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IERI Procedía 2 (2012) 655 - 659
2012 International Conference on Future Computer Supported Education
Research and Practice on Web 2.0-based Collaborative Learning
Bo Shen a'b*
a School of Information Technology, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang 330032, China b Institute of Information Resources Management, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang 330032, China
Abstract
Web 2.0 is a collaborative web development platform that refers to the cumulative changes in the ways software developers and end-users achieve benefits from the web. The maximum value of Web 2.0 for the education lies in the community and network collaborative learning. Web 2.0-based collaborative learning is an educational approach to teaching and learning that involves groups of learners working together to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product in the Web 2.0 context. In this paper, some characteristics of Web 2.0-based collaborative learning (WBCL) are introduced. Main implementation technologies of WBCL have been proposed, which include wikis, blogs, podcasts and social networks. Finally, a WBCL case in management information systems course is proposed.
© 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Selection and peer review under responsibility of Information Engineering Research Institute
Keywords: Web 2.0collaborative learning; management information systems
1. Introduction
Web 2.0 is a collaborative web development platform that refers to the cumulative changes in the ways software developers and end-users achieve benefits from the web. In the recent years, Web 2.0 technologies have become popular among the younger generation to make communication and effective and interactive.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +086-791-83983820; fax:+086-791-83983890. E-mail address: jxcdsb@gmail.com.
2212-6678 © 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and peer review under responsibility of Information Engineering Research Institute doi:10.1016/j.ieri.2012.06.149
The great diffusion of Web 2.0 is having a tremendous effect and change on the way people search, find, collaboratively develop and consume information and knowledge. Education and learning are not an exception of Web 2.0 trends, as the number of Web 2.0 empowered collaborative learning environments are booming.
To provide more effective interaction and collaboration, investigation for the ways of using blogs effectively, wikis, podcasts, and social network in education has been started. The main characteristic of these tools called Web 2.0 is users' active participation in the content of creation process (Kogak-Usluel and Mazman, 2009). Web 2.0 refers to a perceived second generation of web-based applications and services and in particular the use of the web as a platform for user generated content and web-based communities, including particularly social networking, Wikis and folksonomies (O'Reilly, 2005). At the same time, users can use these tools to virtually interactive with others, grade, tag and note other users' contents.
Teachers in the Internet age are called digital immigrants. They are seen as a group of people who are not good at IT. Facing the college students growing up in the digital age, the teachers have to change themselves to take up the important task of teaching. When the ancient educational experience faces the participation of all people in Web 2.0, all changes are possible. The maximum value of Web 2.0 for the education lies in the community and network collaborative learning. The Web 2.0 technologies, globalization, the Internet, open learning, networked education community, P2P-based interactive teaching, all of these are gradually changing our mode of teaching.
The paper first introduces the characteristics of Web 2.0-based collaborative learning (WBCL), and then analyzes main implementation technologies of WBCL. Finally, a WBCL case in information systems (IS) courses is proposed.
2. Characteristics ofWBCL
Web 2.0-based collaborative learning is an educational approach to teaching and learning that involves groups of learners working together to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product in the Web 2.0 context. WBCL benefits from all kinds of Web 2.0 tools, such as blog, wiki, podcast, and forum, etc. Below are some characteristics of WBCL that help us to understand WBCL.
2.1. Beyond the limitation of time and space
Taking advantages of Web 2.0, learners can break through the limitations of time and space. On the one hand, the partners of collaborative learners can be a classmate, or it can be from the other side of peers. On the other hand, collaborative learners may be students, teachers, experts and other different types of people.
2.2. Equal partners between teachers and students
Constructivism provides a new model, in which students and teachers are equal partners. Teachers should cultivate a pleasant, harmonious environment for every student to improve in an all-round way in terms of their moral, intellectual, physical and aesthetic development. In WBCL, teachers and students should enter the partnership as equal, but teachers and students have different skills.
In WBCL, learners are faced with the same learning environment. Teachers may not have more resources than students, and the isolation of the network are also exempt from face to face pressure. In this virtual community, teachers and students can equally dialogue, so it can effectively solve problems. In collaborative learning, teachers become one member of student, and their roles have changed. Roles of teachers are no longer single information senders. Teachers become consultants, designers, facilitators and monitors. Teachers have more duties on collaborating students and designing the learning process.
2.3. Abundant network resources
Different technologies can be used in the process of collaborative learning, which include database technologies, network technologies, and artificial intelligence technologies. Learners can get and choose abundant information resources and problem-solving resources by using network. Supported by a variety of methods and strategies, learners cannot only face the challenges and maintain a high degree of enthusiasm curiosity, but also can keep interest and confidence.
3. Main Web 2.0 technologies in WBCL
There are many types of Web 2.0 technologies in WBCL and new offerings appear almost daily. The following are some basic categories in which we can classify most Web 2.0 offerings.
3.1. Wikis
According to Leuf and Cunningham, creators of the original wiki concept, a wiki is a freely expandable collection of interlinked webpages, a hypertext system for storing and modifying information - a database, where each page is easily edited by any user with a forms-capable Web browser client (Schwartz et al., 2004). Content can be directly linked to that found in other wikis and in Web documents.
