4 Cs of Web 2.0 and Storytelling

Web 2.0 in the Classroom with Jim Gates Over the past few years some incredible changes have taken place online. You may have missed them while you were grading papers, writing lesson plans, learning new administrative software and trying to find some time for your family. The online world has gone through an incredible, jaw dropping evolution that changes everything about how education can work. Largely, teaching hasn’t changed in the past one hundred (100) years, because the teacher held the key to the information and her/his role was to stand and deliver. As a result . . . *1 out of 4 US students drop out of school before graduating Now, technology enables higher order thinking in education and an opportunity for students to take charge of their own learning. Imagine a school where . . . Economic students use RSS feeds to automatically collect new information about the economy Social Studies students use feed aggregators to gather current information about world news Creative writing students using blogs to publish their works for authentic audiences to read and comment on Students work with other students from around the world to build a web site together *All4ed.org		The 4 Cs of Web 2.0 Conversations, Content, Connections and Collaboration. It’s all possible online with “web 2.0” tools. Conversations: Blogs, Forums, Micro-blogs, Chat, VOIP Content: Creation, Sharing, Content Management, Tagging, Social Bookmarking, RSS Connections: User Profiles, Social Graphs, Friends Collaboration: Wikis, Project Support, Idea Generation, Calendars Check out these web 2.0 resources: Free PowerPoint Twitter Tools Wikis in Plain English Learning Outcomes Technology Matrix Beginning in January, students in LTMS 600: Implementing Web 2.0 in the Classroom will explore various web 2.0 tools. But, the course is not about the tools. Equally as important is how the tools can impact the achievement of learning objectives and increase the level of learning in the classroom. The course is taught by Jim Gates, an Educational Technology Consultant and “Web 2.0 Guru.”
Register today! Spring classes begin January 11, 2010. LTMS 510: Learning Technologies and Solutions LTMS 514: Media Selection, Design and Production LTMS 518: eLearning Development LTMS 600: Implementing Web 2.0 in the Classroom LTMS 607: Writing for Learning Solutions Learn more on the Harrisburg University web site or call 717.901.5101.
Once upon a time . . . “It was about 3 o’clock on a Monday afternoon. I was Tweeting, Facebooking and web conferencing for information on virtual worlds. A knock at my office door unglued me from my chair. In a moment of exhaustion she dropped her digital devices to the floor as I opened the door. I untangled her from the spider web of cords that remained and pointed her in the direction of Harrisburg University. A semester later she had changed her name to Google. And, I caught a glimpse of her “Learning Technologies Wiz” tattoo as she jumped rope down the hall with her iPhone ear buds.” We’ve all told a story at some point in our lives. But, as educators and trainers we don’t take advantage of storytelling as a tool for learning. We can improve learning outcomes by using stories to emphasize examples, metaphors, learning assessment and to build relationships with learners. Beginning in January, students in LTMS 607: Writing for Learning Solutions will explore writing styles, formats and techniques for asynchronous learning solutions. Best practices for technical writing and writing for the web will be explored. Storytelling as an instructional strategy is emphasized throughout the course and will be examined as an important element for successful learning design.		The Writing’s on the Wall The amount of information that is created, received and retrieved on a daily basis has exploded. A typical person checks his or her email more than 50 times per day, uses IM 77 times, and visits 40+ web sites (Perez 2008). Also consider social and leisure information available through the web, television and mobile media devices. There’s a lot of “communication” happening and most of it is “written.” Maybe more than any time in our history, writing skills are important to our ability to collaborate with others, coordinate teams and communicate clearly. How will your message break through the clutter to communicate effectively and efficiently? Check out these writing resources: Dump the Drone for Livlier eLearning Writing in a Conversational Tone Folktales for Classroom Storytelling