Future+Implications


 * Future Implications **

What are the future implications of Web 2.0 as an educational tool? We know that Web 2.0 is regularly being used in higher education and online learning as a tool, but where are we going and what are the effects? How will our classrooms and thinking change?

Web 2.0 can someday help to create a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) for each learner. (Grush, 2) What this means is students will be able to create a digital environment that shows evidence of their learning through a sort of ePortfolio. ( 2) Evidence is already present from a survey completed by The Association of American Colleges and Universities that states that ePortfolios can be more effective in demonstrating the level of student learning as compared to standardized test scores. (1) EPortfolios can provide a more complete picture to an employee that shows specific digital evidence of how a student has contributed to projects, wikis, online communities, developed projects with a team, and collaborated and communicated to create projects. (2)

Another future implication involves the technologies and philosophies of grading. As Web 2.0 collaboration becomes a requirement in more coursework instructors must develop methods to measure and evaluate student participation in these technologies. New gradebooks are being developed to specifically address Web 2.0 evaluation. A “harvesting” gradebook has the capability to to pull in evidence of student work from various technologies that students have potentially created in Flickr, collaborated with others in Google Groups or Picasa, and added value to a wiki. (Grush, 2) In this environment a gradebook could pull all of the elements together instead of students submitting copies of what they have contributed. (2)

Web 2.0 is currently most commonly used at the higher education level. As Web 2.0 is increasingly incorporated in secondary schools, there is a question about the potential gap between older educators and students. A vast majority of today’s secondary school students are clearly tech savvy and many of their Gen-X teachers simply cannot keep up. (Adams, 96) Technology tools are available to close this gap. Teachers can create a more open environment by joining with the students to use these tools such as Google’s application suite. (96) This takes the pressure off the teacher to ‘stay ahead’ of the students and allows the class and the teacher to share what they learn together while still covering the curriculum. Google is one of many places that offer simple, free features such as searches, web mail, groups for asynchronous discussion, chat rooms, document editing, and personal web spaces. (Adams, 97) Using the above tools to narrow the gap with his classes the author, Devon Christopher Davis, encourages high schools to incorporate teaching these technologies in staff development sessions and says, “Web 2.0 is a space of collective intelligences, and the traditional process of learning has moved online.” (99)

As Web 2.0 expands to k-12 schools there will be a shift in the 'bricks and mortar' configurations of our learning institutions. The following YouTube video by [|www.mediaineducation.com] called "Classroom of the Future: What's New in Educational Technology" points out some of the changes to classrooms that we can expect to see in the future. The classroom will have numerous electronic display surfaces with flat panel screens available to small student groups to show their work. Furniture will be easily movable to quickly configure to different size small groups. The teacher area will be small to allow for movement. Of course the building will have wireless internet, many outlets, and flexible lighting. Finally, multiple cameras will be mounted to allow for the class session to be viewed later by absent students or to be used for distance learning or guest lecturers ("Classroom" video).  media type="youtube" key="QcXEznPXj8k" height="285" width="340" Ultimately Web 2.0 will have a shift our thinking about education in the future. The change is using blogs, wikis, content-sharing, and other collaborative applications to participate not present. (Brown 30) A shift from "Supply-push" thinking, where information is delivered to students, to "Demand-pull", where students are enabled to particpate and informal learning occurs as part of the process. (30) According to John Seely Brown and Richard P. Adler in Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0, "The demand-pull approach is based on providing students with access to rich (sometimes virtual) learning communities built around a practice. It is passion-based learning, motivated by the student either wanting to become a member of a particular community of practice or just wanting to learn about, make, or perform something. Often the learning that transpires is informal rather than formally conducted in a structured setting." (30) This thinking shift can be summarized with the term "Open Participatory Learning Ecosystem" (30) It is ultimately the shift in outlook and thinking that transcends the technology and methodology of learning. By approach, we transform how learning will look in the future.

Adams, Devon Christopher. “Gaga for Google in the Twenty-First Century Advanced Placement Classroom.” Clearing House Vol. 82 Issue 2 (Nov2008) 96-100.
 * Works Cited on this Page:**

Brown, John Seely and Richard P. Adler. " Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0." Educause Review (January/February 2008) 16-32. []  "Classroom of the Future: What's New in Education Technology", video from [|YouTube], created by: [|mediaineducation.com] , [] , September 12, 2007.

Grush, Mary. “The Future of Web 2.0: An Interview with Gary Brown.” CampusTechnology.com. February, 27, 2008. [] 