What does the changing environment of higher education in a Web 2.0 world mean to you?
Very little at the moment. I am unfamiliar with much of the Web 2.0 technology. I’ve heard of Facebook, Twitter, RSS feeds, etc., but have never used them. Until I do I will reserve judgement. And I had never heard of Mashups before. I have listened to podcasts on a couple of occasions, and do use YouTube in lectures now and then. So I’m not a Web 2.0 virgin, just a beginner. YouTube can be very useful since many of the videos are short, snappy and visual, which is ideal for the lecture format.
Very little at the moment. I am unfamiliar with much of the Web 2.0 technology. I’ve heard of Facebook, Twitter, RSS feeds, etc., but have never used them. Until I do I will reserve judgement. And I had never heard of Mashups before. I have listened to podcasts on a couple of occasions, and do use YouTube in lectures now and then. So I’m not a Web 2.0 virgin, just a beginner. YouTube can be very useful since many of the videos are short, snappy and visual, which is ideal for the lecture format.
Much of the material on Web 2.0, including the report on Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World by an “independent committee of inquiry” reads like a document of faith. It raised no real-world problems, but treated them as most technocrats do, as if they don’t really exist. Technology is infallible. Policy is infallible. The JISC podcast was much better focused on a serious problem posed by Web 2.0. Most students who use the technology do so uncritically. The highly important skill of critical thinking—questioning, reflecting, analysing, etc.—is neglected. It is a matter of urgency, as one scholar in the podcast noted, that educators address the issue of critical thinking when applying Web 2.0 technology in the classroom.
would you agree when I argue that this non critical approach is mainly due to the fact that students dont want to bother, its all fine with them because it is too hard to argue. this argument is not in their interest.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure many of us heard the refrain, "Wottevva" (a la Catherine Tate as grumpy teen), or at least encountered the attitude. There are reluctanct learners that need to be won over, but there is also the question of boundaries. There are some students who want clear boundaries between their personal use of technology and educational use. I don't think we need to start using Facebook just because some students are (and that's where I start to say, "Wottevva"). We need to recognise and accept the need for boundaries, and apply technology that suits teaching and learning.
ReplyDeleteIf the purpose for applying the technology is the right one (i.e. for teaching and learning purposes), not the wrong one (i.e. the students use it in their personal life), then we are more likely to win them over.