Technology is vital in online learning in order to have the learners and instructor interact and also have learners a means to engage with the content of the course (RMCAD, n.d). There is a difference between face-to-face and online learning. I will share some of my information about the two.
Online learning differs from the traditional face-to-face classroom. In the fact-to-face classroom there is immediate assistance from the instructor, immediate collaboration and interaction with the students and instructor as well as leadership from the instructor. The media or technology used in the face-to-face classroom are textbooks, chalk or white boards, projectors, some movies, audio, and in class demonstration.
With the online classroom the learning is asynchronous which is student-centered teaching that uses online learning resources to expedite information sharing outside of the constraints of time and place among a network of people, (Wikipedia, n.d.). The online classroom is learner-centered and with that being said, the students must be responsible and take account for their won learning and interaction in the class because of the lack of instructor leadership and interaction amongst classmates (RMCAD, n.d.). This is why technology is needed in the virtual classroom and to keep the learners interested, stimulated, and intrigued to learn the material.
There are online tools or web 2.0 tools that are used to aid in instruction. Web 2.0 tools are software applications attained by the Internet. Web 2.0 represents an important shift in the way digital information is created, shared, stored, distributed and manipulated (Wolcott, 2007). Web 2.0 makes it easier to create online applications that behave dynamically (Wolcott, 2007). The tools are highly social, engaging users to manipulate and interact with content in new ways. (Wolcott, 2007). Web. 2.0 pushes computing power off the desktop and onto the Internet, meaning less time and money spent on PC software administration (Wolcott, 2007). They are also less expensive than traditional software and many are even free. (Wolcott, 2007).
There are many benefits for using web 2.0 tools. Logistically, using web 2.0 tool there is nothing to install, it’s usually cloud-based, it can be accessed from any Internet connected computer, in using an application, it will always be the latest version, and all students can use the same web tool from any computer no matter if they are at school or off campus (Brumley, n.d.). Other benefits of web 2.0 are project-based learning. Using free websites, students can create using cloud-based applications which projects can be interactive and rich in multimedia (Brumley, n.d.). Web 2.0 in the classroom gives the ability to collaborate and share the project-based learning experience (Brumley, n.d.). Working together on projects and having online discussions is easy facilitated on an endless number of websites (Brumley, n.d.). Students can share work not only with one another and the instructor but with friends and family as well (Brumley, n.d.).
There are many web 2.0 tools available. Some of these include Glogster, Kidblog, LiveBinders, Skype, Storybird, VoiceThread, and Wordle, to name a few. Here is a brief description of them.
Glogster is a creativity site whose tag line is “poster yourself” (Dabbs, 2012). A ‘glog’ is an online poster web page (Dabbs, 2012). Students combine text, pictures, graphics, video, and audio to create an interactive online poster (Dabbs, 2012).
Kidblog is designed for elementary and middle school teachers who want to provide their students with their own unique blog (Dabbs, 2012). Students can publish posts and participate in discussions within a secure classroom blogging community and the teacher has complete control over the student blogs (Dabbs, 2012).
LiveBinders is a way for a user to organize digital information into container like a 3 ring binder on a shelf (Dabbs, 2012).
With the binders, a user can upload documents and combine them with links in a neat and organized way (Dabbs, 2012).
Skype is an easy solution for teachers to open their classroom and their students to a world way beyond their campus (Dabbs, 2012). Students can learn from their knowledge by communicating through their computer and with a webcam (Dabbs, 2012).
Storybird is a fun and easy way to create short visual stories (Dabbs, 2012). Students can select artwork, drag and organize photos and add content (Dabbs, 2012).
VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slideshow that allows students to comment on images, documents, and video through text, video and audio files (Dabbs, 2012). Teachers can set up groups and moderate comments, embed blogs, and export audio files (Dabbs, 2012).
With Wordle teachers and students can generate word clouds that show prominent words in a body of text which text is gathered from students or a URL and shown a summary of what the text is about (Dabbs, 2012). Wordle also allows the user to change the appearance of their word cloud by the shape, font, color and organization (Dabbs, 2012).
There is a variety of web 2.0 tools to do most anything the user desires which will keep learners involved in their studies. Classrooms are not just the instructor and textbook any more. Although there is not the immediate action from instructor and classmates, online classes are on the rise and will be around for a long time.
References:
Brumley, M. (n.d.). Web 2.0 in the classroom – part 3. Retrieved from http://www.teachamazing.com/web-2-0-in-the-classroom-part-3/
Dabbs, L. (2012). Using web 2.0 tools in the classroom. Retrieved from http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/
resources/tutorials/pedagogy/instructionalstrategies.asp
Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design (RMCAD). (n.d.) Week 6 – presentation: Implementing instructional content
and media. Retrieved from http://student.online.rmcad.edu/index.cfm?
fuseaction=lms.activitiesAssignment&activityid=91921&deliveryid=125485
Wikipedia. (n.d.) Asychrony. Retrieved from http://www.en.wilipedia.org/wiki/asynchrony
Wolcott, M. (2007). What is web 2.0? Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-web-20/
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