The Tweatcher

Guidelines for a Web 2.0 Educator

Web 2.0 is a troublesome concept for many. At best it distracts and at worse it corrupts. The perception that this is the latest upgrade to the Information Overload is put up as a barrier to adoption. There is undoubtedly pollution of the information supply as well as attempts to steal out attention as described by Jacob Nielsen.[Nielsen]

The problems of information overload are not in the technology but through misuse and misunderstanding. Clearly education is needed. But don't think it is just the kids. Marc Prensky [Prensky] identifies a generational gap between his digital natives and digital immigrants. The younger generation gets it, but often their elders and betters don't. Yet these occasionally reluctant digital immigrants are the decision makers. So by students I mean anyone, whether seventeen or seventy.

Education in general is one area where Web 2.0 promises benefits as well as difficulties. Someone on Twitter has already grabbed that portmanteau - tweatcher. However I thought it worth defining and expounding on the role of an educator teaching Web 2.0 [Hargadon] in a Web 2.0 way, a teacher 2.0 if you like, with the following guidelines.

#1 Don't add to the Overload

All information should be on the need to know basis. Instructional material should consider the limits our attention and our patience and should not be an excuse to yet produce more information. If it's extraneous and irrelevant, then delete. This includes any text put in to merely fill up white space . Make use of material already out there. Try actually teaching.

#2 Teach people how to spot the baloney

Raise awareness of scams and hoaxes as well as how language is used and abused - See Wikipedia for a discussion on Weasel words. Include critical thinking skills and the importance of following up the references. [Bartlett and Miller] Try Carl Sagan's Baloney detection kit.

#3 Filter feed

Provide your learners with a compendium of the relevant information that this already out there. This will form the scaffolding[Hmelo-Silver] onto which they can construct their own knowledge and interpretations. It will also be a chance steer your student's away from the mainstream and informational dross.

#4 Deal with concepts not just applications

A good conceptual model of how information technology actually works is all too often lacking. This causes the misuse and misunderstanding. Understanding the key principles is the best future proofing as superficial interfaces change more often than the underlying mechanisms.

#5 Actually make use of the technology

Practise what you preach. It will be relevant and appropriate to do so and demonstrate your competence. It will also make for better hands on learning experience. Put instructional material online (only if you really need it). Use social software for feedback and discussion and update and change your material as you go on.

#6 Maintain a single moment of truth

When using the technology, networks and client server architecture allows for the rationalisation of resources and content. Make use of database technology for content management. This will do away the redundancy problem of spurious versions of documents containing what should be the same information, a real cause of information overload. Content management will also allow for smarter searches, filtering and sorting.

#7 Separate presentation from content

With content management systems make use of style sheets. That way changes to the design, such as colours and fonts, can be made just once and are carried over to all content. Otherwise every document would need editing. Content needs to evolve quickly and keep current.

#8 Sometimes it's ok to be a weasel

Educators are allowed to inspire and challenge established thinking. Besides, embellishments and a narrative flow sometimes help with learning; it may be easier to remember and be less boring.

These principles where put together in 2011 and published on www.nmk.co.uk as the link is now gone, they are now here instead. Whilst the term Web 2.0 was never much used - the phrase social media covers it - these guidelines are still relevant today. Fake news was actually a thing back in 2011.

Drawing from experience of teaching IT, including silver surfer type classes, and working in industry concerned with the challenges of managing information, these are some ideas for better practice.

References

Nielsen, J. (2003, August 11). Information Pollution. Retrieved June 16, 2018, from Alert Box: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/information-pollution/

Hargadon, S. (Retrieved 2011). Educational Networking: The important role Web 2.0 will play in education. Elluminate.

Prensky, M. (2001, October 05). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon, MCB University Press, Vol 9, No 5.

Bartlett, J., & Millar, C. (2011). Truth Lies and the Internet: a report into young peoples digital fluency. Demos.

Cindy E. Hmelo-Silver, R. G. (2007). Scaffolding and Achievement in Problem-Based and Inquiry Learning:. Educational Psychologist.

June 2018
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