Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Having students solve professional prob-
lems of practice;
tion toward lifelong learning (Dunlap, 2005). To
achieve this goal, educators can use the Web 2.0
technologies associated with blogging, social
networking, document co-creation, and resource
sharing to create intrinsically motivating learning
opportunities that have the potential to help stu-
dents develop the skills and dispositions needed
to be effective lifelong learners. The Web 2.0
technologies described in this section have such
strong potential to support lifelong learning skill
and disposition development, and lifelong learn-
ing activities in general, because they have the
individual and collective power to attend to the
impulses of communication, construction, inquiry,
and expression—the basic student interests that
contribute to engagement and make learning pos-
sible (Dewey as cited in Bruce & Levin, 1997). In
addition, unlike the typical LMS that is a highly
bounded community (Wilson, Ludwig-Hardman,
Thornam, & Dunlap, 2004), Web 2.0 technologies
enable students to participate in and with their
discipline's community of practice; engaging
in and with the community of practice supports
the development of the self-directed learning
and metacognitive-awareness skills needed
for lifelong learning in a much more authentic
context—the context in which the students will
ultimately engage in lifelong learning—than can
occur behind the protected walls of a typical LMS
environment.
In the next section, we share some recom-
mendations for using Web 2.0 technologies in
postsecondary settings to support lifelong learning
skill and disposition development.
Asking students to build products that
solve problems and meet real professional
needs; and
Having learners work on and accomplish
real tasks (Dunlap & Grabinger, 2003).
The foundational concept that underlies this
list of strategies is relevance; if students perceive
the learning activity as relevant, they are more
likely to be engaged and motivated to learn
(Wlodkowski, 1999).
The Web 2.0 technologies described in this
chapter are widely used in the workplace and by
professional communities of practice, especially
by those organizations and communities that are
widely distributed. Therefore, an important—and
relevant—instructional goal for educators prepar-
ing students for their professions is to help students
learn to use these technologies for lifelong learn-
ing, teamwork, collaboration, document and idea
sharing, inquiry, and so on. We have found that our
students appreciate our use of Web 2.0 technolo-
gies for academic purposes: as tools that help them
(a) communicate and collaborate, (b) access and
contribute to information-rich resources, and (c)
solve problems and build products. Additionally,
our students tend to be quite curious about how to
effectively and creatively use these tools to support
their professional goals and needs; their interest
and, therefore, motivation to engage is evoked by
the novelty of emerging Web 2.0 technologies.
As Downes (2004, p. 30) shares, “The process
of reading online, engaging a community, and
reflecting it online is a process of bringing life into
learning”, and “bringing life into learning” can
make learning activities personally relevant and
intrinsically motivating for students, encouraging
students to be self-directed and lifelong learners.
As stated at the start of this section, educators
must provide students with educational opportuni-
ties to develop their capacity for self-direction,
metacognitive awareness, and an overall disposi-
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
USING WEB 2.0 TECHNOLOGIES
TO SUPPORT LIFELONG
LEARNING SKILL AND
DISPOSITION DEVELOPMENT
One thing to consider when adopting the Web 2.0
technologies described in the previous section to
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