Collective Intelligence

Discussion this week included some topics on the “hive mind” and how user-led education is stimulated by availability of Web 2.0 tools.  Everyone one of us can be instantly connected to experts and plethora of facts on the internet. Web 2.0 tools extend our abilities to collectively gather information and communicate to share content in multiple modes.

The drive towards connective technologies has made for a change in our idea of education. The Web 2.0 influence is making traditional online learning seem somewhat flat when compared to the experiences shared through global networked communities.

I located an article posted on Tim O’Reilly’s blog site, Web Squared, where he mentions that collective intelligence applications are dependent on managing, understanding, and responding to massive amounts of user-generated data in real time. He equates 2.0 with growth towards sensory and participatory networked intelligence (where is this going in 3.0? I think that may be a discussion for another blog post!)

O’Reilly was referenced in the Turkish Journal of Online Education proposing six core competencies of the Web 2.0 environment:

1. services, not packaged software,
2. an architecture of participation,
3. cost-effective scalability,
4. re-mixable data source and data transformations,
5. software above the level of a single device,
6. and harnessing collective intelligence (Web 2.0 Learning Platform, 2005).

What strikes me the most from this list is number 2, “an architecture of participation”. We are seeing even traditional LMS’s, such as Blackboard and Canvas, integrate social media back channels and mobile strategy to accommodate what learners are starting to expect from a learning environment. We can see this too, in big universities move towards MOOCs and open sharing of content.

Web 2.0 Tools for Education: Let’s talk about Infographics

By far one of my favorite Web 2.0 tools is infographic web ware. Infographics are visual representation of content. Using infographics in learning shifts  students from consumers to creators. It enables students to engage with content dynamically rather than passively. Infographics can help learners prioritize information and provide connection to main ideas and hone their visual and verbal composition skills.

Personally, I have created infographics  as an accompanying handout to presentations and for student assignments to help them pick out key points from a reading. The uses are fairly limitless and only restricted by imagination and availability of technology (although one really could create an infographic with pencil and paper).

The two tools I use most frequently are Pikochart and Eas.ely. Both have their pros and cons with Pikochart being stronger in template and image selection and Eas.ely being easier to navigate. Here is an infographic I made for a presentation at Lilly Austin conference in 2017: Engaging Learners Infographic Handout.

Comment here with tools that you recommend!

 

 

What does it mean to learn with Web 2.0?

 “Web 2.0 is not about technology, and neither is e-Learning 2.0. The human element is what makes the new Web work” (Schlenker, 2008).

This sentiment pretty much sums up my interest in these technologies. Specifically, I am vested in the pedagogical uses for Web 2.0 tools and exploring best practice strategies for creating learner centered content.

There is an enormous potential in people from all over the world coming together to create, share, discover content. Web 2.0 tools offer opportunities for enhanced education, communication, and content delivery. These tools can support a variety of learning through text, image, video, audio, mapping, and digital storytelling (just to name a few). One of the most exciting things about Web 2.0 is the continuous change and adaption of technologies shaped by users coming from a wide variety of backgrounds, education, and economies.

EnterBower, M. (2015). A typology of web 2.0 learning technologies.  Macquarie University, Australia. Retrieved from https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/csd6280.pdf

 

So what does it mean to learn with Web 2.0? Generally speaking, learning through web technologies is an informal learning process, a more self-reliant road to discovery that can be both self-empowering and self-directed. These tools provide a vehicle that drives user-generated content to meet learning needs.