Download Reflection Entry: Web 2.0 Technologies Simultaneous

Reflection Entry:
Web 2.0 Technologies
Simultaneous with changes in technology, changes in educational systems and its main
components has occurred. It is expected in educational systems today that they will not be
limited to the context of textbooks or school teachers but have comprehensive educational
resources; Web 2.0 technologies make this possible. The appearance of Web 2.0 technologies
has caused remarkable changes in the world educational systems .Web-2.0 technologies has
provided simple and easy educational practices for learners. Using these advanced technologies
with the possibility of transferring data in the form of sound, images, text, painting and being
interactive has caused interest and motivation in learners. In addition by using this tool, teachers
are not the only source of knowledge transfer and their role will be as educational facilitators.
Accordingly, Web 2.0 blog is seeking to enter and use this new technology to improve learning
with less time.
The goal of Web 2.0 blog which is to contribute a positive social change by providing
guidance to classroom teachers on how using Web 2.0 can help in the teaching and learning
processes in the classroom which can help students’ achievement. This goal is requiring a
research-based analysis that examines the nature of Web 2.0 technology in relation to education.
Literature Review:
Numerous studies and research reviews indicate the importance of Web 2.0 blog ideas,
technologies and implications on students’ academic achievement which are mentioned in the
following:
Web 2.0 technologies have had great accomplishments replacing the traditional ways of
learning and teaching in the classroom by modern ways. Rienzo and Han’s (2009) comparison of
Web 2.0 technologies from both Google and Microsoft expanded the understanding of the
success of these technologies at educational institutions in improving student learning
experiences. Google and Microsoft recognized that Web 2.0 tools are enablers of collaborative
learning and empower students to learn, while both companies continue Web 2.0 innovation.
Similar results were presented by Chen (2009), Li and Pitts (2009), Parker and Chao
(2007), and Williams and Chinn (2009). Williams and Chinn examined an active learning
experience which demonstrated how using Web 2.0 tools expanded the classroom by increasing
student technological literacy. Furthermore, their research indicated how the classroom’s
expansion goes beyond K-12 initiatives. As university-level, business, and sports industry
applications are rapidly increasing. Also, the potential of Web 2.0 is becoming more apparent.
Overall, this research illustrated how higher Web 2.0 literacy levels improved students’ ability to
select, use, and evaluate.
1
Chen (2009) examination of the Ohio State University Library’s (OSUL) attempt to use
Web 2.0 tools to provide better support to students to maximize efficiency
and improve quality in the Cataloguing Department. The investigation reviews the Cataloguing
Department coordinator’s use of blogs, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Delicious to meet
the challenges of a complex workflow, a large number of users, and a demanding environment.
For example, the blog, which was updated frequently, was used to display new guidelines and
procedure/policy changes. Chen’s (2009) results indicated that using blogs and other Web 2.0
tools was very successful in improving section management and professional activities. In
particular, the outcomes showed that Web 2.0 increased workflow efficiency, reduced student
training time, allowed staff to focus on other responsibilities, and ultimately allowed the OSUL
students to do their work.
The potential for using a Web 2.0 technology has been examined by Li and Pitt (2009),
specifically Facebook’s instant messaging (IM) client, as a medium for public university
students’ utilization of virtual office hours instead of traditional office hours. The virtual office
30 hours were designed to last for one hour during a weekday evening. Research results on one
hand suggested that the participants’ satisfaction of traditional office hours was corrupted due to
inconvenience and lack of accessibility. On the other hand, the participants of the virtual office
hours reacted positively to the increased availability of the professors that was made possible by
the Web 2.0 technologies. However, it was discovered that there was a problem when students
initiated interaction with their professors despite using the easy to- use technologies.
The contribution of wikis to various learning paradigms and recommended additional
usage has been examined by Parker and Chao (2007). The results showed that the wiki expanded
the classroom and established an atmosphere that is best suited for cooperative learning because
the students worked collectively to support individual learning. Also the results show how using
the wikis in writing assignments improved writing skills. They claimed that the results of this
type of effort led to enhanced learning by students because skills such as positive
interdependence and individual accountability allowed students to achieve at higher levels and
retain information longer than their traditional counterparts.
Mon and Randeree (2009) investigated the perceptions of both older and younger
students. It was discovered that there was a significant gap in the knowledge and experience
level between older graduate students and younger undergraduate students. The younger students
were much more advanced in using technology and noticeably more highly motivated to use it.
This section is important to be embedding into Web 2.0 blog because one of the goals of
the Web 2.0 blog was to use Web 2.0 technologies to expand the associated classrooms and
supplement traditional ways of learning. In the same fashion, the present literature has presented
several occurrences of Web 2.0 technologies’ attempt to expand the classroom and supplement
traditional ways of learning. For example, it was discovered that Web 2.0 tools such as wikis and
blogs were used as expansion efforts to hone skills such as positive interdependence and allow
students to achieve at higher levels and retain information longer than their traditional
counterparts.
2
References
Chen, S. (2009). Using a blog and other Web 2.0 tools to enhance cataloging section
activities. Library Resources & Technical Services, 53, 251–261.
Li, L. & Pitts, J. P. (2009). Does it really matter? Using virtual office hours to enhance studentfaculty interaction. Journal of Information Systems Education, 20(2),
175–185.
Mon, L., & Randeree, E. (2009). On the boundaries of reference services: Questioning and
library 2.0. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 50, 164–176.
Parker, K. R., & Chao, J. T. (2007). Wiki as a teaching tool. Interdisciplinary Journal of
Knowledge and Learning Objects, 3, 1–17.
Rienzo, T., & Han, B. (2009). Microsoft or Google Web 2.0 tools for course management.
Journal of Information Systems Education, 20, 123–127.
Williams, J., & Chinn, S. J. (2009). Using Web 2.0 to support the active learning experience.
Journal of Information Systems Education, 20, 165–174.
3