At a time when the learning context is changing in response COVID-19 related school closures, ‘connectivism’ as a learning theory for the Web 2.0 enhanced digital age (Siemens, 2005) is all the more important. Learners need access knowledge through a range of media through networks, connections and collaboration (Starkey, 2011). As of Monday, my school, the Munich International School, will be in “distance learning” mode. The International Baccalaureate Organization has outlined a number of strategies schools can apply to providing online and blended learning, both synchronous and asynchronous (IBO, 2020). Activities range from blogging and vlogging, discussion forums or text-based chats, to live video chats and wiki building.
On the plus side, Web 2.0 tools and sites „possess attributes supporting a change in the way students learn by providing opportunities for students to be involved in active social learning, or various forms of scaffolded learning and venues to publish and to receive rapid, effective feedback “(Crompton, 2012). There is considerable data showing that wikis and blogs, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and image and video hosting/sharing sites (Flicker and YouTube), and online software programs which create Web content for education are a major factor for both leisure and education the of students of all ages.
Equally, there are issues related to the use of Web 2.0 in education, not least the technology readiness of both teachers and students. Lynette Hay, (Hay, 2017) explores the use of Web 2.0 technologies and identifies both advantages and issues for teachers, TLs and students.
The “digital divide“, which describes those who have sufficient knowledge of and access to technology and those who do not, makes it clear that, „ICT literacy was strongly associated with socioeconomic background. “(Erstad, 2015). Family income, parents education level, race/ethnicity, gender and internet quality all play a role in exploiting digital resources and tools. (Moore et al. 2018)
In education, this digital divide is often referred to as the “homework gap”. A symptom of digital divide can be seen when students in „technology-deficient circumstances“ try to do their homework in an environment in which technology-based learning is required (Moore et al. 2018). Irrespective of access, vital is “the development of digital literacy skills with students, teachers, and families “(Holland, 2019).
Although learners today are considered to be ‘digital natives’ Prensky (2001), “this is a misnomer — although many are adept at navigating the technology, they need to develop their skills, through the use of computational thinking, to use the technology meaningfully” (McKenzie, 2019).
Playing devil’s advocate, Monash University’s Neil Selwyn wrote a paper back in 2009 on how young people use digital technology and challenged the idea that they are digitally literate (Selwyn, 2009). Selwyn has since published many papers on the subject and his book, “Is Technology Good for Education? (Selwyn, 2016) discusses the implications, both positive and negative, for education.
Listen also to Selwyn’s conversation with ACER CEO Professor Geoff Masters at ACER’s Research Conference in 2019 with the theme – ‘Preparing students for life in the 21st century: Identifying, developing and assessing what matters’.
How can we as educators and TLs encourage their natural tendency to share in the classroom and out of it? The current generation of learners routinely update their Instagram and Snapchat feeds and constantly share their opinions, their likes and dislikes, upload and watch videos on YouTube, and arrange their social life on WhatsApp. Concluding in 2008, projects such as ‘Digital Youth’ by Mizuko Ito and colleagues in the US (Ito et al. 2010) demonstrated that there are different levels of participation and commitment in what they describe as ‘friendship driven’ and ‘interest driven’ activities in contrast to learning activities. Twelve years on, Ms Ito is very active on Twitter as an advocate for #connectedlearning – inspiring reading for those interested in the very latest in this area.
References:
Crompton, H. (2012). How Web 2.0 is Changing the Way Students Learn: The Darwikinism and Folksonomy Revolution. eleed, Iss. 8. (urn:nbn:de:0009-5-32405)
Erstad, Ola. (2015). Educating the Digital Generation – Exploring Media Literacy for the 21st Century. Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy. 2015. 85-102.
Hay, Lynette. (2017). “‘Do We Have to Use a Wiki, Miss?’ How Web 2.0 Technologies Can Support Students as Inquiry Learners in a Secondary School.” Charles Sturt University.
Holland, B. (2019) Strategies for Tackling Digital Equity. https://www.gettingsmart.com/2019/04/strategies-for-tackling-digital-equity/
IBO (International Baccalaureate Organization). (2019). Online learning, teaching and education continuity planning for schools. https://www.ibo.org/globalassets/news-assets/coronavirus/online-learning-continuity-planning-en.pdf
Ito, M., Horst, H.A., Bittanti, M., Herr-Stephenson, B., Lange, P.G., Robinson, L., Baumer, S., Cody, R.G., Mahendran, D., Martínez, K.Z., Perkel, D., Sims, C., & Tripp, L. (2009). Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
McKenzie, P. (2019). School libraries supporting Digital Technologies. Retrieved March 10th, 2020 from: https://natlib.govt.nz/blog/posts/school-libraries-supporting-digital-technologies-and-hangarau-matihiko-learning
Moore, R., Vitale, D & Stawinoga, N., (2018). The Digital Divide and Educational Equity A Look at Students with Very Limited Access to Electronic Devices at Home. ACT Research & Center for Equity in Learning.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. MCB University Press, 9(5).
Selwyn, N. (2009), “The digital native – myth and reality”, Aslib Proceedings, Vol. 61, No. 4, 364-379. https://doi.org/10.1108/00012530910973776
Selwyn, N. (2016). Is Technology Good for Education? Oxford: Polity Press.
Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(1). Retrieved from http://www.itdl.org/
Starkey, L. (2011). Evaluating learning in the 21st century: a digital age learning matrix.Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 20(1), 19-39. DOI:10.1080/1475939X.2011.554021