Educational Networking: The Role of Web 2.0 in Education

Here's a wonderful synopsis of the marriage between education and Web 2.0 tools. At the end of the article, the following list has been charged to educators. This appears to be a good self-check for each of us to see how much Web 2.0 is influencing our practices.

Web 2.0 Building Blocks
Here’s a brief roundup of the features, or tools, that comprise Web 2.0 and that are commonly found in social and educational networks. By looking at them within the context of education, their usefulness for teaching and learning are pretty dramatically apparent.

Profile Page: In educational networking, the profile page is a purposeful representation of who you are that provides tangible and identifiable benefits to professional connecting. Not only does the profile page fulfill some of the tasks that a resume would, but it also provides a portal view to the content you’ve created or participated in on the network, becoming a dynamic e-portfolio.

Friending: While “friending” can have a terrible connotation, if you think “colleague,” this will quickly fall away. Now you have professional colleagues, and, if it’s not quite the same as eating lunch with your fellow teachers each day in the teachers’ lounge, your online colleagues may be more likely to share your direct interests and understand your specific challenges.

Forums: One of the great features that Ning networks strengthened was the discussion forum, through which discussions could take place over time (asynchronously) and were threaded (making them easy to read and follow). Having conversations gathered in one place where they’re easy to read and search takes discussion forums to a new level and often makes them the heart of an educational network.

Photo/Video/Audio/Document Uploading: The tools for uploading “resources” such as photos, videos, and documents take on new meaning in educational networking, enabling the kind of sharing that is so powerfully ingrained into the teaching profession. Uploading a lesson plan and tagging it so it can be easily found by others provides a platform for great collaboration.

Directory: While not formally called “directories,” in many networks, the combination of member listings with the ability to search for members based on their profile information helps members find each other and create a “colleague” relationship.

Event Calendars: Using this tool for educational purposes (e.g., highlighting professional development events or valuable broadcasts) makes an events module of significant value to an educational network.

Groups: Groups (smaller versions of networks) not only provide a way for existing affiliations or associations to expand, they also allow for new connections to be created, grown, and sustained around more thinly sliced interest areas, timely events, topical issues, ad-hoc projects, and much more.

Chat: Chat can provide a surprisingly meaningful way to use informal communication to get to know someone a thousand miles away. In a network made up largely of asynchronous communication tools, it provides the opportunity for immediate, synchronous responses and dialogue.

Hargadon, S. (2010, March 1). Educational networking: the role of web 2.0 in education [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.mmischools.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/Educational-Networking-The-Role-of-Web-2.0-in-Education-5bAvailable-Full-Text2c-Free5d-61342.aspx