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that self-awareness in controlling and improving
cognitive processes” (p. 527).
Metacognitive awareness is important for
a number of reasons. Learners who are meta-
cognitively aware perform the following ac-
tivities (Brockett & Hiemstra, 1985; Brookfield,
1985/1991; Glaser, 1984; Ridley, Schultz, Glanz,
& Weinstein, 1992; Von Wright, 1992):
opportunities to develop their capacity for self-
direction, metacognitive awareness, and an overall
disposition toward lifelong learning (Dunlap,
2005). To determine what teaching strategies help
students develop as lifelong learners, Dunlap and
Grabinger (2003) investigated well-established
instructional approaches, such as problem-based
learning, that appear—based on foundational the-
ory and empirical research—to enhance students'
lifelong learning skills and dispositions. They
concluded that educators can support students'
lifelong-learning development by attending to five
specific instructional objectives when designing
courses and other educational opportunities:
•
Take conscious control of learning;
•
Plan and select learning strategies;
•
Monitor and evaluate effectiveness of
learning strategies through self-assessment
and review;
•
Adjust learning behaviors, processes, and
strategies; and
•
Develop student autonomy, responsibility,
and intentionality;
•
Reflect on learning.
•
Encourage reflection;
People with well-developed metacognitive
skills engage in effective problem solving and rea-
soning activities (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1985;
Bransford et al., 1986; Chi, Feltovich, & Glaser,
1981). On the other hand, people with poorly
developed metacognitive skills have difficulty
recognizing when they have failed to adequately
meet learning goals or complete tasks (Bransford,
Sherwood, Vye, &Rieser, 1986). Therefore, the
capacity for self-directed learning supported
by metacognitive awareness is key to effective
lifelong learning. This is especially true today,
given frequently changing professional needs and
demands and the explosion of information and
technologies; one cannot effectively use Web 2.0
technologies, let alone engage in lifelong learning,
without the capacity for self-directed learning
supported by metacognitive awareness.
•
Enculturate into a community of practice;
•
Encourage discourse and collaboration;
and
•
Provide intrinsically motivating learning
activities.
While there are many ways that educators
can attend to each of these instructional objec-
tives, a number of new online Web 2.0 technolo-
gies—many of which students are already using
(Greenhow, Robelia, & Hughes, 2009; Lenhart,
Madden, Macgill, & Smith, 2007; Madden & Fox,
2006)—can be used to attend to these specific
instructional objectives in new and creative ways
and as a result help to develop lifelong learning
skills (i.e., self-directed learning and metacogni-
tive awareness skills) in students.
The term Web 2.0 was originally coined by
DiNucci (1999) and later popularized by Dough-
erty and O'Reilly (see O'Reilly, 2005a, 2005b) to
describe how the Web is changing from a read-
only web to a read-and-write web that facilitates
participatory, collaborative, and distributed prac-
tices (Antonelli, 2009; Downes, 2005; Greenhow,
Robelia, & Hughes, 2009). Therefore, Web 2.0
is more than just new technology; according to
STRATEGIES FOR USING
WEB 2.0 TECHNOLOGIES
FOR LIFELONG LEARNING
In order to prepare students for lifelong learning,
educators must provide students with educational
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