Hello,
hello... hello... hello...
I heard this theory that there are people all over sitting in front of machines like mine and carrying on discussions with others around the world. They say it will become an invaluable tool for learning - literally transforming the world of education. Sounds crazy, right?
Well, I thought I poke my head in to see what's really going on. I am a middle-aged PhD student in Educational Psychology with an interest in Learning Technology. I have a technical background but am trying to focus more on the learning side. I keep falling back into tech but I hear that this is a curable ailment. Probably another crazy theory.
Anyway, I am curious about how the Web 2.0 will affect education. Although there is a lot of talk about how specific tools belonging to the Web 2.0 genre can be used to benefit education, there seems to be a lack of focus on the overall paradigm shift. No discussion of actually creating the tools (I know a technical throwback) but part of the new paragidm is about microcontent and remixability which will give the practicing educational technologist not only pre-fabricated tools but the ability to be more creative in his/her approach to instructional design.
A Google search of "Web 2.0" (with quotes) returns 67,300,000 hits. The same search in Google scholar returns 1,410 and if the keyword "education" is added we're down to 506 (maybe I can make that 507 :-).
Ok world, let me know what you think!
1 comments:
If you are looking for paradigm changes, I would definitely take a look at connected knowledge (Stephen Downes) and Connectivism (George Siemens)... I think there is a wholesale shift happening in educational "theory" and pedagogy. At least amongst those who are paying attention, for whom it probably seems inevitable and necessary.
But you are right that there is a whole universe of scholarship waiting to be explored and explained, not to mention a lot of practical and pragmatic issues to be sorted out where "the rubber meets the road."
chris (from chrislott.org)
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