Learning 2.0

It all started with Google. Web 2.0 then flourished with Wikipedia, and has been increasingly finding its way into the higher education learning environment. Even Blackboard, a giant among learning management systems, is embracing the movement by developing a plug-in for a popular open-source alternative, Moodle.

Discussion of the topic is growing. Educause recently released a free eBook, written by multiple authors, exploring the future of computing in education. The book not only addresses the increasing presence of networks, but also the open-source software and social-networking tools that seem to be nearing ubiquity.

And now more and more people are calling for a change in how we teach and how we learn. Mark Wesch, from Kansas State, has become popular through his many YouTube videos about learning in the digital age. His contemporary approaches show the age even of such devices as Blackboard and Clickers, and he embraces the collaboration that Web 2.0 inherently invites.

One of his lectures, "A Portal to Media Literacy", examines the modern classroom and presents the benefits of collaborative learning. With a proper use of emerging technological trends, he improves both the engagement and quality in his classroom by having students build upon the traditional lectures and readings.

The video is well worth a watch. Ignore the questionable arguments and the educational gimmicks, but consider the approach and tools used. Such methods work to lead "the student well beyond the acquisition of a body of knowledge and into the domain of active learning, curiosity, and insight."