One of the best known wikis is Wikipedia. Wikis can be used in education to facilitate knowledge systems powered by students. Wikis are also being adopted for the classroom. Educators are using this technology as a course management system, collaborative writing, posting of class notes, and project brainstorming. Wikis support the constructivist, collaborative learning models by engaging students in the learning process (Cole, 2009).
3.2. Blogs
A blog is a type of Website, usually maintained by an individual with regular commentary entries, event descriptions, or other material such as graphics or video. Blogs enable users, without requirement of any technical skill, to create, publish and organize their own web pages that contain dated content, entries, comments, discussion etc. in chronological order (Alexander, 2006). People can publish information which they collect from various resources and establish relation between them in blogs. Additionally RSS and the possibility to post comments make blogs also a collaborative and social-interactive software application.
The popularity of blogs among young people has made them appealing to educators seeking to integrate computer-mediated communication tools at the university level. These tools are seen as having the potential for enhancing student engagement and providing an environment for collaboration and creation of knowledge. Course management systems (e.g., Blackboard, Moodle) often include a blog component, which facilitates the integration of blogs into teaching and learning. However, educational applications of blogs have preceded research on their effectiveness (Halic et al., 2010).
3.3. Podcasts
A podcast is a digital media file, usually digital audio or video that is freely available for download from the Internet using software that can handle RSS feeds. The file can then be played on a personal computer or mobile device at the listener's convenience. The digital media file may be audio, audio enhanced with graphics, or full video (Harris and Rea, 2009).
Podcasts represents asynchronous Web 2.0 technology. These digital audio or video files provide archival capabilities by downloading the files to a computer or a personal player. Such technology extends learning beyond the classroom (Guertin et al., 2007).
Podcasts are not just faculty centric tools to create lectures. Student produced podcasts demonstrate their understanding of the course material. Although podcasting is not a synchronous activity, it provides students information that will help them feel connected to learning community and this may be even pedagogically appropriate in some courses to allow students to create their own podcasts for the rest of the class members (Beldarrain, 2006).
3.4. SocialNetworks
A social network is a social structure made of nodes, generally individuals or organizations, which are connected by one or more specific types of interdependency. Social networks are software that support collaboration, knowledge sharing, interaction and communication of users from different places who come together with a common interest, need or goal.
Social networks are the networking of individuals or small groups in certain groups. Such networks can operate on many levels, from the family level and specific interest groups, progressing to the levels of specific population groups to the level of the nonprofessional, common people. They can play a key role in the individual problem solving, as well as by initiating joint actions (Masic and Sivic, 2011).
4. A case in IS courses ofWBCL
In the course teaching process of management information systems, I employ the Blackboard Learning System (BLS) and personal blog to collaborate with students. The Blackboard Learning System allows education providers to support a feature-rich online teaching and learning environment that can be used to augment a classroom-based program or for distance learning. The major capabilities of the Blackboard Learning System include course management, syllabus builder, learning units, teaching and learning tools, personal information management, discussion board, collaboration tools, group projects, assessments and surveys, self-assessment and peer assessment, etc.
In the BLS, instructors can deliver online, automatically-scored assessments and surveys. They can create such assessments from scratch or draw upon personal, institutional, or commercially-available test banks of questions. Question types include Calculated Formula, Calculated Numeric, Hotspot, Jumbled Sentence, Likert Scale, True/False, Multiple Choice, Multiple Answer, Ordering, Matching, Fill-in-the-Blank, Short Answer, Essay, File Upload, and Binary Choice. Assessment questions can be given all at once or one at a time, can be timed or un-timed, and assessments can be taken multiple times or only once.
During 2009 to 2011,1 use BLS to post course material, discuss topics, assignments and experiment tasks. I request every student to open a blog and post at least five articles in the semester. In the BLS discussion board, I post discuss topic, course case and other materials. The students post their article links in the BLS, and the other students can read them and cite these articles.
At the end of the semester, there were more than 300 students to build their blogs and post more than 1500 articles about the courses. I read every student's blog, and chose some good article to post on the blog group. I found many students to read these chosen articles.
This case demonstrates that BLS can be effective educational technology and useful web 2.0-based activity for learning. Through BLS and blog, a teacher can create an ambience in which students feel themselves to be important parts of the classroom community and that their needs and opinions are recognized and addressed.
Beyond the obvious generation benefits, WBCL can also provide an improved educational experience. When I use Blackboard, it benefits from a more personalized approach to online learning—face-to-face collaboration, integrated social learning tools, and instant access to course materials and lectures—no matter where my students happen to be.
5. Conclusions
Web 2.0 affects the creation, distribution, dissemination and repackaging of information and the sharing of knowledge. WBCL bring us many benefits from Web 2.0. By building and implemented the WBCL, it can form teacher-student learning communities, students-students learning community, teachers-teacher learning communities, effectively implement the interactive teaching. WBCL can implement the effective knowledge and ability transfer between teachers and students. In the future, I can use WBCL in the other courses and meet the students' needs by using new Web 2.0 technologies.
Acknowledgements
The research is supported by the Education Department of Jiangxi Province of China (Grant No. JXJG-09-3-25).
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