Getting Grounded in Web 2.0 & Late Blogs

With all of the different tools and various instructions on Blackboard, I think I was literally dizzy the first week of the Web 2.0 class.  I am certain that Dr. Dennen thinks I am a complete technophobe, as she has patiently written instructions via email to me which explain in detail the various tools on Blackboard and how they differ from the Web 2.0 tools that are available for us to use.  (Thank you, Dr. Dennen!)  I suppose it is true that I am more comfortable with course developer tools over the actual media.

I will admit, I am getting somewhat grounded in Web 2.0 tools, however, I am sure at this point Dr. Dennen may not agree with me!  :)  I am still not 100% sure of how I can make these tools work in formal education or even the corporate environment, unless it is through guided research, which would still require more or less an instructor guide or job aid of some sort. I suppose the guidance could be in the form of a text message, tweet, or blog.

In an attempt to get caught up with "blogging" for the first week and having messed up so badly during Week 1 of this class, I surely hope this reflective type of blog counts as one of the required blogs, as I am blogged out for the day.  I admit that it takes me a moment to catch on at times, but once I learn it, I know it for good.  Reading Dr. Dennen's response to another class member's blog that working on the computer work first and then reading second will help me prioritize.

Also, although I read the participation instructions several times, I completely missed where we are not required to respond to every message in the BB Discussion (I was spending much of my time there responding.)  I will admit, it feels much "cooler" writing blogs... :)

I chose to use a little humor in this blog, as I needed it after two very long days of catching up over the weekend. :)

Can Twitter Be Used to Enhance Learning?

Junco (2011) on page 120 writes that Twitter, as a microblogging platform, provides more of an ongoing public dialogue among multiple users that can be more effectively used for educational purposes over other media, such as Facebook.  Twitter also encourages faculty to be more engaged with students as well as educational peers.  Does Twitter, however, actually enhance learning?

I would say that Twitter does enhance learning simply via its collaborative nature where ideas can be discussed and expanded on.  However, it would take multiple tweets to provide detail on any one subject as a single post is limited to 140 characters, as I discovered as I tweeted my first time this past week.

I discovered a cool interactive site created by Helen Doyle on the use of Twitter in education:
http://prezi.com/gsp73lokv3ni/social-media-twitter-as-a-tool-for-education/

iPhones and iPads + Web 2.0 = Education

iPhones and iPads utilize Web 2.0 technology and allow collaborative communication through the use of some Apps.  In fact, simple texting on an iPhone is viewed as a "chat" between two or more participants.  Wouldn't this be considered Web 2.0?

I did some research on the Internet and there is a lot of information available on IOS technology and Web 2.0.  In fact, I ran across one site, 40 Useful Web 2.0 iPhone Applications and Sites (below), and I am sure there are a ton more, but this was enough to intrigue me!
http://www.dzineblog360.com/2010/12/40-useful-web-2-0-iphone-applications-and-sites/

I am interested in learning more about utilizing the Web 2.0 capabilities that iPhones and iPads have for educational purposes.

Using Web 2.0 in Corporate Environments

In my organization, learners are limited to search capabilities and tools outside of the organization's approved sites due to a firewall.  With more and more learners utilizing Web 2.0 technology, how is one expected to work within the confines of corporate limitations, such as firewalls?

There are many benefits to Web 2.0 for learners:

• Collaboration is encouraged
• Comfort level of users is high
• There is low cost to use the tools (Google Web 2.0 tools are free to use)

The question is how do you incorporate Web 2.0 into Corporate America in order for learners within these organizations to benefit from such tools?

I discovered this interesting article below that discusses protecting intellectual properties, etc., which leads me to another question - how do you get your organization to buy into utilizing Web 2.0?

http://content.arma.org/IMM/JanFeb09/Walk_In_The_Cloud/web_2.0_issues_risks.aspx

Generations, Learning Styles, Web 2.0

Generations and learning styles are quite interesting.  Most generation’s preferred style of training are Performance Support (tools) and reference materials for self study.  Interestingly, over a span of four generations of learners - Baby Boomers, Gen X, Traditionalists, and Gen Y - Gen X'ers prefer self navigating to find training for learning purposes.

Source for the above information can be found at the following web site:
http://www.meridiaars.com/assets/other/LearningStyles.pdf

While it may be more comfortable to remain in one's own preferred style of learning, it is important to understand all learning styles in order to develop and provide training for all learners within all generations.

Web 2.0 tools can be intimidating for the older generations; as a Baby Boomer, I understand fully the need to at least learn how to navigate and interact with these tools from a supportive standpoint as it relates to ID/HPT.

4 Principles of Produsage Described by Brun

While I have an overall understanding of produsage, the 4 principles described Brun are a little difficult for me to comprehend:

1. Open participation, communal evaluation
2. Fluid heterarchy, ad hoc meritocracy
3. Unfinished artefacts, continuing process
4. Common property, individual rewards
I found a few websites that were helpful in helping me to further understand the 4 principles that Brun describes:

http://produsage.org/node/11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Produsage

Even with the additional readings, I still struggled with writing formal educational conditions for the 4th principle - Common property, individual rewards.

I am thinking it would be along the lines of intellectual property instances for organizations.  Wherein, a collaborative effort to determine a certain outcome resulted in a second outcome on an individual's contribution.  However, in this instance, the contributor was under an agreement with the organization, and so was not able to gain recognition or reward due to the agreement with the organization.

Of course this is a negative instance, where the individual could not be rewarded financially, however, they could receive recognition as a form of reward.

Week 2 Journal

The concept of produsage is applied in my personal, professional, and academic life.  In my personal life, I have participated in server-side activities such as Farm Town on Facebook where two or more users interact with the game and each other striving to achieve the highest score.

In my professional life, I routinely develop virtual courses using Adobe Connect along with other hosts.  Adobe Connect allows interaction of two or more hosts to collaborate, update, and make changes to the meeting room layouts as well as respond to participants simultaneously that are attending the virtual class.

Finally, in my academic life, I utilize Googledocs to collaborate with other learning peers to develop, update, and enhance content for the various classes that I am in at Florida State University.  Also, I am learning how to utilize many new produsage applications as we learn about Web 2.0 and how to utilize it in formal learning environments.