008]
Hamalainen, R., Manninem, T., Jarvela. S. and Hakkinen, P. (2005). Learning to collaborate: Designing collaboration in a 3-D game environment. The Internet and the Higher Education, 9, p. 47-61.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon. 9 (5). Available from: <> [Accessed: 3 May 2008].
Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. London: Sage.
Salmon, G. (2004). The five stage model. All things in moderation [Website]. Available from: < > [Accessed: 4 May 2008]
Thompson, J. (2007). Is Education 1.0 ready for Web 2.0 students? Innovate. 3 (4). Available from < > [Accessed: April 24, 2008].
Wunsch-Vincent, S. and Vickery, G. (2007). Participative Web and user-created content: Web 2.0., wikis and social networking. OCDE Website [Website]. Available from: < > [Accessed: 3 May 2008].