Blog IT

Schools get help in using Web 2.0 tools

Web 2.0 tools hold great promise for education, but they also pose a number of challenges for educators. To help teachers and administrators navigate these challenges, while also becoming "disruptive leaders" in their schools, the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) has released two new whitepapers as part of its recent focus on Web 2.0 and education. Read more.

"Where Do You Learn?": Tweeting to Inform Learning Space Development

Emerging technologies and applications can extend traditional approaches to data generation and can be used effectively in institutional planning. Read more.

Twitter Goes to College

At the University of Texas-Dallas, history professor Monica Rankin needed a better way to get students involved in the classroom. Read more.

District Administrators See Advantages of Web 2.0 in School

While K-12 district administrators are "overwhelmingly positive" about the value of Web 2.0 in schools, the use of Web 2.0 tools in actual learning environments is "quite limited," according to the results of a new study from...read more.

Why Wikis?

Most Web 2.0 tools are discussed at length in terms of their application to the learning process. While there is much that can be learned from using these tools in instruction, there are also principles upon which that use rests that have long been the goals of instruction at various levels. In other words, while the tools may change, the goals of teaching and learning remain much the same.

What is a great advance, however, is how quickly and effectively some of these instructional goals can be met while using newer technology tools. The Wiki is one such tool. Read article.

How to: Build a Social Media Cheat Sheet for Any Topic

Step-by-step instructions on how to get up to speed with social media.Check it out.

Government 2.0: How Social Media Could Transform Gov PR

Just as private companies are learning to embrace social media to manage brand reputations, governments must adapt if they wish to effectively communicate with their "customers" -- a.k.a. their citizens and stakeholders. Read article.

Social networking -- the new 'killer app'?

Beyond social networking, what will Web 2.0 do for businesses in a forthcoming year that is economically unpredictable? Read on...

MSG Instant Messenger: Social Presence and Location for the "Ad Hoc Learning Experience"

Abstract: "Elearning2.0" promises to harness the power of three of today's most disruptive technologies: social software, elearning, and Web2.0.   Our own work in this disruptive space takes as a starting premise that social networking is critical for learning: finding the right person can be more important than ‘scouring the web for an answer’, particularly when hand-holding or other explanatory services are required.  Moreover, it 'feels good' to know that others are around!  With this in mind, we have taken our older BuddySpace tool, and created a new tool we call MSG, which is simpler, available as Open Source, and integrates cleanly with a number of other services, including Moodle and Google Maps. Read more.

How Web 2.0 has changed the face of education

A campaign called Next Generation Learning was launched this year by Becta to promote the effective use of technology in schools, colleges and other learning environments. Tony Richardson explains how Web 2.0 has the potential to revolutionise technology in learning. Read article.