Web 2.0 and \"The
Cloud\" in the biology
classroom
• N. Sivasothi
• delicious.com/sivasothi/buzzed2009
1

Role of tools
• Engage/Enhance
• Excite/Explore
Related talk later...
• Express
2

Basic tools
• HTML (90’s)
• Mailing lists (1998)
Blogs (2003)
• platform independent, web-based
Web2.0 (2005)
Internet apps (2007)
3

4

5

Painful...
6

Painless!
7

Bonus! - Summary of response
Text
8

Enhancing delivery
• Delicious.com (2003)
• Flickr.com (2004)
• Youtube.com (2005)
Not new...
9

Delicious
Folksonomic bookmarking (2003)
10

11

12

http://delicious.com/
sivasothi/batangkali
Text
13

http://delicious.com/sivasothi/lsm3261
Text
14

http://delicious.com/sivasothi/echolocation
15

Popular booksmarks for “echolocation”
based on all delicious users
16

Ben Underwood
slate.com
• Lost eyes to cancer, aged 2
• Mother learns of his ability to perceive
surroundings, aged 5; now aged 16
• Echolocates
• 2006 - People magazine, CBS news,
“Extraordinary People” tv series,Youtube,
Oprah, etc.
17

Human Echolocation
18

Flickr
Folksonomic image platform (2004)
19

20

21

22

Community resources
can enhance education
23

Kelley Kuhlman
http://flickr.com/photos/paperglyphs/
2315279189/
Acknowledge
contributor!
Camouflage in
Peacock Flounders
24

José Eduardo Silva
http://flickr.com/photos/
97968921@N00/1767585490/
25

Alexander Yates Henry & Tersia
http://flickr.com/photos/ http://flickr.com/photos/
alex_and_terhi/2178306820/ 69919391@N00/2778741446/?
26

Rodrigo Sala
http://flickr.com/photos/
rodrigosala/2459314107/
27

William Dalton
http://flickr.com/photos/
bovinacowboy/469864374/
28

Licensing
write to contributor
or already granted (creative commons)
29

30

Related talk later...
31

Direct
interaction
cf. passive (tags)
Comment to encourage!
An expressive audience member.
32

Searching
(old skill)
33

http://flickr.com/photos/tags/catsinsink
Text
How to
search?
34

http://flickr.com/photos/tags/catinsink
35

ddelph2
http://flickr.com/photos/
62015716@N00/616741695/
36

YouTube or Google Video
Folksonomic video platform (2005)
37

38

Indo-Malayan mimic octopus
Thaumoctopus mimicus
http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=260
Norman MD, Finn J, Tregenza T (2001) Dynamic mimicry in an Indo-
Malayan octopus. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 268(1478):1755-1758.
39

Enhancing expression
• Blogging
• Google Apps
40

Blogging
41

42

43

44

Push or pull?
• Read the blog or
• send the email?
• Or both (archive + push).
45

46

47

Digression
Student rephrases
question
Having thought out
query, a
comprehensive answer
is provided
48

LSM1303 Animal Behaviour Student Blog
49

50

51

52

Data sharing with Google Apps
LSM3251 Ecology
53

54

Google Docs
55

Group Data
56

57

58

59

60

Online lamentation!
61

Honours
proposal
62

63

Life skills, Old skills
Beyond the subject matter
64

Role of tools
Engage, excite, express
Active citizen, science communication
http://delicious.com/sivasothi/buzzed2009
65

Acknowledgements
• Kenneth Pinto, CIT, NUS, for the
invitation and discussion of
content.
• The community of contributors to
online content on Flickr,
YouTube, Wikipedia, etc who
have helped to enhance
teaching.
66